FRB 20250316A: A Brilliant and Nearby One-off Fast Radio Burst Localized to 13 pc Precision

Abstract Precise localizations of a small number of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) have enabled multiwavelength follow-up observations revealing diverse local environments. However, the 2%–3% of FRB sources that are observed to repeat may not be representative of the full population. Here we use the VLBI capabilities of the full CHIME Outrigger array for the first time to localize a nearby (40 Mpc), bright (kJy), and apparently one-off FRB source, FRB 20250316A, to its environment on 13 pc scales. We use optical and radio observations to place deep constraints on associated transient emission and the properties of its local environment. We place a 5 σ upper limit of L 9.9 GHz < 2.1 × 10 25 erg s −1 Hz −1 on spatially coincident radio emission, a factor of 100 lower than any known compact persistent radio source associated with an FRB. Our Keck Cosmic Webb Imager observations allow us to characterize the gas density, metallicity, nature of gas ionization, dust extinction, and star formation rate through emission line fluxes. We leverage the exceptional brightness and proximity of this source to place deep constraints on the repetition of FRB 20250316A and find that it is inconsistent with all well-studied repeaters given the nondetection of bursts at lower spectral energies. We explore the implications of a measured offset of 190 ± 20 pc from the center of the nearest star formation region in the context of progenitor channels. FRB 20250316A marks the beginning of an era of routine localizations for one-off FRBs on tens of milliarcseconds scales, enabling large-scale studies of their local environments.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Published
2025-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adf62f
Citations
8
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.24
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article

FRB 20250316A: A Brilliant and Nearby One-off Fast Radio Burst Localized to 13 pc Precision

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8 citations
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
9.24
article

FRB 20250316A: A Brilliant and Nearby One-off Fast Radio Burst Localized to 13 pc Precision

Jean-François Cliche, C. D. Kilpatrick, Jeff Huang, Mawson W. Sammons, Ismaël Cognard, Paul Scholz, Daniele Michilli, D. M. Hewitt, Lluís Mas-Ribas, Ayush Pandhi, Tomás Cassanelli, Kiyoshi W. Masui, Wen‐fai Fong, Calvin Leung, Kyle McGregor, Gwendolyn M. Eadie, Ue‐Li Pen, Kaitlyn Shin, S. M. Ransom, Robert Main, Naman Jain, Kenzie Nimmo, Jason Xavier Prochaska, B. M. Gaensler, Yuxin 雨欣 Dong 董, Kalyani Bhopi, Hadrien Paugnat, Juan Mena-Parra, W. Puchalska, Thomas C. Abbott, A. Khan, Shion Andrew, Bridget C. Andersen, Tommaso Treu, Swarali Shivraj Patil, Adam Lanman, Shawn Knabel, Charanjot Brar, William Sheu, Tarraneh Eftekhari, O. S. Ould-Boukattine, V. M. Kaspi, A. V. Filippenko, Ingrid H. Stairs, Wolfgang Herrmann, Tammo Jan Dijkema, Amanda M. Cook, Vishwangi Shah, Shami Chatterjee, David C. Stenning, Alice P. Curtin, Ziggy Pleunis, Nicole Mulyk, Franz Kirsten, Nina Gusinskaia, Masoud Rafiei-Ravandi, WeiKang Zheng, A. Tohuvavohu, Seth R. Siegel, Ronniy C. Joseph, Mason Ng, J. W. T. Hessels, Marcin Gawroński, Haochen Wang, Ketan R. Sand, T. Boles, M. Dobbs, Ryan Mckinven, Mohit Bhardwaj, Kevin Bandura, Kendrick M. Smith, Mattias Lazda, Aaron B. Pearlman, Emmanuel Fonseca, Sunil Simha, Bikash Kharel, Yash Bhusare, Lordrick Kahinga, Fengqiu Adam Dong, Aswin Suresh, G. S. Sachdeva, Daniel Amouyal, Evan Davies-Velie, Alice Cai, Magnus l'Argent
article en
8 citations

Abstract

Abstract Precise localizations of a small number of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) have enabled multiwavelength follow-up observations revealing diverse local environments. However, the 2%–3% of FRB sources that are observed to repeat may not be representative of the full population. Here we use the VLBI capabilities of the full CHIME Outrigger array for the first time to localize a nearby (40 Mpc), bright (kJy), and apparently one-off FRB source, FRB 20250316A, to its environment on 13 pc scales. We use optical and radio observations to place deep constraints on associated transient emission and the properties of its local environment. We place a 5 σ upper limit of L 9.9 GHz < 2.1 × 10 25 erg s −1 Hz −1 on spatially coincident radio emission, a factor of 100 lower than any known compact persistent radio source associated with an FRB. Our Keck Cosmic Webb Imager observations allow us to characterize the gas density, metallicity, nature of gas ionization, dust extinction, and star formation rate through emission line fluxes. We leverage the exceptional brightness and proximity of this source to place deep constraints on the repetition of FRB 20250316A and find that it is inconsistent with all well-studied repeaters given the nondetection of bursts at lower spectral energies. We explore the implications of a measured offset of 190 ± 20 pc from the center of the nearest star formation region in the context of progenitor channels. FRB 20250316A marks the beginning of an era of routine localizations for one-off FRBs on tens of milliarcseconds scales, enabling large-scale studies of their local environments.

The Astrophysical Journal LettersVol. 989(2)
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CA), Northwestern University (US), West Virginia University (US), California Institute of Technology (US), Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (TW), University of British Columbia (CA), National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (IN), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP), Simon Fraser University (CA), Perimeter Institute (CA), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), University of Toronto (CA), York University (CA), Suffolk County Community College (US), Cornell University (US), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (US), Observatoire de Paris (FR), Miller College (US), Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL), University of Chicago (US), Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille (FR), Morgantown High School (US), Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CA), Astrobiology Center (JP), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), McGill University (CA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Chalmers University of Technology (SE), University of Chile (CL), Carnegie Mellon University (US), University of Amsterdam (NL), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (NL), University of California, Berkeley (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
9.24
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