Inradio astronomy, afast radio burst (FRB) is a transientradio wave of length ranging from a fraction of amillisecond, for anultra-fast radio burst,[2][3] to 3 seconds,[4] caused by a high-energy astrophysical process that is not yet understood. Astronomers estimate the average FRB releases as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun puts out in three days.[5] While extremely energetic at their source, the strength of the signal reaching Earth has been described as 1,000 times less than from amobile phone on theMoon.[6]
The first FRB was discovered byDuncan Lorimer and his student David Narkevic in 2007 when they were looking through archivalpulsar survey data, and it is therefore commonly referred to as theLorimer burst.[1][7] Many FRBs have since been recorded, including several that have been detected repeating in seemingly irregular ways.[8][9][10][11][12] Only one FRB has been detected to repeat in a regular way:FRB 180916 seems to pulse every 16.35 days.[13][14]
Most FRBs are extragalactic, but the firstMilky Way FRB was detected by theCHIME radio telescope in April 2020.[15] In June 2021, astronomers reported over 500 FRBs from outer space detected in one year.[16]
When FRBs are polarized, it indicates that they are emitted from a source contained within an extremely powerfulmagnetic field.[17] The exact origin and cause of FRBs is still the subject of investigation; proposals for their origin range from a rapidly rotatingneutron star and ablack hole, toextraterrestrial intelligence.[18][19] In 2020, astronomers reported narrowing down a source of fast radio bursts, which may now plausibly include "compact-object mergers andmagnetars arising from normal core collapsesupernovae".[20][21][22] A neutron star has been proposed as the origin of an unusual FRB with periodic peaks lasting over 3 seconds reported in 2022.[23]
The discovery in 2012 of the first repeating source,FRB 121102, and its localization and characterization in 2017, has improved the understanding of the source class. FRB 121102 is identified with a galaxy at a distance of approximately three billionlight-years and is embedded in an extreme environment.[24][17] The first host galaxy identified for a non-repeating burst, FRB 180924, was identified in 2019 and is a much larger and more ordinary galaxy, nearly the size of the Milky Way. In August 2019, astronomers reported the detection of eight more repeating FRB signals.[25][26] In January 2020, astronomers reported the precise location of a second repeating burst,FRB 180916.[27][28] One FRB seems to have been in the same location as a knowngamma-ray burst.[29][15]
On 28 April 2020, a pair of millisecond-timescale bursts (FRB 200428) consistent with observed fast radio bursts, with afluence of >1.5 millionJy ms, was detected from the same area of sky as themagnetarSGR 1935+2154.[30][31] Although it was thousands of times less intrinsically bright than previously observed fast radio bursts, its comparative proximity (within our galaxy) rendered it the most powerful fast radio burst yet observed, reaching a peak flux of either a few thousand or several hundred thousandjanskys, comparable to the brightness of the radio sourcesCassiopeia A andCygnus A at the same frequencies. This established magnetars as, at least, one ultimate source of fast radio bursts,[32][33][34] although the exact cause remains unknown.[35][36][37] Further studies support the notion that magnetars may be closely associated with FRBs.[38][39] On 13 October 2021, astronomers reported the detection of hundreds of FRBs from a single system.[40][41]
In 2024, an international team led by astrophysicists ofINAF, using detections fromVLA,NOEMA interferometer, andGran Telescopio Canarias has conducted a research campaign about FRB20201124A, one of the two known persistent FRB, located about 1.3 billion light-years away. Based on the outcomes of the study, authors deem to confirm the origin of FRBs in a binary system at high accretion rate, that would blow a plasma bubble, responsible for the persistent radio emission. The emission object, i.e. the "bubble", would be immersed in a star-forming region.[42]
FRBs observed byCHIME in Galactic coordinates with locations of 474 nonrepeating and 18 repeating (62 bursts) sources from 28 August 2018 to 1 July 2019[43]
The first fast radio burst to be described, the Lorimer Burst FRB 010724, was found in 2007 in archived data recorded by theParkes Observatory on 24 July 2001. Since then, many FRBs have been found in previously recorded data. On 19 January 2015, astronomers at Australia's national science agency (CSIRO) reported that a fast radio burst had been observed for the first time live, by the Parkes Observatory.[44] Many FRBs have been detected in real time by theCHIME radio telescope since it became operational in 2018, including the first FRB detected from within the Milky Way in April 2020.[33][45]
In January 2025, astronomers discovered radio waves from a galaxy that is roughly 2-billion light years away from Earth and is believed to be more than 11 billion years old.[46] These FRBs are associated with a galaxy that was believed to be dead.
