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Maria R. Drout

Publications and source records attributed to Maria R. Drout.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Probing the Nature of the Circumstellar Material Surrounding SN 2024ggi: A Search for Precursor Emission and Constraints from Radio Observations

We present an analysis of the pre-explosion optical light curve and post-explosion radio observations of the nearby supernova (SN) 2024ggi, a Type II SN discovered in NGC 3621 at a distance of ~7.2 Mpc. Early spectra confirmed that SN 2024ggi showed ``IIn-like'' features, suggesting the presence of dense circumstellar material (CSM). We searched for precursor emission in the light curve up to 8 years pre-explosion from ATLAS using ATClean, which cleaned the light curve and effectively convolved it with rolling Gaussians of several timescales. No significant evidence for precursor variability was found. We find 80% detection thresholds on the absolute magnitude of -11.28 mag and -8.98 mag for outbursts with timescales of 2 and 300 days, respectively. Our radio observations taken with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) are consistent with a wind-like CSM density profile, with an inferred mass-loss rate of ${\sim} 8 \times 10^{-5} M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, assuming $v_{\rm wind} = 50$ km s$^{-1}$. However, including CSM density estimates from the literature implies a two-component structure in the overall CSM density profile, with a denser inner structure at smaller radii ($\lesssim 6\times10^{14}$ cm) and an extended wind-like profile at larger radii. We conclude that the dense CSM around SN 2024ggi is likely not deposited there by eruptive outbursts. Instead, we favor a scenario with a lower but more stable mass-loss rate, such as pulsation-driven superwinds, a model with extended chromospheres, or a combination of both.

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arXiv2026

Revealing Optically Hidden Companions to Intermediate-Mass Stripped Stars with Radial Velocities

The recent discovery of a population of intermediate-mass helium stars ($\sim$2-8 $M_\odot$) in the Magellanic Clouds has opened a new observational window into massive binary evolution. These hot, helium-rich stars are thought to be products of binary interaction, and some show no evidence for a luminous companion in their optical spectra. Here, we present multi-epoch radial velocity (RV) measurements for eight of these systems obtained with Magellan/MagE from 2018-2023. Five helium stars exhibit significant RV variability consistent with binary motion, while three do not. The five helium stars with evidence of binarity have orbital periods from 16 hours to 300 days, and eccentricities consistent with zero, implying companion mass lower limits from $\sim$0.6-2.9 $M_\odot$. We discuss implications of their orbits for the nature of the unseen companions, and find that low-mass late-pre/early-main sequence stars ($\lesssim$1.5-3.1 $M_\odot$), low-mass stripped stars and compact objects are currently viable. We identify an unexpected correlation between surface hydrogen abundance and binarity within this sample: helium stars in binaries are hydrogen-poor ($X_{\rm H,surf}$ $\sim$ 0.3-0.4), whereas helium stars without detected binary motion are nearly hydrogen-free ($X_{\rm H,surf}$ $\lesssim$ 0.05). This bimodality suggests that low RV variability in a subset of the sample is not simply due to inclination, but rather a distinct evolutionary pathway. We consider three possible explanations for these objects: wide binaries, disrupted binaries, and stellar mergers. The binary properties of this first sample of intermediate-mass helium stars is diverse, and provides important empirical constraints for binary evolution and compact object formation.

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arXiv2026

Hot blue progenitors of stellar-mass black holes

While the connection between massive stars and supernova explosions is well established observationally, the link between massive stars and black hole formation remains elusive. Some massive stars may collapse directly to black holes without a successful supernova, and may therefore be observed as disappearing stars. We investigate the expected photometric properties of such black hole progenitors by combining detailed single and binary stellar evolution models with physically motivated prescriptions linking pre-collapse core structure to explosion or direct collapse outcome, together with stellar atmosphere calculations, producing synthetic photometry across standard ultraviolet to near-infrared filters. Weighting by an initial mass function and empirical binary distributions, we predict both the observable distribution of progenitor brightness and colour and the rate of direct-collapse events, which we estimate to be about 0.4 per century for a galaxy forming stars at 1 Msun/yr. We find that black hole progenitors are predominantly hot and blue at the pre-collapse stage, with many in Wolf-Rayet phases and luminous in the ultraviolet, while only a minority are red supergiants. Consequently, searches that focus primarily on red supergiants are likely to miss a substantial fraction of direct-collapse events. Monitoring campaigns that include ultraviolet-sensitive observations of nearby star-forming galaxies therefore provide a promising route to detecting disappearing massive stars, offering a direct observational probe of black hole formation. Our results provide predictions to interpret such surveys and constrain the channels that lead to black hole formation.

