A Polarization Pipeline for Fast Radio Bursts Detected by CHIME/FRB
Ryan Mckinven, Daniele Michilli, Kiyoshi W. Masui, Davor Cubranic, B. M. Gaensler, Cherry Ng, Mohit Bhardwaj, Calvin Leung, Patrick J. Boyle, Charanjot Brar, To… 展开作者
Ryan Mckinven, Daniele Michilli, Kiyoshi W. Masui, Davor Cubranic, B. M. Gaensler, Cherry Ng, Mohit Bhardwaj, Calvin Leung, Patrick J. Boyle, Charanjot Brar, Tomas Cassanelli, Dongzi Li, Juan Mena-Parra, Mubdi Rahman, Ingrid Stairs
Polarimetric observations of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are a powerful resource for better understanding these mysterious sources by directly probing the emission mechanism of the source and the magneto-ionic properties of its environment. We present a pipeline for analysing the polarized signal of FRBs captured by the triggered baseband recording system operating on the FRB survey of The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME/FRB). Using a combination of simulated and real FRB events, we summarize the main features of the pipeline and highlight the dominant systematics affecting the polarized signal. We compare parametric (QU-fitting) and non-parametric (rotation measure synthesis) methods for determining the Faraday rotation measure (RM) and find the latter method susceptible to systematic errors from known instrumental effects of CHIME/FRB observations. These errors include a leakage artefact that appears as polarized signal near $\rm{RM\sim 0 \; rad \, m^{-2}}$ and an RM sign ambiguity introduced by path length differences in the system's electronics. We apply the pipeline to a bright burst previously reported by \citet[FRB 20191219F;][]{Leung2021}, detecting an $\mathrm{RM}$ of $\rm{+6.074 \pm 0.006 \pm 0.050 \; rad \, m^{-2}}$ with a significant linear polarized fraction ($\gtrsim0.87$) and strong evidence for a non-negligible circularly polarized component. Finally, we introduce an RM search method that employs a phase-coherent de-rotation algorithm to correct for intra-channel depolarization in data that retain electric field phase information, and successfully apply it to an unpublished FRB, FRB 20200917A, measuring an $\mathrm{RM}$ of $\rm{-1294.47 \pm 0.10 \pm 0.05 \; rad \, m^{-2}}$ (the second largest unambiguous RM detection from any FRB source observed to date).
We describe a pipeline to measure scintillation in fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by CHIME/FRB in the 400-800 MHz band by analyzing the frequency structure of the FRB's spectrum. We use the pipeline to measure the characteristic frequency bandwidths of scintillation between $4-100$ kHz in 12 FRBs corresponding to timescales of $\sim$2-40 $μ$s for 10 FRBs detected by CHIME/FRB. For the other two FRBs, we did not detect scintillation in the region our analysis is sensitive. We compared the measured scintillation timescales to the NE2001 predictions for the scintillation timescales from the Mi…
As the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) has become the leading instrument for detecting Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), CHIME/FRB Outriggers will use very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) to localize FRBs with milliarcsecond precision. The CHIME site uses a passive hydrogen maser frequency standard in order to minimize localization errors due to clock delay. However, not all outrigger stations will have access to a maser. This report presents techniques used to evaluate clocks for use at outrigger sites without a maser. More importantly, the resulting algorithm provides cali…
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) has become a leading facility for detecting fast radio bursts (FRBs) through the CHIME/FRB backend. CHIME/FRB searches for fast transients in polarization-summed intensity data streams that have 24-kHz spectral and 1-ms temporal resolution. The intensity beams are pointed to pre-determined locations in the sky. A triggered baseband system records the coherent electric field measured by each antenna in the CHIME array at the time of FRB detections. Here we describe the analysis techniques and automated pipeline developed to process thes…
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is a novel transit radio telescope operating across the 400-800-MHz band. CHIME is comprised of four 20-m x 100-m semi-cylindrical paraboloid reflectors, each of which has 256 dual-polarization feeds suspended along its axis, giving it a >200 square degree field-of-view. This, combined with wide bandwidth, high sensitivity, and a powerful correlator makes CHIME an excellent instrument for the detection of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). The CHIME Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) will search beam-formed, high time-and frequency-resolution…
