A fast radio burst from a non-targeted low-frequency survey
Abstract
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright, millisecond-duration transient radio signals of extragalactic origin with unknown source and emission mechanisms. While several thousand FRBs have been discovered at frequencies above 400 MHz, detections at lower frequencies have been exceptionally rare. Contributing to their rarity are the magnified dispersive delay, in the tens of seconds, and signal scattering that make low-frequency searches with established techniques computationally prohibitive. In particular, the only confirmed detection below 300 MHz came from a Low-Frequency Array observing campaign targeted at FRB 20180916B, a source already known to emit at higher frequencies. Here we present the first non-targeted detection of an FRB below 300 MHz, achieved in a wide-field, imaging-based survey with the Murchison Widefield Array. The implied FRB rate is consistent with that observed at higher frequencies, demonstrating that non-targeted wide-field surveys can uncover an unbiased, large low-frequency FRB population. This result challenges models invoking severe scattering or absorption to explain previous non-detections, and strengthens the case of low-frequency observations as promising avenue to study the local environment of FRBs.
Related
- Constraints on the Low-frequency Radio Emission of the Galactic Fast Radio Burst Source SGR 1935+2154
- Two Fast Radio Burst Candidates Detected in the RATAN-600 Blind Survey
- Decoding Fast Radio Burst Energetics and Frequency Features Hidden by Observational Incompleteness
- The DSA/Chronoscope fast radio burst survey: forecasts and science overview
- Design and Commissioning of the BURSTT-256 Main Antenna Array for the Fast Radio Burst Survey in the Local Universe
BibTeX
@misc{pietrantonio2026fast,
title = {{A fast radio burst from a non-targeted low-frequency survey}},
author = {Cristian Di Pietrantonio and Marcin Sokolowski and Clancy W. James and N. D. Ramesh Bhat and Randall Wayth and Danny C. Price and Christopher Harris and Chia Min Tan and Christopher P. Lee and Bradley W. Meyers and Mahitha Ega and Samuel J. McSweeney and Christopher Schlipalius and Gregory Sleap and Steven E. Tremblay and Mengyao Xue},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.17275},
eprint = {2609.17275},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17275},
note = {CC BY-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A fast radio burst from a non-targeted low-frequency survey
AU - Cristian Di Pietrantonio
AU - Marcin Sokolowski
AU - Clancy W. James
AU - N. D. Ramesh Bhat
AU - Randall Wayth
AU - Danny C. Price
AU - Christopher Harris
AU - Chia Min Tan
AU - Christopher P. Lee
AU - Bradley W. Meyers
AU - Mahitha Ega
AU - Samuel J. McSweeney
AU - Christopher Schlipalius
AU - Gregory Sleap
AU - Steven E. Tremblay
AU - Mengyao Xue
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.17275
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17275
AB - Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright, millisecond-duration transient radio signals of extragalactic origin with unknown source and emission mechanisms. While several thousand FRBs have been discovered at frequencies above 400 MHz, detections at lower frequencies have been exceptionally rare. Contributing to their rarity are the magnified dispersive delay, in the tens of seconds, and signal scattering that make low-frequency searches with established techniques computationally prohibitive. In particular, the only confirmed detection below 300 MHz came from a Low-Frequency Array observing campaign targeted at FRB 20180916B, a source already known to emit at higher frequencies. Here we present the first non-targeted detection of an FRB below 300 MHz, achieved in a wide-field, imaging-based survey with the Murchison Widefield Array. The implied FRB rate is consistent with that observed at higher frequencies, demonstrating that non-targeted wide-field surveys can uncover an unbiased, large low-frequency FRB population. This result challenges models invoking severe scattering or absorption to explain previous non-detections, and strengthens the case of low-frequency observations as promising avenue to study the local environment of FRBs.
ER -