Searching for Historical Extragalactic Optical Transients Associated with Fast Radio Bursts

Abstract We present a systematic search for past supernovae (SNe) and other historical optical transients at the positions of fast radio burst (FRB) sources to test FRB progenitor systems. Our sample comprises 83 FRBs detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and its k’niʔatn k’l ⌣ stk’masqt Outrigger, along with 93 literature FRBs representing all known well-localized FRBs. We search for optical transients coincident in position and redshift with FRBs and find no significant associations within the 5 σ FRB localization uncertainties except for a previously identified potential optical counterpart to FRB 20180916B. By constraining the timescale for SN ejecta to become transparent to FRB emission, we predict that it takes at least 6–10 yr before the FRB emission can escape. From this, we infer that ≈7% of matched optical transients, up to 30% of currently known SNe, and up to 40% of core-collapse SNe could have an observable FRB based on timescales alone. We derive the number of new, well-localized FRBs required to produce one FRB-SN match by chance, and find it will take ∼22,700 FRBs to yield one chance association at the projected CHIME/FRB Outrigger detection rate. Looking forward, we demonstrate redshift overlap between SNe detected by the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory and CHIME/FRB Outrigger FRBs, indicating the prospect of an increase in potential associations at redshift z < 1. Our framework is publicly available, flexible to a wide range of transient timescales and FRB localization sizes, and can be applied to any optical transient populations in future searches.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-09-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adfb74
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Searching for Historical Extragalactic Optical Transients Associated with Fast Radio Bursts

C. D. Kilpatrick, Mawson W. Sammons, Paul Scholz, Daniele Michilli et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
article

Searching for Historical Extragalactic Optical Transients Associated with Fast Radio Bursts

C. D. Kilpatrick, Mawson W. Sammons, Paul Scholz, Daniele Michilli, Ayush Pandhi, Kiyoshi W. Masui, Jane Kaczmarek, Wen‐fai Fong, Calvin Leung, Kaitlyn Shin, Kenzie Nimmo, B. M. Gaensler, Yuxin 雨欣 Dong 董, Bridget C. Andersen, Adam Lanman, Tarraneh Eftekhari, V. M. Kaspi, Amanda M. Cook, Vishwangi Shah, Alice P. Curtin, Ronniy C. Joseph, Kendrick M. Smith, Mattias Lazda, Aaron B. Pearlman, Emmanuel Fonseca, Lordrick Kahinga, S. Opoku
article en

Abstract

Abstract We present a systematic search for past supernovae (SNe) and other historical optical transients at the positions of fast radio burst (FRB) sources to test FRB progenitor systems. Our sample comprises 83 FRBs detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and its k’niʔatn k’l ⌣ stk’masqt Outrigger, along with 93 literature FRBs representing all known well-localized FRBs. We search for optical transients coincident in position and redshift with FRBs and find no significant associations within the 5 σ FRB localization uncertainties except for a previously identified potential optical counterpart to FRB 20180916B. By constraining the timescale for SN ejecta to become transparent to FRB emission, we predict that it takes at least 6–10 yr before the FRB emission can escape. From this, we infer that ≈7% of matched optical transients, up to 30% of currently known SNe, and up to 40% of core-collapse SNe could have an observable FRB based on timescales alone. We derive the number of new, well-localized FRBs required to produce one FRB-SN match by chance, and find it will take ∼22,700 FRBs to yield one chance association at the projected CHIME/FRB Outrigger detection rate. Looking forward, we demonstrate redshift overlap between SNe detected by the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory and CHIME/FRB Outrigger FRBs, indicating the prospect of an increase in potential associations at redshift z < 1. Our framework is publicly available, flexible to a wide range of transient timescales and FRB localization sizes, and can be applied to any optical transient populations in future searches.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 991(2)
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, California Institute of Technology, Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California Berkeley, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, McGill University, University of Toronto, McGill Space Institute, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies, H2020 European Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 81%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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