We demonstrate the blind interferometric detection and localization of two fast radio bursts (FRBs) with 2- and 25-arcsecond precision on the 400-m baseline between the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and the CHIME Pathfinder. In the same spirit as very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), the telescopes were synchronized to separate clocks, and the channelized voltage (herein referred to as "baseband") data were saved to disk with correlation performed offline. The simultaneous wide field of view and high sensitivity required for blind FRB searches implies a high data r…
The CHIME/FRB collaboration has recently published a catalog containing about half a thousand fast radio bursts (FRBs) including their spectra and several reconstructed properties, like signal widths, amplitudes, etc. We have developed a model-independent approach for a classification of these bursts using cross-correlation and clustering algorithms applied to one-dimensional intensity profiles of the bursts (i.e., to amplitudes as a function of time averaged over the frequency). Using this algorithm we identified two major classes of FRBs featuring different waveform morphology, and, simultan…
VLBI Astrometric Procedure and Performance with CHIME/FRB Outriggers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院）；University of Toronto（多伦多大学）；University of California Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学）
Currently, fast radio bursts (FRBs) have become a very active field in astronomy and cosmology. However, the origin of FRBs is still unknown to date. The studies on the intrinsic FRB distributions might help us to reveal the possible origins of FRBs, and improve the simulations for FRB cosmology. Recently, the first CHIME/FRB catalog of 536 events was released. Such a large uniform sample of FRBs detected by a single telescope is very valuable to test the FRB distributions. Later, it has been claimed that the FRB distribution model tracking the cosmic star formation history (SFH) was rejected …
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) has emerged as the prime telescope for detecting fast radio bursts (FRBs). CHIME/FRB Outriggers will be a dedicated very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) instrument consisting of outrigger telescopes at continental baselines working with CHIME and its specialized real-time transient-search backend (CHIME/FRB) to detect and localize FRBs with 50 mas precision. In this paper we present a minimally invasive clock stabilization system that effectively transfers the CHIME digital backend reference clock from its original GPS-disciplined …
Dedicated surveys searching for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are subject to selection effects which bias the observed population of events. Software injection systems are one method of correcting for these biases by injecting a mock population of synthetic FRBs directly into the realtime search pipeline. The injected population may then be used to map intrinsic burst properties onto an expected signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), so long as telescope characteristics such as the beam model and calibration factors are properly accounted for. This paper presents an injection system developed for the Canadia…
We report the detection of a single burst from the first-discovered repeating Fast Radio Burst source, FRB 121102, with CHIME/FRB, which operates in the frequency band 400-800 MHz. The detected burst occurred on 2018 November 19 and its emission extends down to at least 600 MHz, the lowest frequency detection of this source yet. The burst, detected with a significance of 23.7$σ$, has fluence 12$\pm$3 Jy ms and shows complex time and frequency morphology. The 34 ms width of the burst is the largest seen for this object at any frequency. We find evidence of sub-burst structure that drifts downwa…
We have developed FFT beamforming techniques for the CHIME radio telescope, to search for and localize the astrophysical signals from Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) over a large instantaneous field-of-view (FOV) while maintaining the full angular resolution of CHIME. We implement a hybrid beamforming pipeline in a GPU correlator, synthesizing 256 FFT-formed beams in the North-South direction by four formed beams along East-West via exact phasing, tiling a sky area of ~250 square degrees. A zero-padding approximation is employed to improve chromatic beam alignment across the wide bandwidth of 400 to …
A spatial filter for mitigating radio interference and its application to CHIME/FRB Outriggers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院）；University of Toronto（多伦多大学）；University of Thessaly（色萨利大学）；University of California - Santa Cruz（加州大学圣克鲁兹分校）
The CHIME/FRB experiment has detected thousands of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) due to its sensitivity and wide field of view; however, its low angular resolution prevents it from localizing events to their host galaxies. Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), triggered by FRB detections from CHIME/FRB will solve the challenge of localization for non-repeating events. Using a refurbished 10-m radio dish at the Algonquin Radio Observatory located in Ontario Canada, we developed a testbed for a VLBI experiment with a theoretical ~<30 masec precision. We provide an overview of the 10-m system and …