Fast radio bursts are bright, unresolved (pointsource-like), broadband (spanning a large range of radio frequencies), millisecond flashes found in parts of the sky. Unlike many radio sources, the signal from a burst is detected in a short period of time with enough strength to stand out from the noise floor. The burst usually appears as a single spike of energy without any change in its strength over time. The bursts last for several milliseconds (thousandths of a second). The bursts come from all over the sky, and are not concentrated on the plane of the Milky Way. Known FRB locations are biased by the parts of the sky that the observatories can image.
Many haveradio frequencies detected around 1400 MHz; a few have been detected at lower frequencies in the range of 400–800 MHz.[47] The component frequencies of each burst are delayed by different amounts of time depending on thewavelength. This delay is described by a value referred to as adispersion measure (DM).[1] This results in a received signal that sweeps rapidly down in frequency, as longer wavelengths are delayed more.
The bursts are catalogued as FRB 190714, at top left; FRB 191001, at top right; FRB 180924, at bottom left; and FRB 190608, at bottom right.[48]
TheinterferometerUTMOST has put a lower limit of 10,000 kilometers for the distance to the FRBs it has detected, supporting the case for an astronomical, rather than terrestrial, origin (because signal sources on Earth are ruled out as being closer than this limit). This limit can be determined from the fact that closer sources would have a curved wave front that could be detected by the multiple antennas of the interferometer.[49]
Fast radio bursts have pulse dispersion measurements> 100pc cm−3[50], much larger than expected for a source inside the Milky Way galaxy[51] and consistent with propagation through an ionizedplasma.[1] Furthermore, their distribution isisotropic (not especially coming from the galactic plane);[49]: fig 3 consequently they are conjectured to be of extragalactic origin.
Because of the isolated nature of the observed phenomenon, the nature of the source remains speculative. As of 2022[update], there is no generally accepted single explanation, although amagnetar has been identified as a possible source. The sources are thought to be a few hundred kilometers or less in size, as the bursts last for only a few milliseconds.Causation is limited by the speed of light, about 300 km per millisecond, so if the sources were larger than about 1000 km, a complex synchronization mechanism would be required for the bursts to be so short. If the bursts come from cosmological distances, their sources must be very energetic.[6] Extending the technique of measuring pulsar emission region sizes using a scattering screen in the Milky Way, a method to estimate the transverse FRB emission region size using a scattering screen in the host galaxy was formulated in 2024.[52] Within the same year, a previously recorded burst, FRB 202210122A, was constrained to have an emission region size less than 30,000 km, using this technique.[53]
One possible explanation would be a collision between very dense objects like mergingblack holes orneutron stars.[54][55][56] It has been suggested that there is a connection togamma-ray bursts.[57][58] Some have speculated that these signals might be artificial in origin, that they may be signs ofextraterrestrial intelligence,[59][60][61] demonstrating veritabletechnosignatures.[62] Analogously, when thefirst pulsar was discovered, it was thought that the fast, regular pulses could possibly originate from a distant civilization, and the source nicknamed "LGM-1" (for "little green men").[63] In 2007, just after the publication of thee-print with the first discovery, it was proposed that fast radio bursts could be related to hyperflares ofmagnetars.[64][65] In 2015 three studies supported the magnetar hypothesis.[51][66][67][68] The identification of first FRB from theMilky Way, which originated from the magnetarSGR 1935+2154, indicates that magnetars may be one source of FRB.[33]
Especially energeticsupernovae could be the source of these bursts.[69]Blitzars were proposed in 2013 as an explanation.[6]In 2014 it was suggested that followingdark matter-induced collapse of pulsars,[70] the resulting expulsion of the pulsar magnetospheres could be the source of fast radio bursts.[71] In 2015 it was suggested that FRBs are caused by explosive decays ofaxion miniclusters.[72] Another exotic possible source arecosmic strings that produced these bursts as they interacted with theplasma that permeated theearly Universe.[69] In 2016 the collapse of the magnetospheres ofKerr–Newman black holes were proposed to explain the origin of the FRBs' "afterglow" and the weak gamma-ray transient 0.4 s after GW 150914.[73][74] It has also been proposed that if fast radio bursts originate in black hole explosions, FRBs would be the first detection ofquantum gravity effects.[56][75] In early 2017, it was proposed that the strong magnetic field near a supermassive black hole could destabilize the current sheets within a pulsar's magnetosphere, releasing trapped energy to power the FRBs.[76]
