The direct localization of a fast radio burst and its host

TL;DR

This paper reports the precise localization of the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102 using high-resolution radio interferometry, revealing its association with a faint persistent radio source and an optical counterpart, challenging previous assumptions about FRB origins.

Contribution

The study demonstrates direct sub-arcsecond localization of an FRB, establishing its association with a faint radio source and optical counterpart, and rules out a Galactic origin.

Findings

FRB 121102 is located within 100 mas of a faint persistent radio source.

The persistent source shows flux variability on day timescales.

The source is inconsistent with a Galactic origin or being in a star-forming galaxy.

Abstract

Fast radio bursts are astronomical radio flashes of unknown physical nature with durations of milliseconds. Their dispersive arrival times suggest an extragalactic origin and imply radio luminosities orders of magnitude larger than any other kind of known short-duration radio transient. Thus far, all FRBs have been detected with large single-dish telescopes with arcminute localizations, and attempts to identify their counterparts (source or host galaxy) have relied on contemporaneous variability of field sources or the presence of peculiar field stars or galaxies. These attempts have not resulted in an unambiguous association with a host or multi-wavelength counterpart. Here we report the sub-arcsecond localization of FRB 121102, the only known repeating burst source, using high-time-resolution radio interferometric observations that directly image the bursts themselves. Our precise localization reveals that FRB 121102 originates within 100 mas of a faint 180 uJy persistent radio source with a continuum spectrum that is consistent with non-thermal emission, and a faint (25th magnitude) optical counterpart. The flux density of the persistent radio source varies by tens of percent on day timescales, and very long baseline radio interferometry yields an angular size less than 1.7 mas. Our observations are inconsistent with the fast radio burst having a Galactic origin or its source being located within a prominent star-forming galaxy. Instead, the source appears to be co-located with a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus or a previously unknown type of extragalactic source. [Truncated] If other fast radio bursts have similarly faint radio and optical counterparts, our findings imply that direct sub-arcsecond localizations of FRBs may be the only way to provide reliable associations.