Inferring the distances of fast radio bursts through associated 21-cm absorption

2015/11/30 by Ben Margalit, Abraham Loeb
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Absorption (acoustics) #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Emission spectrum #Equivalent width #Fast radio burst #Flux (metallurgy) #GNSS positioning and interference #Galaxy #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Hydrogen line #Line (geometry) #Optics #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Radio telescope #Redshift #Spectral line #astro-ph.HE

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slw068

6 pages, 2 figures; Accepted to MNRAS Letters

openalex publication_date 2016/04/01 · arxiv created 2016/04/06 · arxiv updated 2016/04/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Abstract The distances of fast radio burst (FRB) sources are currently unknown. We show that the 21-cm absorption line of hydrogen can be used to infer the redshifts of FRB sources, and determine whether they are Galactic or extragalactic. We calculate a probability of ∼10 per cent for the host galaxy of an FRB to exhibit a 21-cm absorption feature of equivalent width ≳10 km s−1. Arecibo, along with several future radio observatories, should be capable of detecting such associated 21-cm absorption signals for strong bursts of ≳several Jy peak flux densities.

Citations

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