A variety of plasma-based mechanisms have been proposed to explain the coherent radio emission observed in FRBs. These processes typically involve relativistic magnetizedplasmas, such as those found near magnetars or in shocks, where collective plasma effects and radiative processes can lead to the generation of bright, short-duration radio pulses. One promising mechanism is coherent electromagnetic emission from relativistic magnetizedshocks, where the shock propagates in an electron–positron plasma with high magnetization (σ ≳ 1). These shocks generateX-mode polarized precursor waves through asynchrotron maser–like instability, with efficiencies and spectral features determined self-consistently via particle-in-cell simulations.[77][78] The shocks can arise from magnetar flares driving relativistic outflows, and may convert a small fraction of their energy (~10-3 σ-1) into coherent radio emission, consistent with observed FRB energetics. Another proposed mechanism is theelectron cyclotron maser instability (ECMI), which can be triggered whensynchrotron cooling generates ring-shaped momentum distributions that are unstable toX-mode wave growth.[79] This has been demonstrated in simulations of strongly magnetized plasmas where radiative losses sustain the coherent radio emission.[80]
Alternative models invoke coherent curvature radiation by bunched charges moving along curved magnetic field lines, often associated withmagnetic reconnection near the surface or in the current sheet ofneutron stars. In some versions, particle bunching is induced by plasma instabilities or perturbations in the magnetosphere.[81] Other proposals include antenna-type mechanisms, where coherent structures in the plasma (such as charge-separated bunches orsolitons) radiate collectively,[82] andfree electron laser (FEL)-like processes driven by reconnection-generated particle beams in magnetized turbulence.[83] In these models, particles interact with Alfvénic or electromagnetic wigglers and emit coherently via nonlinearThomson orCompton-like scattering. Collectively, these plasma-based mechanisms aim to explain the highbrightness temperatures, narrow-band spectra, andpolarization features of FRBs, and are often framed within the magnetar scenario, although they may operate in broader astrophysical settings.
Repeated bursts of FRB 121102 have initiated multiple origin hypotheses.[84] A coherent emission phenomenon known assuperradiance, which involves large-scale entangled quantum mechanical states possibly arising in environments such asactive galactic nuclei, has been proposed to explain these and other associated observations with FRBs (e.g. high event rate, repeatability, variable intensity profiles).[85] In July 2019, astronomers reported thatnon-repeating Fast Radio Bursts may not be one-off events, but actually FRB repeaters with repeat events that have gone undetected and, further, that FRBs may be formed by events that have not yet been seen or considered.[86][87] Additional possibilities include that FRBs may originate from nearby stellar flares.[88] A FRB with multiple periodic component peaks lasting over 3 seconds was reported in 2022. A neutron star has been proposed as the origin of this FRB.[23]
Fast radio bursts are named by the date the signal was recorded, as "FRB YYMMDD", with a letter appended to distinguish multiple sources first recorded on the same date.
The name is of the presumed source rather than the burst of radio waves, so repeated or subsequent bursts from the same apparent location (eg, FRB 121102) do not get new date names.
The first FRB detected, the Lorimer Burst FRB 010724, was discovered in 2007 whenDuncan Lorimer ofWest Virginia University assigned his student David Narkevic to look through archival data taken in 2001 by the Parkes radio dish in Australia.[56]Analysis of the survey data found a 30-janskydispersed burst which occurred on 24 July 2001,[1] less than 5 milliseconds in duration, located 3° from theSmall Magellanic Cloud. The reported burst properties argue against a physical association with theMilky Way galaxy or the Small Magellanic Cloud.[89] The discoverers argue that current models for the free electron content in the Universe imply that the burst is less than 1 gigaparsec distant. The fact that no further bursts were seen in 90 hours of additional observations implies that it was a singular event such as a supernova or merger of relativistic objects.[1] It is suggested that hundreds of similar events could occur every day and if detected could serve as cosmological probes.[1]
Aperyton event detected at theParkes Observatory. Peryton events are now known to be caused by the emission from a microwave oven.