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arXiv2026

Extragalactic Multi-Band Exploration of Red Supergiants (EMBERS): Pipeline, Source Classification, and Bolometric Properties of 101,219 Red Supergiants from James Webb Space Telescope Imaging

The evolution of red supergiants (RSGs), especially in their final stages before exploding as hydrogen-rich Type II supernovae (SNe), remains poorly understood, owing to small samples of well-characterized stars in the Local Group. We present the largest population study of RSGs to date using $\sim10^5$ stars with bolometric parameters inferred from archival James Webb Space Telescope/Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) imaging of 15 galaxies within 20 Mpc. We also present jwst123, a newly-developed general-purpose NIRCam reduction and photometry pipeline, and its application to our set of 15 galaxies. We build a simulation-based parameter inference framework to rapidly fit multi-band photometry of $\sim1.5$ million luminous stars in milliseconds per source. Using clustering in the effective temperature ($T_{\rm eff}$)-luminosity ($\log L/L_{\odot}$)-dust optical depth ($τ_V$) phase space, we introduce a novel method to select RSGs with high completeness and purity. Leveraging the scale of our catalog, we find that the dustiest RSGs prefer metal-rich hosts, and RSG luminosities correlate with host specific star formation rate, suggesting that environment shapes RSG evolution. While most selected RSGs agree with theoretical stellar evolution tracks, we identify a new population of 1,669 RSGs that are heavily dust-enshrouded ($τ_V>4$), overluminous ($\log(L/L_{\odot})>5.55$), or anomalously cool ($T_{\rm eff}<3000\,{\rm K}$), including analogs of known SN progenitors. Our catalog provides a population-scale baseline for understanding massive stellar evolution and connecting field RSGs to dusty progenitors of Type II SNe.

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arXiv2026

Unresolved Binary Systems in the Rubin Era I: An Autoencoder Framework for Binary Identification Applied to 47 Tucanae

Binary systems are extremely common and influence many areas of astrophysics, such as stellar evolution and cluster dynamics. In this work, we introduce flexAE, a framework that combines a classical autoencoder architecture with a dedicated classifier component. It is designed to distinguish between single stars and binary systems based on their broadband spectral energy distributions, using all available photometry simultaneously while accounting for observational uncertainties. We demonstrate the capability of flexAE by using it to identify unresolved main sequence binaries in the outskirts of the 47 Tucanae globular cluster (NGC 104) with photometric data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. We train the model on a simulated sample of single star and binary systems created with stellar atmosphere models. The model accurately reconstructs the photometric input features and achieves a classification accuracy of 0.85 on the simulated test set. We then apply the trained model to a sample of 1,424 cluster members found in Rubin DP1 with reliable $gri$ photometry, of which 32 are identified by the model as unresolved main sequence binaries. This corresponds to an observed binary fraction of $2.2^{+0.5}_{-0.3}$%. We estimate that the intrinsic main sequence binary fraction lies between $3.7^{+0.8}_{-0.5}$% and $7.5^{+1.5}_{-1.1}$%. The binary fraction stays constant between 18-36 arcmin (5.7-11.4 half-light radii) from the cluster center. We highlight that flexAE can be easily adapted for other use cases. This makes flexAE well-suited for large-scale binary classification in upcoming wide-field surveys, such as Rubin LSST. The code is publicly available at https://github.com/tobiasgeron/flexAE.

