Localization and host galaxy identification of new fast radio bursts with MeerKAT

ABSTRACT Accurately localizing fast radio bursts (FRBs) is essential for understanding their birth environments and for their use as cosmological probes. Recent advances in radio interferometry, particularly with MeerKAT, have enabled the localization of individual bursts with arcsecond precision. In this work, we present the localization of 15 apparently non-repeating FRBs detected with MeerKAT. Two of the FRBs, discovered in 2022, were localized in 8 s images from the projects that MeerTRAP was commensal to, while eight were localized using the transient buffer (TB) pipeline, and another one through SeeKAT, all with arcsecond precision. Four additional FRBs lacked TB triggers and sufficient signal, limiting their localization only to arcminute precision. For eight of the FRBs in our sample, we identify host galaxies with greater than 90 per cent confidence, and one with 80 per cent confidence, while two FRBs have ambiguous associations. We measured spectroscopic redshifts for six host galaxies, ranging from 0.33 to 0.85, demonstrating MeerKAT’s sensitivity to high-redshift FRBs. We modelled the spectral energy distributions of host galaxies with sufficient photometric coverage to derive their stellar population and star formation properties. This work represents one of the largest uniform samples of well-localized distant FRBs to date, laying the groundwork for using MeerKAT FRBs as cosmological probes and understand how FRB hosts evolve at high redshift.

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Publication Details

Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2025-12-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2144
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Statistical and numerical algorithms
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.73

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article

Localization and host galaxy identification of new fast radio bursts with MeerKAT

Laura Driessen, M. Krämer, Lluís Mas-Ribas, Nicolás Tejos et al.
1 citations
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Statistical and numerical algorithms
3.73
article

Localization and host galaxy identification of new fast radio bursts with MeerKAT

Laura Driessen, M. Krämer, Lluís Mas-Ribas, Nicolás Tejos, Wen‐fai Fong, Jun Tian, Joseph F. Hennawi, E D Barr, Jason Xavier Prochaska, Inés Pastor-Marazuela, Kaustubh M. Rajwade, B. W. Stappers, Alexa C. Gordon, Mayuresh Surnis, Manisha Caleb, Ilya S. Khrykin, Sunil Simha, Lordrick Kahinga
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Accurately localizing fast radio bursts (FRBs) is essential for understanding their birth environments and for their use as cosmological probes. Recent advances in radio interferometry, particularly with MeerKAT, have enabled the localization of individual bursts with arcsecond precision. In this work, we present the localization of 15 apparently non-repeating FRBs detected with MeerKAT. Two of the FRBs, discovered in 2022, were localized in 8 s images from the projects that MeerTRAP was commensal to, while eight were localized using the transient buffer (TB) pipeline, and another one through SeeKAT, all with arcsecond precision. Four additional FRBs lacked TB triggers and sufficient signal, limiting their localization only to arcminute precision. For eight of the FRBs in our sample, we identify host galaxies with greater than 90 per cent confidence, and one with 80 per cent confidence, while two FRBs have ambiguous associations. We measured spectroscopic redshifts for six host galaxies, ranging from 0.33 to 0.85, demonstrating MeerKAT’s sensitivity to high-redshift FRBs. We modelled the spectral energy distributions of host galaxies with sufficient photometric coverage to derive their stellar population and star formation properties. This work represents one of the largest uniform samples of well-localized distant FRBs to date, laying the groundwork for using MeerKAT FRBs as cosmological probes and understand how FRB hosts evolve at high redshift.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 545(4)
Northwestern University (US), Leiden University (NL), Université d'Orléans (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), The University of Sydney (AU), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (CL), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), The University of Dodoma (TZ), University of Manchester (GB), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (IN), University of Oxford (GB), University of Chicago (US), AstroTec Holding (Netherlands) (NL), South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (ZA), Pontificial Catholic University of Valparaiso (CL), Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP), ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (AU), Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace (FR), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (NL)
National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, Northwestern University, Australian Government, European Commission, National Research Foundation, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Statistical and numerical algorithms
3.73
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