In 2010 there was a report of 16 similar pulses, clearly of terrestrial origin, detected by theParkes radio telescope and given the nameperytons.[90] In 2015 perytons were shown to be generated when microwave oven doors were opened during a heating cycle, with detected emission being generated by the microwave oven'smagnetron tube as it was being powered off.[91]
In 2015, FRB 110523 was discovered in archival data collected in 2011 from theGreen Bank Telescope.[51] It was the first FRB for whichlinear polarization was detected (allowing a measurement ofFaraday rotation). Measurement of the signal'sdispersion delay suggested that this burst was of extragalactic origin, possibly up to 6 billion light-years away.[92]
It has been suggested that this section besplit out into another article titledFRB 121102. (Discuss)(May 2023)
An observation in 2012 of a fast radio burst (FRB 121102)[9] in the direction ofAuriga in the northern hemisphere using theArecibo radio telescope confirmed the extragalactic origin of fast radio pulses by an effect known asplasma dispersion.
In November 2015, astronomer Paul Scholz atMcGill University in Canada, found ten non-periodically repeated fast radio pulses in archival data gathered in May and June 2015 by the Arecibo radio telescope.[94] The ten bursts have dispersion measures and sky positions consistent with the original burst FRB 121102, detected in 2012.[94] Like the 2012 burst, the 10 bursts have aplasma dispersion measure that is three times larger than possible for a source in theMilky Way Galaxy. The team thinks that this finding rules out self-destructive, cataclysmic events that could occur only once, such as the collision between two neutron stars.[95] According to the scientists, the data support an origin in a young rotatingneutron star (pulsar), or in a highly magnetized neutron star (magnetar),[94][95][96][97][9] or from highly magnetized pulsars travelling through asteroid belts,[98] or from an intermittentRoche lobe overflow in a neutron star-white dwarf binary.[99]
On 16 December 2016 six new FRBs were reported in the same direction (one having been received on 13 November 2015, four on 19 November 2015, and one on 8 December 2015).[100]: Table 2 As of January 2019[update] this is one of only two instances in which these signals have been found twice in the same location in space. FRB 121102 is located at least 1150 AU from Earth, excluding the possibility of a human-made source, and is almost certainly extragalactic in nature.[100]
On 26 August 2017, astronomers using data from theGreen Bank Telescope detected 15 additional repeating FRBs coming from FRB 121102 at 5 to 8 GHz. The researchers also noted that FRB 121102 is presently in a"heightened activity state, and follow-on observations are encouraged, particularly at higher radio frequencies".[106][8][107] The waves are highlypolarized and undergoFaraday rotation, meaning "twisting"transverse waves, that could have formed only when passing through hotplasma with an extremely strong magnetic field.[108] This rotation of polarized light is quantified byRotation Measure (RM). FRB 121102's radio bursts have RM about 500 times higher than those from any other FRB to date.[108] Since it is a repeating FRB source, it suggests that it does not come from some one-time cataclysmic event; so one hypothesis, first advanced in January 2018, proposes that these particular repeating bursts may come from a densestellar core called aneutron star near an extremely powerful magnetic field, such as one near a massive black hole,[108] or one embedded in anebula.[109]
In April 2018, it was reported that FRB 121102 consisted of 21 bursts spanning one hour.[110] In September 2018, an additional 72 bursts spanning five hours had been detected using aconvolutional neural network.[111][112][113] In September 2019, more repeating signals, 20 pulses on 3 September 2019, were reported to have been detected from FRB 121102 by theFive-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).[114] In June 2020, astronomers fromJodrell Bank Observatory reported that FRB 121102 exhibits the same radio-burst behavior ("radio bursts observed in a window lasting approximately 90 days followed by a silent period of 67 days") every 157 days, suggesting that the bursts may be associated with "the orbital motion of a massive star, a neutron star or a black hole".[115] Subsequent studies byFAST of further activity, consisting of 12 bursts within two hours observed on 17 August 2020, supports an updated refined periodicity between active periods of 156.1 days.[116] Related studies have been reported in October 2021.[40][41] Further bursts, at least 300, were detected by FAST in August and September 2022.[117] Further related studies were reported in April 2023.[118] In July 2023 19 new burst were reported from existing observations of 121102A that were taken by the Green Bank Telescope, eight of which were extremely short, independent, bursts lasting between 5 and 15 microseconds, the shortest so far detected.[119]
