# Commensal discovery of four Fast Radio Bursts during Parkes Pulsar Timing Array observations

## TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of four fast radio bursts (FRBs) during pulsar timing observations at Parkes, including the highest SNR FRB detected there, highlighting the effectiveness of commensal search methods.

## Contribution

It presents the first four FRBs discovered via commensal searches during pulsar timing array observations at Parkes, demonstrating the potential of this approach.

## Key findings

- Discovered four FRBs, including the highest SNR at Parkes.
- All FRBs are highly polarized.
- One FRB shows unusual spectral properties.

## Abstract

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project monitors two dozen millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in order to undertake a variety of fundamental physics experiments using the Parkes 64m radio telescope. Since June 2017 we have been undertaking commensal searches for fast radio bursts (FRBs) during the MSP observations. Here, we report the discovery of four FRBs (171209, 180309, 180311 and 180714). The detected events include an FRB with the highest signal-to-noise ratio ever detected at the Parkes observatory, which exhibits unusual spectral properties. All four FRBs are highly polarized. We discuss the future of commensal searches for FRBs at Parkes.