Data Simulation to Constrain Fast Radio Burst (FRB) Periodicity Search Techniques

Olivia Young*, Devansh Agarwal, Kshitij Aggarwal , Maura McLaughlin and Duncan Lorimer, Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Physics & Astronomy (Oral-Science & Technology) 

Student’s Major: Physics 

Since their discovery in 2007, large amounts of telescope time and effort have been dedicated to the detection and study of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). Almost 100 FRBs have been cataloged, with three being localized to host galaxies. These detections can be used to constrain the rates at which FRBs occur and prove their extragalactic origins. While FRBs at first appeared to be one-off events, multiple sources emitting repeating bursts have now been discovered. Recently, Ravi (2019) argued that repeating FRBs are not an exception for FRBs but rather the rule, making their study incredibly important. Although there has been some work to find periodicity in the arrival times of repeating bursts, attempts have thus far been unsuccessful. The goal of this project was to determine if repeating FRBs have intrinsic periodicities. We present the first step in this process, the simulation of data that can be used to evaluate the sensitivity of various periodicity search techniques. This provides greater insight into the sensitivity of our current methods, thus leading to a better understanding of possibly underlying periodicities of the repeating FRBs if any. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: My efforts were mainly voluntary.