On 18 April 2015, FRB 150418 was detected by the Parkes observatory and within hours, several telescopes including theAustralia Telescope Compact Array caught an apparent radio "afterglow" of the flash, which took six days to fade.[121][122][123] TheSubaru Telescope was used to find what was thought to be the host galaxy and determine itsredshift and the implied distance to the burst.[124]
However, the association of the burst with the afterglow was soon disputed,[125][126][127] and by April 2016 it was established that the "afterglow" originated from an active galactic nucleus (AGN) that is powered by asupermassive black hole with dual jets blasting outward from the black hole.[128] It was also noted that what was thought to be an afterglow did not fade away as would be expected, supporting the interpretation that it originated in the variable AGN and was not associated with the fast radio burst.[128]
The upgradedMolonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (UTMOST), nearCanberra (Australia), reported finding three more FRBs.[129] A 180-day three-part survey in 2015 and 2016 found three FRBs at 843 MHz.[49] Each FRB located with a narrow elliptical 'beam'; the relatively narrow band 828–858 MHz gives a less precisedispersion measure (DM).[49]
According to Anastasia Fialkov and Abraham Loeb, FRB's could be occurring as often as once per second. Earlier research could not identify the occurrence of FRB's to this degree.[131]
Artist's impression of a fast radio burst FRB 181112 traveling through space and reaching Earth.[132]
Three FRBs were reported in March 2018 by Parkes Observatory in Australia. One (FRB 180309) had the highestsignal-to-noise ratio yet seen of 411.[133][134]
The unusual CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment) radio telescope, operational from September 2018, can be used to detect "hundreds" of fast radio bursts as a secondary objective to its cosmological observations.[135][94] FRB 180725A was reported by CHIME as the first detection of a FRB under 700 MHz – as low as 580 MHz.[136][137]
On 9 January 2019, astronomers announced the discovery of a second repeating FRB source, named FRB 180814, by CHIME. Six bursts were detected between August and October 2018, "consistent with originating from a single position on the sky". The detection was made during CHIME's pre-commissioning phase, during which it operated intermittently, suggesting a "substantial population of repeating FRBs", and that the new telescope would make more detections.[10][141]
Some news media reporting of the discovery speculated that the repeating FRB could be evidence ofextraterrestrial intelligence,[142][143] a possibility explored in relation to previous FRBs by some scientists,[61][144] but not raised by the discoverers of FRB 180814.[10][141]
FRB 180916,[145] more formally FRB 180916.J0158+65, is a repeating FRB discovered byCHIME, that later studies found to have originated from a medium-sized spiral galaxy (SDSS J015800.28+654253.0) about 500 million light-years away – the closest FRB discovered to date.[146][27][28] It is also the first FRB observed to have a regular periodicity. Bursts are clustered into a period of about four days, followed by a dormant period of about 12 days, for a total cycle length of16.35±0.18 days.[13][147][148] Additional followup studies of the repeating FRB by theSwift XRT and UVOT instruments were reported on 4 February 2020;[149] by theSardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) andMedicina Northern Cross Radio Telescope (MNC), on 17 February 2020;[150] and, by theGalileo telescope in Asiago, also on 17 February 2020.[151] Further observations were made by theChandra X-ray Observatory on 3 and 18 December 2019, with no significant x-ray emissions detected at the FRB 180916 location, or from the host galaxy SDSS J015800.28+654253.0.[152] On 6 April 2020, followup studies by theGlobal MASTER-Net were reported onThe Astronomer's Telegram.[153] On 25 August 2021, further observations were reported.[154][155]
