CHIME/FRB Discovery and Localization of the Swift-observed FRB 20241228A

Abstract On 2024 December 28, the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) FRB project detected the thus-far nonrepeating FRB 20241228A with a real-time signal-to-noise ratio of &gt;50. Approximately 112 s later, the X-ray Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was on-source, the fastest follow-up to date of a nonrepeating fast radio burst (FRB). Using CHIME/FRB and two of the three CHIME/FRB Outriggers, we obtained a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) localization for FRB 20241228A with a 1 σ confidence ellipse of 11″ by 0 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>″</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> </mml:math> 2. This represents the first published localization using both the CHIME k’niʔatn k’l⌣stk’masqt and CHIME Green Bank Observatory Outriggers. We associate FRB 20241228A with a star-forming galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.1614 ± 0.0002. The persistent X-ray luminosity limit at this source’s location and distance is &lt;1.2 × 10 43 erg s −1 in the 0.3−10 keV band, the most stringent limit of any nonrepeating FRB to date. The stellar mass (∼2.6 × 10 10 M ⊙ ) and star formation rate (∼2.9 M ⊙ yr −1 ) of the host galaxy of FRB 20241228A are consistent with the broader FRB host-galaxy population. We measure significant scattering (∼1 ms at 600 MHz) and scintillation (∼15 kHz at 600 MHz) along the line of sight to this source, and suggest the scintillation screen is Galactic while the scattering screen is extragalactic. FRB 20241228A represents an exciting example of a new era in which we can harness VLBI localizations and rapid high-energy follow-up to probe FRB progenitors.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2026-02-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae2ea0
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
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article

CHIME/FRB Discovery and Localization of the Swift-observed FRB 20241228A

W. Fong, Vishwangi Shah, A. Tohuvavohu, Andrew Chi et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
article

CHIME/FRB Discovery and Localization of the Swift-observed FRB 20241228A

W. Fong, Vishwangi Shah, A. Tohuvavohu, Andrew Chi, Mason Ng, Alice Cai, Calvin Leung, Kaitlyn Shin, Ayush Pandhi, Amanda M. Cook, Sunil Simha, Ryan Mckinven, Daniele Michilli, Ketan R Sand, Paul Scholz, Victoria Kaspi, Jason W. T. Hessels, Emmanuel Fonseca, Aaron B. Pearlman, Yuxin Dong, Kenzie Nimmo, Robert Main, Tarraneh Eftekhari, Mawson W. Sammons, Ronniy C. Joseph, Fengqiu Adam Dong, Shami Chatterjee, Alice P. Curtin, Kiyoshi W. Masui
article en

Abstract

Abstract On 2024 December 28, the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) FRB project detected the thus-far nonrepeating FRB 20241228A with a real-time signal-to-noise ratio of &gt;50. Approximately 112 s later, the X-ray Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was on-source, the fastest follow-up to date of a nonrepeating fast radio burst (FRB). Using CHIME/FRB and two of the three CHIME/FRB Outriggers, we obtained a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) localization for FRB 20241228A with a 1 σ confidence ellipse of 11″ by 0 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>″</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> </mml:math> 2. This represents the first published localization using both the CHIME k’niʔatn k’l⌣stk’masqt and CHIME Green Bank Observatory Outriggers. We associate FRB 20241228A with a star-forming galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.1614 ± 0.0002. The persistent X-ray luminosity limit at this source’s location and distance is &lt;1.2 × 10 43 erg s −1 in the 0.3−10 keV band, the most stringent limit of any nonrepeating FRB to date. The stellar mass (∼2.6 × 10 10 M ⊙ ) and star formation rate (∼2.9 M ⊙ yr −1 ) of the host galaxy of FRB 20241228A are consistent with the broader FRB host-galaxy population. We measure significant scattering (∼1 ms at 600 MHz) and scintillation (∼15 kHz at 600 MHz) along the line of sight to this source, and suggest the scintillation screen is Galactic while the scattering screen is extragalactic. FRB 20241228A represents an exciting example of a new era in which we can harness VLBI localizations and rapid high-energy follow-up to probe FRB progenitors.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 998(1)
Openalex Percentile: Top 64%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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