PIFFLE: Characterizing the Foreground Contributions from 4 Decades in Halo Mass to the FRB20230907D Dispersion Measure
Abstract
We characterize the foreground environment of FRB20230907D, localized to a galaxy at z=0.464, which has an observed dispersion measure of DMobs=1031 pc cm−3. At its redshift, FRB20230907D lies above the Macquart relation, the expected relation between cosmological dispersion measure and the source redshift, indicating a substantial excess DM along this line of sight. We use Subaru/PFS and SDSS spectroscopy, published group catalogs, Rubin/LSST imaging, and eROSITA X-ray data to characterize the foreground structures that may account for this excess. A friends-of-friends search identifies a massive foreground system at z≃0.09 with M200≃5.2×1014 M⊙, while low redshift catalogs reveal an additional group at z≃0.02565. Assuming that the halo gas follows a modified-NFW halo density profile, we estimate observer frame contributions of 150+110−70 pc cm−3 and 80+60−40 pc cm−3 from these systems, respectively. Together with the Milky Way, diffuse intergalactic medium, Virgo cluster, M49 group, and host galaxy contributions, these foreground structures can account for the excess dispersion measure of FRB20230907D within uncertainties. This highlights the importance of dense foreground spectroscopy and multi-wavelength data.
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BibTeX
@misc{guo2026piffle,
title = {{PIFFLE: Characterizing the Foreground Contributions from 4 Decades in Halo Mass to the FRB20230907D Dispersion Measure}},
author = {Qi Guo and Khee-Gan Lee and Sunil Simha and Chenze Dong and Ilya S. Khrykin and Nicolas Tejos and J. Xavier Prochaska and Kevin McCarthy and John D. Silverman and Ines Pastor-Marazuela and Ben Stappers and K. M. Rajwade and Manisha Caleb},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.28374},
eprint = {2608.28374},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28374},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - PIFFLE: Characterizing the Foreground Contributions from 4 Decades in Halo Mass to the FRB20230907D Dispersion Measure
AU - Qi Guo
AU - Khee-Gan Lee
AU - Sunil Simha
AU - Chenze Dong
AU - Ilya S. Khrykin
AU - Nicolas Tejos
AU - J. Xavier Prochaska
AU - Kevin McCarthy
AU - John D. Silverman
AU - Ines Pastor-Marazuela
AU - Ben Stappers
AU - K. M. Rajwade
AU - Manisha Caleb
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.28374
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28374
AB - We characterize the foreground environment of FRB20230907D, localized to a galaxy at z=0.464, which has an observed dispersion measure of DM_obs=1031 pc cm^−3. At its redshift, FRB20230907D lies above the Macquart relation, the expected relation between cosmological dispersion measure and the source redshift, indicating a substantial excess DM along this line of sight. We use Subaru/PFS and SDSS spectroscopy, published group catalogs, Rubin/LSST imaging, and eROSITA X-ray data to characterize the foreground structures that may account for this excess. A friends-of-friends search identifies a massive foreground system at z≃0.09 with M_200≃5.2×10^14 M_⊙, while low redshift catalogs reveal an additional group at z≃0.02565. Assuming that the halo gas follows a modified-NFW halo density profile, we estimate observer frame contributions of 150^+110_−70 pc cm^−3 and 80^+60_−40 pc cm^−3 from these systems, respectively. Together with the Milky Way, diffuse intergalactic medium, Virgo cluster, M49 group, and host galaxy contributions, these foreground structures can account for the excess dispersion measure of FRB20230907D within uncertainties. This highlights the importance of dense foreground spectroscopy and multi-wavelength data.
ER -