FRB 180924 is the first non-repeating FRB to be traced to its source. The source is a galaxy 3.6 billion light-years away. The galaxy is nearly as large as the Milky Way and about 1000 times larger than the source galaxy of FRB 121102. While the latter is an active site of star formation and a likely place formagnetars, the source of FRB 180924 is an older and less active galaxy.[157][158][159]
Because the FRB was nonrepeating, the astronomers had to scan large areas with the 36 telescopes of ASKAP. Once a signal was found, they used theVery Large Telescope, theGemini Observatory in Chile, and theW. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to identify its host galaxy and determine its distance. Knowledge of the distance and source galaxy properties enables a study of the composition of the intergalactic medium.[158]
On 28 June 2019, Russian astronomers reported the discovery of nine FRB events (FRB 121029, FRB 131030, FRB 140212, FRB 141216, FRB 151125.1, FRB 151125.2, FRB 160206, FRB 161202, FRB 180321), which include FRB 151125, the third repeating one ever detected, from the direction of theM 31 (Andromeda Galaxy) andM 33 (Triangulum Galaxy) galaxies during the analysis of archive data (July 2012 to December 2018) produced by theBSA/LPIlarge phased arrayradio telescope at thePushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory.[11][160][12]
FRB 190520 was observed by the FAST telescope and was localized using the realfast[161] system at theKarl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). Optical observations using thePalomar 200-inch Hale Telescope revealed a host dwarf galaxy at redshift z=0.241. This is the second FRB observed to have an associated Persistent Radio Source (PRS). The dispersion measure(DM) and rotation measure measurements reveals a very dense, magnetized and turbulent environment local to the source. In June 2022, astronomers reported that FRB 20190520B was found to be another repeating FRB.[162] On 12 May 2023, FRB 20190520B was reported to show multiple bursts indicating magnetic field reversal.[163]
On 2 July 2019, astronomers reported that FRB 190523, a non-repeating FRB, has been discovered and, notably, localized to a few-arcsecond region containing a single massive galaxy at a redshift of 0.66, nearly 8 billion light-years away from Earth.[164][165]
Astronomers reported the discovery of FRB 20200317A (RA 16h22m45s, DEC p+56d44m50s) with FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope) in archival data on 22 September 2023. The detected FRB is "one of the faintest FRB sources detected so far", according to the report.[172]
On 28 April 2020, astronomers at theCanadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), reported the detection of a bright radio burst from the direction of the GalacticmagnetarSGR 1935+2154 about 30,000 light years away in theVulpeculaconstellation.[173][174][175] The burst had a DM of 332.8 pc/cc.[173] The STARE2[176] team independently detected the burst and reported that the burst had afluence of >1.5 MJy ms, establishing the connection between this burst and FRBs at extragalactic distances.[36] The burst was then referred to as FRB 200428.[177] The detection is notable, as the STARE2 team claim it is the first ever FRB detected inside theMilky Way, and the first ever to be linked to a known source.[30][31] That link strongly supports the idea that fast radio bursts emanate from magnetars.[178]
On 24 September 2020, astronomers reported the detection of two new FRBs, FRB200914 and FRB200919, by theParkes Radio Telescope.[180] Upper limits on low-frequency emission from FRB 200914 were later reported by theSquare Kilometre Array radio telescope project.[181]
On 31 March 2021, theCHIME/FRB Collaboration reported the detection of FRB 20201124A and related multiple bursts within the week of 23 March 2021 — designated as 20210323A, 20210326A, 20210327A, 20210327B, 20210327C, and 20210328A[182] — and later, likely20210401A[183] and20210402A.[184] Further related observations were reported by other astronomers on 6 April 2021,[185] 7 April 2021,[186][187] and many more as well,[188] including an "extremely bright" pulse on 15 April 2021.[189] Source localization improvements were reported on 3 May 2021.[190] Even more observations were reported in May 2021,[191] including "two bright bursts".[192] On 3 June 2021, theSETI Institute announced detecting "a bright double-peaked radio burst" from FRB 201124A on 18 May 2021.