A fast radio burst with frequency-dependent polarization detected during Breakthrough Listen observations

D. C. Price, G. Foster*, M. Geyer, W. Van Straten, V. Gajjar, G. Hellbourg, A. Karastergiou, E. F. Keane, A. P.V. Siemion, I. Arcavi, R. Bhat, M. Caleb, S. W. Chang, S. Croft, D. Deboer, I. De Pater, J. Drew, J. E. Enriquez, W. Farah, N. GizaniJ. A. Green, H. Isaacson, J. Hickish, A. Jameson, M. Lebofsky, D. H.E. Macmahon, A. Möller, C. A. Onken, E. Petroff, D. Werthimer, C. Wolf, S. P. Worden, Y. G. Zhang

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    40 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Here, we report on the detection and verification of fast radio burst FRB 180301, which occurred on utc 2018 March 1 during the Breakthrough Listen observations with the Parkes telescope. Full-polarization voltage data of the detection were captured - a first for non-repeating FRBs - allowing for coherent de-dispersion and additional verification tests. The coherently de-dispersed dynamic spectrum of FRB 180301 shows complex, polarized frequency structure over a small fractional bandwidth. As FRB 180301 was detected close to the geosynchronous satellite band during a time of known 1-2 GHz satellite transmissions, we consider whether the burst was due to radio interference emitted or reflected from an orbiting object. Based on the pre-ponderance of our verification tests, we cannot conclusively determine FRB 180301 to be either astrophysical or anthropogenic in origin.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)3636-3646
    Number of pages11
    JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
    Volume486
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2019

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