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arXiv2026

Radiative Transfer Modeling of Stripped-envelope Supernovae II: Neural Network Emulation of Light Curves

We present the first neural-network emulator of stripped-envelope supernova (SESN) lightcurves, trained on a grid of 4499 light curves simulated with the radiative transfer (RT) code sedona. Using this emulator, we show that m_ni, m_ejecta, the ejecta velocity profile, and the degree of Ni-56 mixing can all be inferred from multiband lightcurves. We find that the degeneracy between ejecta mass and ejecta velocity is substantially weaker with this emulator than in traditional semianalytical models. The emulator is able to independently constrain the influence of ejecta mass and of ejecta velocity on the resulting lightcurve, rather than making them degenerate by design as traditional semianalytical models do. We additionally show that this inference is significantly more accurate than that done by the classical Arnett model for both simulated ZTF-like and LSST-like lightcurves. Finally, we present lightcurves fits to three well-studied SESNe: SN~1994I, SN~2007gr, and iPTF13bvn, constraining their m_ni, m_ejecta, and Ni-56 mixing.

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arXiv2026

A Framework for Linking Pre- and Post-Common Envelope Binary Properties with Star Clusters: The First Demonstration with a Massive White Dwarf+M Dwarf Binary in Alessi 12

Common envelope (CE) evolution is a critical phase in the lives of binary stars, producing close binaries that are progenitors of type Ia supernovae and gravitational wave sources. Despite its importance, CE evolution remains poorly understood, largely due to the scarcity of systems with constrained pre- and post-CE properties. Here, we present a star cluster-based framework for reconstructing the evolutionary histories of white dwarf+main-sequence (WD+MS) post-CE binaries, where cluster membership can provide an independent age constraint and/or rule out a merger origin for the WD. We demonstrate this method with Alessi12-PCE, the first such binary in an open cluster with precisely determined pre- and post-CE properties. We classify the companion as an M4V and measure a WD mass of $1.06 \pm 0.02 M_{\odot}$, making it the most massive WD+MS binary associated with a cluster. A 6.99-hour periodicity detected in a light curve is confirmed as the binary orbital period via radial velocity monitoring. Combined with the WD mass, WD cooling age, and Alessi 12 cluster age, stellar evolution models imply a $5.40 \pm 0.10 M_{\odot}$ WD progenitor that entered a CE on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). CE evolution models where convection is the dominant physical mechanism that sets $α_{\text{CE}}$ reproduce the observed orbital separation in exactly two scenarios: either a mid-AGB interaction with $α_{\text{CE}}\approx0.99$, or a late-AGB interaction with $α_{\text{CE}}\approx0.05$. Applicable to other post-CE binaries in star clusters, our new framework enables empirical constraints on CE physics inaccessible from field binaries alone.

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arXiv2026

The Stripped-Star Ultraviolet Magellanic Cloud Survey (SUMS): The UV Photometric Catalog and Stripped Star Candidate Selection

Most massive stars will interact with a binary companion during their lifetimes. These interactions can remove the hydrogen-rich envelope, producing intermediate-mass ($\sim$2-8 M$_\odot$) and helium-rich stars. These "stripped stars" are predicted to emit predominantly in the ultraviolet (UV) and can therefore be identified via a UV excess provided they are not outshone by their companion. However, despite their importance to binary evolution, supernovae, and ionizing feedback, few stripped stars have been confirmed. This is likely due to the scarcity of wide-field, high angular resolution, UV surveys of stellar populations with reliable distances and extinction estimates. To address this, we present the Stripped-Star Ultraviolet Magellanic Clouds Survey (SUMS) catalog. We use the Tractor forward modeling software to perform PSF photometry on 2,420 Swift-UVOT images of the LMC and SMC. The resulting public catalog contains 734,869 sources in three UV filters to a depth of $\sim$20 Vega mag. We perform validation tests on the photometry pipeline and highlight the catalog's broad applicability. We then identify sources with excess UV light compared to main-sequence stars and apply a series of quality cuts. From this, we identify 522 candidate stripped stars in the LMC and 298 in the SMC. We assess the potential contamination from other UV excess systems and argue the dominant uncertainty to be dust: early main-sequence stars can mimic the colors of stripped star binaries when extinction is overcorrected. This survey lays the groundwork for the first systematic census of stripped stars and opens new windows into binary evolution and massive star populations.

