Resolving the Host Galaxies of Fast Radio Bursts
Abstract
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are an enigmatic class of extragalactic object, whose study so far has been almost exclusively the domain of radio telescopes due to the inability to localize them to better than a few arcminutes. We propose to use HST to spatially resolve the morphology and distribution of star formation and stellar mass for the host galaxies of three new non-repeating FRBs localized to <1" accuracy by the Australian SKA Pathfinder telescope. Analogous to previous advances with gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and gravitational-wave counterparts, we will explore the origin of these FRBs through detailed examination of their host galaxies. By contrast with the dwarf galaxy host of the unusual repeating FRB 121102, our complementary ground-based observations have shown these non-repeating FRBs to lie in the outskirts of more massive galaxies with a range of star formation rates. However only HST offers the spatial resolution necessary to match the precision of the radio localizations in the ultraviolet through near-infrared that is required to properly characterize their environment, and thereby shed light on the nature of their progenitor objects. We request mid-cycle observations as this unique set of non-repeating FRBs with low positional uncertainties have been identified and localized since the cycle 27 deadline, and we wish rapid turn around given the rapidly changing, exciting, and high-impact nature of the FRB field. The proposed observations, when combined with an ongoing Cycle 27 program, would provide the first comprehensive high-resolution sample of galaxies hosting non-repeating FRBs to solve the riddle of their progenitors.
- Publication:
-
HST Proposal
- Pub Date:
- February 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020hst..prop16080M