The fast radio burst FRB 20201124A in a star-forming region: Constraints to the progenitor and multiwavelength counterparts

L. Piro, G. Bruni, E. Troja, B. O'connor, F. Panessa, R. Ricci, B. Zhang, M. Burgay, S. Dichiara, K. J. Lee, S. Lotti, J. R. Niu, M. Pilia, A. Possenti, M. Trudu, H. Xu, W. W. Zhu, A. S. Kutyrev, S. Veilleux

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Abstract

We present the results of a multiwavelength campaign targeting FRB 20201124A, the third closest repeating fast radio burst (FRB), which was recently localized in a nearby (z = 0.0978) galaxy. Deep VLA observations led to the detection of quiescent radio emission, which was also marginally visible in X-rays with Chandra. Imaging at 22 GHz allowed us to resolve the source on a scale of ? 1″ and locate it at the position of the FRB, within an error of 0.2″. The EVN and e-MERLIN observations sampled small angular scales, from 2 to 100 mas, providing tight upper limits on the presence of a compact source and evidence for diffuse radio emission. We argue that this emission is associated with enhanced star formation activity in the proximity of the FRB, corresponding to a star formation rate (SFR) of ≈10 M? yr-1. The surface SFR at the location of FRB 20201124A is two orders of magnitude larger than what is typically observed in other precisely localized FRBs. Such a high SFR is indicative of this FRB source being a newborn magnetar produced from a supernova explosion of a massive star progenitor. Upper limits to the X-ray counterparts of 49 radio bursts observed in our simultaneous FAST, SRT, and Chandra campaign are consistent with a magnetar scenario.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberL15
JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics
Volume656
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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