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arXiv2026

Superlinear Type II Superluminous Supernovae 2017fck and 2019cmv: A Possible Origin from Interacting Thermonuclear Supernovae

Additional power sources to traditional supernovae (SNe) are necessary to account for the extreme luminosities of superluminous SNe (SLSNe). A main power source for hydrogen-rich SLSNe (SLSNe-II) is thought to be circumstellar material (CSM) interaction. However, the nature of underlying SNe and their progenitor systems remain elusive as they are hidden below strong CSM signatures. Here, we present optical photometry and spectroscopy of SLSNe-II 2017fck and 2019cmv. They are characterized by post-maximum "superlinear" light curves which we also identify in a sample of Type Ia SNe interacting with CSM (SNe Ia-CSM), along with their light-curve correlations and spectral similarities. Thus, we compute a numerical light-curve model grid of SNe Ia-CSM with various SN Ia subtypes and CSM distributions. Our model grid spans the observed parameter space of SNe Ia-CSM in terms of their rise times, peak luminosities, and decline rates with a wide CSM mass range of $\sim2-11$ M$_\odot$, indicating the diversity in their progenitor systems. For SNe 2017fck and 2019cmv, we infer high CSM masses of $\sim11$ and $6$ M$_\odot$, respectively, which might be produced during the common envelope evolution of a white dwarf and massive ($\geq8$ M$_\odot$) or intermediate-mass ($<8$ M$_\odot$) companion. Together with the proposed connection of SLSN-II 2006gy to SNe Ia-CSM, SNe 2017fck and 2019cmv may offer a possible thermonuclear origin for superlinear SLSNe-II with peak optical luminosities up to $10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$.

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arXiv2026

Radio and X-ray Observations of the Transitional Supernova 2019yvr: Insights into the Progenitor Mass-Loss History

The final life stages of the massive star progenitors of stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) are still an open question, especially when it comes to the timing and magnitude of the progenitor stripping. Observing SESNe across the electromagnetic spectrum allows for the most direct constraints on mass loss in the final stages of progenitor evolution. In this work, we present radio (GMRT+VLA) and X-ray (Swift+Chandra) observations of SN 2019yvr obtained from 18-1784 days post-explosion. SN 2019yvr was a type Ib supernova (SN Ib, with strong helium but no or little optical hydrogen features) that transitioned into a type IIn supernova (SN IIn, with shock-driven hydrogen features) at $\sim$ 100 days post-explosion. The radio evolution is best-fit by a synchrotron self-absorbed model with a $ρ\propto r^{-1.65 \pm 0.25}$ CSM density profile, suggesting a decreasing mass-loss rate from the progenitor in the years leading up to the explosion. The radio-derived shock speed is high, more than 30,000 km/s at early times, suggesting a compact progenitor star. The combined radio and X-ray data probe CSM that extends from less than $10^{16}$ cm up to $\sim$ 20$\times10^{16}$ cm and was created by mass-loss from $\sim 1-3 \times10^{-5} \rm{M_{\odot} yr^{-1}} $ (assuming a CSM speed of 100 km/s). The combined dataset rules out any dramatic jump in CSM density (which was seen in the optical analog SN 2014C) associated with the emergence of optical hydrogen emission in SN 2019yvr. We place SN 2019yvr in context with similar transitional SNe and discuss implications for the progenitor.

