FRB Newsletter Issue 07 — March 2020

Total FRB count: 119
Repeaters: 21

From the editors:

We live in interesting times right now, and we hope everyone is staying safe and able to prioritize their health and families at this difficult time. While FRBs may not be on the top ten list of priorities for many of us right now, we thought we'd try to stay on schedule with the newsletter as an attempt at normalcy. So here's the latest news.

PS: If you know of other astronomers who might be interested in this newsletter, we encourage you to forward it to them. A link to the subscription form can be found in the newsletter footer, and on the newsletter homepage.

General news

The CHIME collaboration has released online repositories of their repeating FRBs and Galactic sources.
CHIME catalogue of Galactic sources
CHIME repeater catalogue

Papers of interest

Observational Results
  • Limits on Absorption from a 332-MHz Survey for Fast Radio Bursts; Rajwade et al., arXiv:2002.11178
  • First Constraints on Compact Dark Matter from Fast Radio Burst Microstructure; Sammons et al., arXiv:2002.12533
  • Spectropolarimetric Analysis of FRB 181112 at Microsecond Resolution: Implications for Fast Radio Burst Emission Mechanism; Cho et al., arXiv:2002.12539
  • Constraining a Neutron Star Merger Origin for Localized Fast Radio Bursts; Gourdji et al., arXiv:2003.02706
  • Possible Periodic Activity for FRB 121102; Rajwade et al., arXiv:2003.03596
  • A Search for Prompt Gamma-ray Counterparts to Fast Radio Bursts in the Insight-HXMT Data; Guidorzi et al., arXiv:2003.10889
Theory and Modeling
  • A Binary Comb Model for Periodic Fast Radio Bursts; Ioka & Zhang, arXiv:2002.08297
  • A Neutron Star-White Dwarf Binary Model for Periodic Fast Radio bursts; Wei-Min Gu, Tuan Yi, Tong Liu, arXiv:2002.10478
  • Periodicity in Fast Radio Bursts Due to Forced Precession by a Fallback Disk; Tong, Wang & Wang, arXiv:2002.10265
  • Reconstructing the Fraction of Baryons in the Intergalactic Medium with Fast Radio Bursts via Gaussian Processes; Da-Chun Qiang & Hao Wei, arXiv:2002.10189
  • Magnetars from Neutron Star — White Dwarf Mergers: Application to Fast Radio Bursts; Shu-Qing Zhong & Zi-Gao Dai, arXiv:2002.11975
  • Test the Hypothesis of Compact-Binary-Coalescence Origin of Fast Radio Bursts through a Multi-messenger Approach; Min-Hao Wang et al., arXiv:2002.12391
  • The Rarity of Repeating Fast Radio Bursts from Binary Neutron Star Mergers; Zhang, Yi & Wang, arXiv:2003.01919
  • Periodic Fast Radio Bursts as a Probe of Extragalactic Asteroid Belts; Dai & Zhong, arXiv:2003.04644
  • On the FRB Luminosity Function -- II. Event Rate Density; Rui Luo et al., arXiv:2003.04848
  • Periodic Fast Radio Bursts from Axion Emission by Cosmic Superstrings; Chernoff, Li, & Tye, arXiv:2003.07275
  • Fast Radio Burst Counterparts and their Implications for the Central Engine; Jie-Shuang Wang & Dong Lai, arXiv:1907.12473
  • Gravitational Waves and Possible Fast Radio Bursts from Axion Clumps; Sichun Sun & Yun-Long Zhang, arXiv:2003.10527
  • Cosmic Anisotropy and Fast Radio Bursts; Da-Chun Qiang, Hua-Kai Deng, Hao Wei, arXiv:1902.03580
Algorithms and Instrumentation
  • High Cadence Optical Transient Searches Using Drift Scan Imaging I: Proof of Concept with a Pre-Prototype System; Tingay, arXiv:2002.07304

    "...under some models for the optical emission from FRBs, the detection of a typical FRB, such as FRB181228, to a distance of approximately 100 Mpc is plausible..."

  • The Northern Cross Fast Radio Burst project. I. Overview and pilot observations at 408 MHz; Locatelli et al., arXiv:2003.04317

From the Astronomer's Telegram
  • Chandra X-ray upper limits on the source and host galaxy of repeating FRB 180916.J0158+65 from December, 2019 (ATel 13589).

Errata
  • From Issue 06: Wave Effects in the Microlensing of Pulsars and FRBs by Point Masses (arXiv:2002.01570) was by Jow et al., not Low et al. We regret the error.

Do you have an item for future newsletters? Please send these via email to the editors (Emily and Shami) to be included in an upcoming issue.