[193][194] Further observations were made by theNeil Gehrels Swift Observatory on 28 July 2021 and 7 August 7, 2021 without detecting a source on either date.[195] On 23 September 2021, 9 new bursts from FRB 20201124A were reported to have been observed with theEffelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope, followed by one CHIME observation, all after four months of no detections.[196] In January and February 2022, further observations of new bursts from FRB 20201124A with theWesterbork-RT1 25-m telescope were also reported.[197][198][199] In mid-March 2022, further observations of FRB 20201124 were reported.[200][201][202] In September 2022, astronomers suggested that the repeating FRB 20201124A may originate from amagnetar/Be starbinary.[203][204]
On 30 June 2021, astronomers at theMolonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (UTMOST) detected FRB 210630A at the "likely" position of "RA = 17:23:07.4, DEC =+07:51:42, J2000".[205]
On 15 December 2021, astronomers at theNeil Gehrels Swift Observatory reported further observations of the "bright CHIME FRB 20211122A (event #202020046 T0: 2021-12-11T16:58:05.183768)".[206]
On 19 October 2023, astronomers reported that FRB 20220610A traveled for 8 billion years to reach Earth equivalent at a redshift of making it the oldest FRB known and also calculated to be the most energetic one with a spectral energy density of ~6.4×1032erg/Hz and a maximum burst energy of ~2×1042erg higher than the previous predicted maximum energy for FRBs.[208][209][210][211] In January 2024, further detailed observations and studies were reported.[212]
On 15 October 2022, astronomers at CHIME/FRB reported the detection of nine bursts in three days ofFRB 20220912A.[213] Since later bursts observed between 15 October 2022 and 29 October 2022 by the CHIME/FRB collaboration, astronomers, afterwards, at theAllen Telescope Array (ATA), on 1 November 2022, reported eight more bursts from FRB 20220912A. ATA coordinates were first set to the original settings (23h09m05.49s + 48d42m25.6s) and then later to the newly updated ones (23h09m04.9s +48d42m25.4s).[214] On 13 November 2022, further burst activity of FRB 20220912A was reported by the Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array inXinjiang, China[215] and, on 5 December 2022, from several other observatories.[216] On 13 December 2022, over a hundred bursts from FRB 220912A were reported by theUpgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT), operated by theNational Centre for Radio Astrophysics of theTata Institute of Fundamental Research inIndia.[217] On 21 December 2022, several more bright bursts of FRB 220912A using theWesterbork-RT1 were reported.[218] Four more bursts were reported on 13 July 2023 by theMedicina Radio Observatory (specifically by the Medicina Northern Cross (MNC) radio telescope) in Bologna, Italy.[219] Based on four bursts, burst rate constraints of FRB 20220912A at various frequencies using theGreen Bank 20-meter telescope were reported on 18 August 2023.[220] Swift X-ray observations were reported on 1 September 2023.[221]
On 13 July 2022, the discovery of an unusualFRB 20191221A detected by CHIME was reported. It is a multicomponent pulse (nine or more components) with peaks separated by 216.8ms and lasting an unusually long duration of three seconds. This is the first time such a periodic pulse was detected.[23]
On 1 December 2022, astronomers reported the discovery of FRB 20221128A, using theUTMOST-NS radio telescope located inNew South Wales, Australia. According to the astronomers, "The most likely position [of FRB 20221128A] is RA = 07:30(10), DEC = -41:32(1), J2000 which corresponds to Galactic coordinates: Gl = 177.1 deg, Gb = 24.45 deg".[222] Later, on 19 January 2023, a corrected position [of FRB 20221128A] was reported as follows: "The revised FRB position is RA = 07:30(10), DEC = -42:30(1) in equatorial (J2000) coordinates, which corresponds to Galactic coordinates: Gl = 255.1 deg, Gb = -11.4 deg (we additionally note that the Galactic coordinates in ATel #15783 were in error)".[223]
Discovery of FRB 20230814A by the Deep Synoptic ArrayDSA-110 was reported on 16 August 2023, and was determined to be localized (preliminarily) at 22h23m53.9s +73d01m33.3s (J2000).[225]
Observations of FRB 20230905 in the X-ray and UV range by theNeil Gehrels Swift Observatory was reported as bright and non-repeating on 7 September 2023.[226]