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arXiv2026

Old and Bright: The Remarkable Radio Brightening of the Engine-driven SN 2012au Several Years After Explosion Signals the Birth of a PWN

We present the results from an extensive broad-band (radio to X-rays) observing campaign of the engine-driven Type Ib SN 2012au in the first 13 years of evolution. The early-time ($δt\leq{190}$ d) radio and X-ray evolution is well-described by conventional models of a forward shock interacting with a wind-like circumstellar medium ($ρ_{\rm{CSM}}\propto{r}^{-2}$). However, starting at $δ{t}\approx{6.7}$ yr, we detect a significant radio re-brightening. This late-time emission is dominated by a luminous component characterized by a broad and rapidly evolving spectral peak and a shallow optically thin spectral slope, $F_ν\proptoν^{-0.31\pm0.02}$. These properties imply a compact emitting region ($R\lesssim{10}^{16}$ cm) expanding at a remarkably slow velocity ($\lesssim{500}$ km/s) into a high-density environment ($\geq{10}^4 \rm{cm}^{-3}$), accompanied by a hard electron power-law index $p\approx{1.6}$. No soft or hard X-ray emission is detected at any epoch, indicating that high-energy radiation is either strongly absorbed or intrinsically absent. In the context of aspherical shock-CSM interaction models, these observations imply extreme properties of the CSM (geometry, density, total mass) that lack clear astrophysical motivation. Instead, we show that the emergence of radiation from a newborn Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) naturally explains the radio spectral evolution and high-energy limits, where the emission is governed by the adiabatic expansion of a relic pair plasma. We conclude that SN 2012au represents the most compelling candidate for a young, newborn PWN discovered to date, a scenario that can be directly tested with pending Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations.

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arXiv2026

Hubble as a Unique Discovery Engine of the Fate of Massive Stars and Black Hole Formation

How stellar-mass black holes are formed is an open question in astrophysics, with very limited observational constraints. It is not known which types of stars are more likely to produce black holes, and whether the formation process is accompanied by strong or weak electromagnetic transients - or none at all - and this issue remains a critical missing piece in the puzzle of the fate of massive stars. Recent theoretical work predicts that many stellar-mass black holes form from hot, UV-luminous massive stars, including Wolf-Rayet-like progenitors, and searches focused primarily on luminous cool supergiants may therefore miss a substantial fraction of black-hole formation events. While the coming decade will bring major advances in time-domain astronomy through Rubin/LSST, Roman, JWST, and wide-field transient surveys, none of these combines UV sensitivity, sub-arcsecond imaging, and decade-long continuity. HST uniquely enables direct searches for disappearing hot massive stars associated with black-hole formation. We outline a roadmap for extending HST's role in this area into the 2030s through a dedicated, large program to re-image nearby galaxies in the UV and identify candidate disappearing stars and unusual low-luminosity transients identified by complementary surveys. Theoretical event rates imply that the nearby galaxy population accessible to HST should yield of order one detectable black-hole-forming disappearance event per year. Extending HST operations into the 2030s would therefore provide crucial insights into the unsolved problem of black hole formation.

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arXiv2026

A 14-year-old Mystery: The Peculiar Case of the Engine-driven SN 2012ap

We present late-time ($δt > 3000$ d) optical (Keck), X-ray (Chandra and NuSTAR), and radio (VLA, ALMA, and the uGMRT) observations of the Type Ic-BL SN 2012ap. Previous studies of this SN suggested that it stands out as a key example of a weak engine-driven explosion due to the lack of gamma-ray burst detection and a mildly relativistic ejecta. Recently, radio sky surveys revealed the rebrightening of the radio emission from this SN, highlighting the possibilities of a density enhancement at large radii or the existence of an off-axis relativistic jet. While the late-time optical spectra does not exhibit the broad emission lines seen in other interacting SNe, our analysis of the broadband radio and X-ray emission implies that both scenarios are plausible. If a density enhancement is responsible for the radio rebrightening, it has to result from a change in the mass-loss rate and/or wind velocity, possibly due to the transition of the progenitor from a red supergiant to a Wolf-Rayet star. If the late-time radio component is a result of an off-axis relativistic jet, we find that an energetic narrow jet viewed at $θ_{\rm obs} \geq 80^{\circ}$ is needed. In this scenario, SN 2012ap is not a result of a weak engine-driven explosion, and, instead, it is similar to other GRBs. However, radio rebrightenings of Type Ic-BL SNe are not enough on their own to determine the existence of off-axis jets and our planned VLBA observation will help reveal the true nature of this SN.

