Searching for Periodicity in FRB 20240114A

TL;DR

This study analyzed over 11,500 bursts from FRB 20240114A to detect potential periodicity, finding no significant periodic signals within the observed timescale, thus constraining models predicting such periodicity.

Contribution

The paper provides the first extensive search for periodicity in FRB 20240114A's bursts, setting limits on detectable periodic signals and informing magnetar models.

Findings

No significant periodicity detected in the burst data.

Periodic signals with amplitude ≥ 0.15 would have been detected.

Constraints placed on the period and amplitude of potential underlying signals.

Abstract

FRB 20240114A is extraordinarily active, and therefore presents an opportunity to search for the periodicity predicted by magnetar models of Fast Radio Bursts (FRB). Zhang, et al. (2025) observed 11,553 bursts, including 3196 on MJD 60381 (March 12, 2024). We find no significant peak in the periodogram of those bursts, which occur within 15628 s, short enough that even with a characteristic slowing age of 1 year a signal with period $\ge 0.1\,$s it would not significantly dephase within the observation. Introducing modulation artificially shows that an amplitude of 0.15 would have been detected robustly.