Milliarcsecond localisation of the repeating FRB 20201124A

Abstract

Very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) localisations of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) have demonstrated a diversity of local environments: from nearby star-forming regions to globular clusters. Here we report the VLBI localisation of FRB 20201124A using an ad-hoc array of dishes that also participate in the European VLBI Network (EVN). In our campaign, we detected 18 total bursts from FRB 20201124A at two separate epochs. By combining the visibilities from both observing epochs, we were able to localise FRB 20201124A with a 1-$\sigma$ error of 4.5 milliarcseconds (mas). We use the relatively large burst sample to investigate astrometric accuracy, and find that for $\gtrsim 20$ baselines ($\gtrsim 7$ dishes) that we can robustly reach milliarcsecond precision even using single-burst data sets. Sub-arcsecond precision is still possible for single bursts, even when only $\sim$ six baselines (four dishes) are available. We explore two methods for determining the individual burst positions: the peaks of the dirty maps and a Gaussian fit to the cross fringe pattern on the dirty maps. We found the latter to be more reliable due to the lower mean and standard deviation in the offsets from the FRB position. Our VLBI work places FRB 20201124A 705$\pm$26 mas (1-$\sigma$ errors) from the optical centre of the host galaxy, and consistent with originating from within the recently-discovered extended radio structure associated with star-formation in the host galaxy. Future high-resolution optical observations, e.g. with Hubble Space Telescope, can determine the proximity of our FRB 20201124A VLBI position to nearby knots of star formation.

submitted, comments welcome

References in corpus (30)

• PSRCHIVE and PSRFITS An Open Approach to Radio Pulsar Data Storage and Analysis
• The direct localization of a fast radio burst and its host
• The Host Galaxy and Redshift of the Repeating Fast Radio Burst FRB 121102
• Fast Radio Bursts
• A repeating fast radio burst source localised to a nearby spiral galaxy
• A single fast radio burst localized to a massive galaxy at cosmological distance
• The Repeating Fast Radio Burst FRB 121102 as Seen on Milliarcsecond Angular Scales
• A fast radio burst localised to a massive galaxy
• A repeating fast radio burst source in a globular cluster
• A bimodal burst energy distribution of a repeating fast radio burst source
• Host Galaxy Properties and Offset Distributions of Fast Radio Bursts: Implications for their Progenitors
• A nearby repeating fast radio burst in the direction of M81
• Fast Radio Burst Morphology in the First CHIME/FRB Catalog
• Characterizing the FRB host galaxy population and its connection to transients in the local and extragalactic Universe
• LOFAR Detection of 110-188 MHz Emission and Frequency-Dependent Activity from FRB 20180916B
• A sample of low energy bursts from FRB 121102
• FRB 121102 is coincident with a star forming region in its host galaxy
• The SFXC software correlator for Very Long Baseline Interferometry: Algorithms and Implementation
• Rotation Measure Evolution of the Repeating Fast Radio Burst Source FRB 121102
• The 60 pc Environment of FRB 20180916B
• Gaia Data Release 1: The reference frame and the optical properties of ICRF sources
• A High-Resolution View of Fast Radio Burst Host Environments
• Chronicling the Host Galaxy Properties of the Remarkable Repeating FRB 20201124A
• Polarization properties of FRB 20201124A from detections with the 100-m Effelsberg Radio Telescope
• The Breakthrough Listen Search For Intelligent Life Near the Galactic Center I
• The Fast Radio Burst FRB 20201124A in a star forming region: constraints to the progenitor and multiwavelength counterparts
• Revisiting the birth locations of pulsars B1929+10, B2020+28,and B2021+51
• Scintillation timescale measurement of the highly active FRB20201124A
• H$\alpha$ intensity map of the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102 host galaxy from Subaru/Kyoto 3DII AO-assisted optical integral-field spectroscopy
• Atmospheric turbulence in phase-referenced and wide-field interferometric images: Application to the SKA

Cited by in corpus (31)

• A fast radio burst source at a complex magnetised site in a barred galaxy
• Repeating fast radio burst 20201124A originates from a magnetar/Be star binary
• FAST observations of an extremely active episode of FRB 20201124A: I. Burst morphology
• Inferring the Energy and Distance Distributions of Fast Radio Bursts using the First CHIME/FRB Catalog
• FAST observations of an extremely active episode of FRB 20201124A: II. Energy Distribution
• Sub-arcminute localization of 13 repeating fast radio bursts detected by CHIME/FRB
• A burst storm from the repeating FRB 20200120E in an M81 globular cluster
• FAST observations of an extremely active episode of FRB 20201124A: III. Polarimetry
• Detection of ultra-fast radio bursts from FRB 20121102A
• A path to precision cosmology: synergy between four promising late-universe cosmological probes
• Cosmology with fast radio bursts in the era of SKA
• A fast radio burst localized at detection to an edge-on galaxy using very-long-baseline interferometry
• Limits on Simultaneous and Delayed Optical Emission from Well-localized Fast Radio Bursts
• A Comprehensive Analysis on Repeating Fast Radio Bursts
• Repeating Fast Radio Bursts with High Burst Rates by Plate Collisions in Neutron Star Crusts
• The Northern Cross Fast Radio Burst project -- III. The FRB-magnetar connection in a sample of nearby galaxies
• Fast radio burst energy function in the presence of $\mathrm{D}{\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{host}}$ variation
• Modelling Annual Scintillation Velocity Variations of FRB 20201124A
• Fast radio bursts at the dawn of the 2020s
• A Hyperactive FRB Pinpointed in an SMC-Like Satellite Host Galaxy
• A Possible Subclassification of Fast Radio Bursts
• An Interferometric SETI Observation of Kepler-111 b
• An activity transition in FRB 20201124A: methodological rigor, detection of frequency-dependent cessation, and a geometric magnetar model
• The molecular gas kinematics in the host galaxy of non-repeating FRB 180924B
• Diverse origins for non-repeating fast radio bursts: Rotational radio transient sources and cosmological compact binary merger remnants
• Quasi-steady emission from repeating fast radio bursts can be explained by magnetar wind nebulae
• Rotation Measure study of FRB 20180916B with the uGMRT
• Diverse Properties of Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxies of Fast Radio Bursts
• TONE: A CHIME/FRB Outrigger Pathfinder for localizations of Fast Radio Bursts using Very Long Baseline Interferometry
• Constraints on fast radio burst emission in the aftermath of gamma-ray bursts
• A Comprehensive Study of the Energy and Redshift Distributions of the Fast Radio Burst Population Based on the First CHIME/FRB Catalog