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arXiv2026

The first radio view of a type Ibn supernova in SN 2023fyq: Understanding the mass-loss history in the last decade before the explosion

Supernovae that interact with hydrogen-poor, helium-rich circumstellar material (CSM), known as Type Ibn supernovae (SNe Ibn), present a unique opportunity to probe mass-loss processes in massive stars. In this work, we report the first radio detection of a SN Ibn, SN 2023fyq, and characterize the mass-loss history of its stellar progenitor using the radio and X-ray observations obtained over 18 months post-explosion. We find that the radio emission from 58--185 days is best modeled by synchrotron radiation attenuated by free-free absorption from a CSM of density $\sim$ $10^{-18}$ g/$\rm{cm^{3}}$ ($\sim 10^{6} \mathrm{ρ_{ISM}}$) at a radius of $10^{16}$ cm, corresponding to a mass-loss rate of $\sim$ $4 \times 10^{-3} \ \mathrm{M_{\odot} \ yr^{-1}}$ (for a wind velocity of 1700 km/s from optical spectroscopy) from 0.7 to 3 years before the explosion. This timescale is consistent with the time frame over which pre-explosion optical outbursts were observed. However, our late-time observations at 525 days post-explosion yield non-detections, and the 3$σ$ upper limits (along with an X-ray non-detection) allow us to infer lower-density CSM at $2\times 10^{16}$ cm with $\rm{\dot{M}}$ $< 2.5\times 10^{-3} \ \mathrm{M_{\odot} \ yr^{-1}}$. These results suggest a shell-like CSM from at most $4 \times 10^{15}$ to $2 \times 10^{16}$ cm ($\sim 10^{5} R_{\rm{\odot}}$) with an elevated CSM density (0.004 $\mathrm{M_{\odot} \ yr^{-1}}$) that is roughly consistent with predictions from a merger model for this object. Future radio observations of a larger sample of SNe Ibn will provide key details on the extent and density of their helium-rich CSM.

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arXiv2026

VLBI Observations of SN 2012au Reveal a Compact Radio Source a Decade Post Explosion

Three leading models have been put forth to justify the observed radio re-brightening associated with stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) years post-explosion: radiation from an emerging pulsar wind nebula (PWN), shock interaction with a dense circumstellar medium (CSM), or emission from off-axis, relativistic jets. SN 2012au is a particularly intriguing SESN in this regard as observations obtained $\gtrsim$ 6 years post-explosion have shown both (i) optical emission features consistent with a young PWN and (ii) a radio re-brightening. We present the results of our Very-Long-Baseline-Interferometric (VLBI) observations of SN 2012au performed between 8 to 13 years post core-collapse. Our VLBI observations reveal a luminous, steadily fading radio source that remains compact ($\leq1.4\times10^{17}~\mathrm{cm}$) and stationary ($\leq0.36c$) over the course of our campaign. Overall, we find that our VLBI measurements can be readily explained by a $\sim$decade-old PWN, potentially explained by shock interaction with specific CSM geometries, and are unlikely to be explained by emission from an off-axis, relativistic jet. Assuming a PWN origin, our observations require that the initial spin-down luminosity of the central pulsar be between $10^{36}~\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}\leq\dot{E}_0\leq {4\times10^{42}}~\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}$ and radio efficiency factor be $η_\mathrm{R}\geq {3\times10^{-7}}$ (both quoted at the $ {99.7\%}$ confidence interval). These results are consistent with independent inferences obtained using optical spectroscopy of SN 2012au, alongside inferences of known Galactic systems. If a PWN origin is confirmed, SN 2012au would represent the first extragalactic PWN emerging from a modern day SN, providing a novel opportunity to study the formation properties of a decade-old pulsar.

