A Population of Fast Radio Bursts at Cosmological Distances

TLDR

Transient searches frequently uncover unexpected astrophysical classes that serve as valuable physical laboratories. The study aims to characterize the fast‑radio‑burst population and identify host galaxies to probe the Universe’s baryonic content. Four millisecond‑duration radio transients were detected far from the Galactic plane, confirmed as celestial, with cosmological redshifts 0.5–1 and distances up to 3 Gpc, and no accompanying X‑ray or gamma‑ray emission was found.

Abstract

Searches for transient astrophysical sources often reveal unexpected classes of objects that are useful physical laboratories. In a recent survey for pulsars and fast transients we have uncovered four millisecond-duration radio transients all more than 40{\deg} from the Galactic plane. The bursts' properties indicate that they are of celestial rather than terrestrial origin. Host galaxy and intergalactic medium models suggest that they have cosmological redshifts of 0.5 to 1, and distances of up to 3 gigaparsecs. No temporally coincident x- or gamma-ray signature was identified in association with the bursts. Characterization of the source population and identification of host galaxies offers an opportunity to determine the baryonic content of the Universe.