Decoding Fast Radio Burst Energetics and Frequency Features Hidden by Observational Incompleteness
8 affiliations
- 1Nanjing University
- 2Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 4Beijing Normal University
- 5Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
- 6Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory
- 7Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Radio Astrophysics
- 8University of Science and Technology of China
Abstract
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration extragalactic radio flashes likely powered by magnetars, yet their radiation mechanism remains unknown. Limited sensitivity and finite observing bandwidth inevitably lead to observational truncation, biasing our understanding of intrinsic burst properties. Assuming Gaussian-like spectra, we present a general inverse-modeling framework that reconstructs the intrinsic frequency and energy characteristics of repeating FRBs directly from truncated data, without spectral profile fitting. In our approach, detected bursts are classified as in-band (affected only by the sensitivity cutoff) or band-chipped (affected by both sensitivity and operating-band cutoffs) events. For in-band events, observed and intrinsic quantities are linked through a set of equations. For band-chipped bursts, with spectral peaks possibly outside the telescope’s operating band, a population-based method is used to infer individual burst properties from the statistical properties of the entire sample. Applied to 2223 bursts from FRB 20121102A, it is found that intrinsically energetic bursts tend to have narrower spectra than weak ones. We further quantify, for the first time, the number of out-of-band bursts, and reveal distinct frequency-evolution behaviors across active periods and frequency bands. Comparisons between reconstructed and original samples show that the sensitivity cutoff barely affects burst energy but biases the observed bandwidth, whereas the operating-band cutoff may cause severe energy leakage and bandwidth underestimation, suggesting that the energy release of some repeaters may be underestimated, with potential implications for the energy supply beyond the magnetar magnetosphere. Our methodology transforms incomplete archival observations into physically meaningful probes, bridging instrumental readouts and intrinsic FRB physics.
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BibTeX
@article{胡2026decoding,
title = {{Decoding Fast Radio Burst Energetics and Frequency Features Hidden by Observational Incompleteness}},
author = {Chen-Ran 宸然 Hu 胡 and Yong-Feng 永锋 Huang 黄 and Jin-Jun 金军 Geng 耿 and Chen 晨 Deng 邓 and Ze-Cheng 泽城 Zou 邹 and Xiao-Fei 小飞 Dong 董 and Yi-Dan 一丹 Wang 王 and Pei 培 Wang 王 and Fan 帆 Xu 许 and Lang 朗 Cui 崔 and Song-Bo 松波 Zhang 张 and Xue-Feng 雪峰 Wu 吴},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3847/1538-4365/aea6bb},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/aea6bb},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Decoding Fast Radio Burst Energetics and Frequency Features Hidden by Observational Incompleteness
AU - Chen-Ran 宸然 Hu 胡
AU - Yong-Feng 永锋 Huang 黄
AU - Jin-Jun 金军 Geng 耿
AU - Chen 晨 Deng 邓
AU - Ze-Cheng 泽城 Zou 邹
AU - Xiao-Fei 小飞 Dong 董
AU - Yi-Dan 一丹 Wang 王
AU - Pei 培 Wang 王
AU - Fan 帆 Xu 许
AU - Lang 朗 Cui 崔
AU - Song-Bo 松波 Zhang 张
AU - Xue-Feng 雪峰 Wu 吴
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
DO - 10.3847/1538-4365/aea6bb
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/aea6bb
AB - Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration extragalactic radio flashes likely powered by magnetars, yet their radiation mechanism remains unknown. Limited sensitivity and finite observing bandwidth inevitably lead to observational truncation, biasing our understanding of intrinsic burst properties. Assuming Gaussian-like spectra, we present a general inverse-modeling framework that reconstructs the intrinsic frequency and energy characteristics of repeating FRBs directly from truncated data, without spectral profile fitting. In our approach, detected bursts are classified as in-band (affected only by the sensitivity cutoff) or band-chipped (affected by both sensitivity and operating-band cutoffs) events. For in-band events, observed and intrinsic quantities are linked through a set of equations. For band-chipped bursts, with spectral peaks possibly outside the telescope’s operating band, a population-based method is used to infer individual burst properties from the statistical properties of the entire sample. Applied to 2223 bursts from FRB 20121102A, it is found that intrinsically energetic bursts tend to have narrower spectra than weak ones. We further quantify, for the first time, the number of out-of-band bursts, and reveal distinct frequency-evolution behaviors across active periods and frequency bands. Comparisons between reconstructed and original samples show that the sensitivity cutoff barely affects burst energy but biases the observed bandwidth, whereas the operating-band cutoff may cause severe energy leakage and bandwidth underestimation, suggesting that the energy release of some repeaters may be underestimated, with potential implications for the energy supply beyond the magnetar magnetosphere. Our methodology transforms incomplete archival observations into physically meaningful probes, bridging instrumental readouts and intrinsic FRB physics.
SN - 0067-0049
SN - 1538-4365
ER -