Constraints on the progenitor models of fast radio bursts from population synthesis with the first CHIME/FRB catalog

TL;DR

This study uses population synthesis and CHIME/FRB data to evaluate progenitor models of FRBs, finding that young magnetars formed via supernovae are plausible but may not fully explain all observed FRBs, indicating the need for alternative models.

Contribution

First comprehensive population synthesis analysis incorporating CHIME/FRB data to constrain FRB progenitor models and assess their consistency with star formation history.

Findings

FRB population may track cosmic star formation history with a small delay

Estimated local FRB rate is approximately 2.3 x 10^5 Gpc^-3 yr^-1

Core-collapse magnetars alone cannot fully explain the FRB population

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are enigmatic extragalactic radio transients with unknown origins. We performed comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations based on the first CHIME/FRB catalog to test whether the FRB population tracks the cosmic star formation history directly or requires a delay. By fully considering CHIME's complex selection effects and beam response, we find that the hypothesis that the FRB population tracks the SFH is not ruled out by the current data, although a small delay is preferred. This is consistent with the scenario in which young magnetars formed through core-collapse supernovae serve as the progenitors of FRBs. However, we estimate the local volumetric rate of FRB sources with energy above $10^{38}$ erg to be $2.3^{+2.4}_{-1.2} \times 10^5~\rm{Gpc}^{-3}~\rm{yr}^{-1}$, which is consistent with previous results. This high volumetric rate means the core-collapse magnetar scenario alone cannot fully account for the observed population. Further theoretical efforts are required to explore alternative or additional progenitor channels for FRBs.