The Fast Radio Burst FRB 20201124A in a star forming region: constraints to the progenitor and multiwavelength counterparts

TL;DR

This study presents multiwavelength observations of FRB 20201124A, revealing its association with a star-forming region and supporting the magnetar progenitor hypothesis through radio and X-ray data.

Contribution

It provides detailed localization and environmental analysis of a nearby repeating FRB, linking it to a star-forming region and constraining its progenitor to be a young magnetar.

Findings

Detected quiescent radio emission coincident with the FRB

High star formation rate at the FRB location suggests a young magnetar origin

X-ray upper limits are consistent with magnetar scenario

Abstract

We present the results of a multiwavelength campaign of FRB 20201124A, the third closest repeating fast radio burst recently localized in a nearby (z=0.0978) galaxy. Deep VLA observations led to the detection of quiescent radio emission, also marginally visible in X-rays with Chandra. Imaging at 22 GHz allowed us to resolve the source on a scale of $\gtrsim$ 1 arcsec and locate it at the position of the FRB, within an error of 0.2 arcsec. 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 of $\approx 10\ {\rm M}_\odot {\rm yr}^{-1}$. The surface star formation rate at the location of FRB 20201124A is two orders of magnitude larger than typically observed in other precisely localized FRBs. Such a high SFR is indicative of this FRB source being a new-born magnetar produced from a SN 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.