Discovery of a new repeating FRB 20240114A by the CHIME/FRB Collaboration (at position RA (J2000): 321.9162 +- 0.0087 deg, Dec (J2000): 4.3501 +- 0.0124 degrees) was reported on 26 January 2024. The three bursts from the FRB were detected at "2024-01-14 21:50:39, 2024-01-21 21:30:40, and 2024-01-24 21:20:11 UTC", and associated with agalaxy cluster at 425 Mpc.[227][228] The dispersion measure DM of the brightest burst was 527.7 pc cm^-3.[227]On 5 February 2024, observations of five repeated bursts of FRB 20240114A on 2 February 2024 were reported using theParkes/Murriyang Ultra Wideband Low (UWL) receiver system.[229][230] Also on 5 February 2024, a FRB detection was reported by theWesterbork RT1 25-m telescope.[231] On 8 February 2024, related observations of FRB 20240114A were reported byFAST (38 bursts from 28 January to 4 February)[232][233] and theNorthern Cross Radio Telescope (1 burst on 1 February).[234] Detection and localization studies of FRB 20240114A byMeerKAT in South Africa were reported on 14 February 2024.[235] On 15 February 2024, 10 bursts were reported to have been detected on 1 February 2024 by theGiant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India.[236] On 29 February 2024, 51 bursts (including micro-structure) on 25 February 2024 usinguGMRT were reported.[237] On 5 March 2024, a "burst storm" was reported from FRB 20240114A by theFAST radio telescope.[238] On 20 March 2024, theEuropean VLBI Network (EVN) reported several detailed studies, which included observations on 15 February 2024 (7 bursts) and 20 February 2024 (13 bursts), of FRB 20240114A was observed on 17 March 2024240114A.[239] On 21 March 2024, theNorthern Cross Radio Telescope in Italy reported a bright radio burst of FRB 20240114A, at updated coordinates of R.A.: 21:27:39.84, Dec: +04:19:46.34 (J2000), on 17 March 2024.[240] On 2 April 2024, astronomers report over 100 detections of FRB 20240114A using five small European radio telescopes.[241] On 18 April 2024, a coincident gamma-ray emission was observed possibly associated with FRB 20240114A.[242] On 23 April 2024, five repeat bursts from FRB 20240114A were reported to have been detected by theNancay Radio Telescope at 2.5 GHz ("highest frequency to date") on 18 April 2024.[243] On 25 April 2024, eight repeat bursts from FRB 20240114A were reported to have been detected by theAllen Telescope Array (ATA) at frequencies above 2.0 GHz.[244] On 26 April 2024, no counterpart candidates (ie, "no significance gamma-ray emission") from FRB 20240114A were reported to have been observed byFermi-LAT.[245] On 4 May 2024, astronomers reported aredshift (ie, "a common redshift of z=0.1300+/-0002") for the FRB host galaxy, possibly adwarf star-forming galaxy.[246] Astronomers, on 15 May 2024, reported multiple burst detections of FRB 20240114A up to 6 GHz using theEffelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope.[247] A gamma-ray flare associated with FRB 20240114A was reported on 25 May 2024.[248]
Announcement of five bursts from FRB 20240216A, a new repeating fast radio burst source, detected byAustralian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) at position (J2000) of RA: 10:12:19.9 DEC: +14:02:26, was reported on 22 February 2024.[249]FAST, on February 24, 2024, reported no detection, with several explanations, of FRB 20240216A.[250]
43% linear, 3% circular polarized. Low galactic latitude. Low/zerorotation measure. Detected in real time. Not detected in follow up observations of gamma rays, X-rays, neutrinos, IR etc.[258]
FRB 150418
2015-04-18 04:29
07h 16m
−19° 00′
776.2
0.8
2.4
Detection of linear polarization. The origin of the burst is disputed.[125][126][127][128]
unnamed
2015-05-17 2015-06-02
05h 31m 58s (average)
+33° 08′ 04″ (average)
559 (average)
0.02–0.31
2.8–8.7
10 repeat bursts at FRB 121102 location: 2 bursts on May 17 and 8 bursts on June 2[96][97] and 1 on 13 Nov 2015, 4 on 19 Nov 2015, and 1 on 8 Dec 2015[100]
first byASKAP, highfluence ~58 Jy ms. In Leo. Galactic latitude 51°, Distance 3.1 Gpc, isotropic energy ~3 x 1034 J[50]
unnamed
2017-08-26 13:51:44
05h 32m
+33° 08′
558(approx)
?
?
15 more bursts at the location of FRB 121102 detected byGreen Bank Telescope over a 24-minute interval, bringing the total received bursts from this location to 34.[106]
V low DMs. Very high repeating burst activity reported to have begun 23 March 2021,[182][183][184][188] includes an "extremely bright" pulse on 15 April 2021.[189]
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