A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients from distant galaxies. While most FRBs are singular events, repeaters emit multiple bursts, with only two—FRB 121102 and FRB 180916B—showing periodic activity (160 and 16 days, respectively). FRB 20240209A, discovered by CHIME-FRB, i...

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Main Author: Arpan Pal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal Letters
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc386
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author Arpan Pal
author_facet Arpan Pal
author_sort Arpan Pal
collection DOAJ
description Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients from distant galaxies. While most FRBs are singular events, repeaters emit multiple bursts, with only two—FRB 121102 and FRB 180916B—showing periodic activity (160 and 16 days, respectively). FRB 20240209A, discovered by CHIME-FRB, is localized to the outskirts of a quiescent elliptical galaxy ( z = 0.1384). We discovered a periodicity of  ∼126 days in the activity of the FRB 20240209A, potentially adding to the list of extremely rare periodic repeating FRBs. We used autocorrelation and Lomb–Scargle periodogram analyses, validated with randomized control samples, to confirm the periodicity. The FRB’s location in an old stellar population disfavors young progenitor models, instead pointing to scenarios involving globular clusters, late-stage magnetars, or low-mass X-ray binaries. Though deep X-ray or polarimetric observations are not available, the localization of the FRB and a possible periodicity point to progenitors likely to be a binary involving a compact object and a stellar companion or a precessing/rotating old neutron star.
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spelling doaj-art-fa5537a8968c4b22a3e7fdc260fe28ce2025-08-20T03:07:14ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019831L1510.3847/2041-8213/adc386A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209AArpan Pal0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8409-4233National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, S. P. Pune University Campus , Ganeshkhind, Pune, 411007, IndiaFast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients from distant galaxies. While most FRBs are singular events, repeaters emit multiple bursts, with only two—FRB 121102 and FRB 180916B—showing periodic activity (160 and 16 days, respectively). FRB 20240209A, discovered by CHIME-FRB, is localized to the outskirts of a quiescent elliptical galaxy ( z = 0.1384). We discovered a periodicity of  ∼126 days in the activity of the FRB 20240209A, potentially adding to the list of extremely rare periodic repeating FRBs. We used autocorrelation and Lomb–Scargle periodogram analyses, validated with randomized control samples, to confirm the periodicity. The FRB’s location in an old stellar population disfavors young progenitor models, instead pointing to scenarios involving globular clusters, late-stage magnetars, or low-mass X-ray binaries. Though deep X-ray or polarimetric observations are not available, the localization of the FRB and a possible periodicity point to progenitors likely to be a binary involving a compact object and a stellar companion or a precessing/rotating old neutron star.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc386Radio transient sourcesTime domain astronomyRadio bursts
spellingShingle Arpan Pal
A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Radio transient sources
Time domain astronomy
Radio bursts
title A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A
title_full A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A
title_fullStr A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A
title_full_unstemmed A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A
title_short A Possible Four Month Periodicity in the Activity of FRB 20240209A
title_sort possible four month periodicity in the activity of frb 20240209a
topic Radio transient sources
Time domain astronomy
Radio bursts
url https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc386
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