The discovery of a repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) source, FRB 121102, eliminated models involving cataclysmic events for this source. No other repeating FRB has yet been detected in spite of many recent FRB discoveries and follow-ups, suggesting repeaters may be rare in the FRB population. Here we report the detection of six repeat bursts from FRB 180814.J0422+73, one of the 13 FRBs detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) FRB project during its pre-commissioning phase in July and August 2018. These repeat bursts are consistent with originating from a single pos…
CHIME/Slow overview and pilot survey: A new backend to search for second-duration radio transients with the CHIME telescope
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research（塔塔基础研究所）；Raman Research Institute（拉曼研究所）；LUX, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS（巴黎天文台，巴黎文理研究大学，索邦大学，法国国家科学研究中心）；National Centre for Radio Astrophysics（国家射电天体物理中心）；Indian Institute of Astrophysics（印度天体物理研究所）；Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学安东·潘内克天文研究所）；ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy（荷兰射电天文研究所）；York University（约克大学）
In this work we report the results of a nineteen-month Fast Radio Burst observational campaign carried out with the North-South arm of the Medicina Northern Cross radio telescope at 408~MHz in which we monitored four repeating sources: FRB20180916B, FRB20181030A, FRB20200120E and FRB20201124A. We present the current state of the instrument and the detection and characterisation of three bursts from FRB20180916B. Given our observing time, our detections are consistent with the event number we expect from the known burst rate ($2.7 \pm 1.9$ above our 10$σ$, 38~Jy~ms detection threshold) in the 5…
Recent observations have shown that repeating Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) exhibit band-limited emission, whose frequency-dependent amplitude can be modeled using a Gaussian function. In this analysis, we show that banded emission of FRBs can lead to incompleteness across the observing band. This biases the detected sample of bursts and can explain the various shapes of cumulative energy distributions seen for repeating FRBs. We assume a Gaussian shape of the burst spectra and used simulations to demonstrate the above bias using an FRB 121102-like example. We recovered energy distributions that sh…
We present a catalog of 536 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) Project between 400 and 800 MHz from 2018 July 25 to 2019 July 1, including 62 bursts from 18 previously reported repeating sources. The catalog represents the first large sample, including bursts from repeaters and non-repeaters, observed in a single survey with uniform selection effects. This facilitates comparative and absolute studies of the FRB population. We show that repeaters and apparent non-repeaters have sky locations and dispersion measure…
Extragalactic Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) have large dispersion measures (DMs) and are unique probes of intergalactic electron density fluctuations. By using the recently released First CHIME/FRB Catalog, we reexamined the structure function (SF) of DM fluctuations. It shows a large DM fluctuation similar to that previously reported in Xu & Zhang (2020), but no clear correlation hinting towards large scale turbulence is reproduced with this larger sample. To suppress the distortion effect from FRB distances and their host DMs, we focus on a subset of CHIME catalog with DM $<500$ pc cm$^{-3}$. A t…
The study of fast radio bursts (FRBs) is of great importance, and is a topic that has been extensively researched, particularly in recent years. While the extreme nature of FRBs can serve as a tool for researchers to probe the intergalactic medium and study exotic aspects of the Universe, keeping track of FRB properties is challenged by the frequent detection of new bursts. We introduce the FRBSTATS platform, which provides an up-to-date and user-friendly web interface to an open-access catalogue of published FRBs, along with a statistical overview of the observed events. The platform supports…
Since their serendipitous discovery, Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) have garnered a great deal of attention from both observers and theorists. A new class of radio telescopes with wide fields of view have enabled a rapid accumulation of FRB observations, confirming that FRBs originate from cosmological distances. The high occurrence rate of FRBs and the development of new instruments to observe them create opportunities for FRBs to be utilized for a host of astrophysical and cosmological studies. We focus on the rare, and as yet undetected, subset of FRBs that undergo repeated bursts and are strongl…