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arXiv2026

DETECT: A Pipeline to Quantify Detection Thresholds in Rubin for Nearby Targets Embedded in Bright Host Galaxies

The final stages of stellar evolution can be constrained by studying pre-SN variability. The incredible amount of data coming from the upcoming Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will be fundamental to this type of work. However, robustly measuring pre-SN variability can be hard, as even state-of-the-art image subtraction pipelines struggle when the target is embedded in a bright nearby galaxy. We developed Detection Efficiency and Threshold Estimation for Characterization of Transients (DETECT) to tackle this problem. It performs a series of source injection, image subtraction, and forced photometry to obtain reliable detection thresholds tailored to a specific location within a given host galaxy. We first validate the pipeline using simulated data from Rubin DP0 and then apply it to a sample of 15 targets found in Rubin DP1. We demonstrate that DETECT is capable of identifying pre-SN variability while calculating reliable upper limits and suppressing false positives for targets embedded in bright host galaxies. Most of the false positives in this work occurred when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was between 5 and 10, while no false positives were found when the SNR was greater than 10. Finally, even though DETECT was originally developed in the context of pre-SN variability, it is broadly applicable to any situation where detections are uncertain and robust upper limits are needed.

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arXiv2025

A milliarcsecond localization associates FRB 20190417A with a compact persistent radio source and an extreme magneto-ionic environment

We report the milliarcsecond localization of a high (1379 pc/cc) dispersion measure (DM) repeating fast radio burst, FRB 20190417A. Combining European VLBI Network detections of five repeat bursts, we confirm the FRB's host to be a low-metallicity, star-forming dwarf galaxy at z = 0.12817, similar to the hosts of FRBs 20121102A, 20190520B and 20240114A. We also confirm that it is associated with a previously reported persistent radio source (PRS), which is compact on milliarcsecond scales. Visibility-domain model fitting constrains the transverse physical size of the PRS to < 23 pc and yields an integrated flux density of 191(39) microJy at 1.4 GHz. Though we do not find significant evidence for DM evolution, FRB 20190417A exhibits a time-variable rotation measure (RM) ranging between +3958(11) and +5061(24) rad/m2 over three years. We find no evidence for intervening galaxy clusters in the FRB's line-of-sight and place a conservative lower limit on the rest-frame host DM contribution of 1228 pc/cc (90% confidence) -- the largest known for any FRB so far. This system strengthens the emerging picture of a rare subclass of repeating FRBs with large and variable RMs, above-average host DMs, and luminous PRS counterparts in metal-poor dwarf galaxies. Our results suggest that these systems are the result of environmental selection, or a distinct engine for FRB emission.

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arXiv2025

The radio afterglow of the ultra-long GRB 220627A

We present the discovery of the radio afterglow of the most distant ultra-long gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected to date, GRB~220627A at redshift $z=3.084$. Its prompt gamma-ray light curve shows a double-pulse profile, with the pulses separated by a period of quiescence lasting ${\sim} 15$\,min, leading to early speculation it could be a strongly gravitationally lensed GRB. However, our analysis of the \textit{Fermi}/GBM spectra taken during the time intervals of both pulses show clear differences in their spectral energy distributions, disfavouring the lensing scenario. We observed the radio afterglow from 7 to 456\,d post-burst: an initial, steep decay ($F_ν \propto t^{-2}$) is followed by a shallower decline ($F_ν \propto t^{-1/2}$) after ${\sim} 20$\,d. There are three scenarios that could explain these radio properties: (i) energy injection from an additional, slower ejecta component catching up to the external shock; (ii) a stratified density profile going as $n \propto r^{-8/3}$; or alternatively, (iii) the presence of a slow, wide ejecta component in addition to a fast, narrow ejecta component. We also conducted an independent test of the lensing hypothesis via Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at ${\sim} 12$\,d post-burst by searching, for the first time, for multiple images of the candidate lensed GRB afterglow. Our experiment highlighted the growing need for developments in real-time correlation capabilities for time-critical VLBI experiments, particularly as we advance towards the SKA and ngVLA era of radio astronomy.

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