Flat Tails in Fast Radio Burst and Pulsar Energy Distributions: Implications for Optimizing Nearby Fast Radio Burst Surveys
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are energetic, short-duration radio pulses of unclear origin. To explore effective survey strategies for detecting FRBs from nearby globular clusters (GCs), we investigate the burst energy distribution, which has a strong influence on the detection rate. We reanalyze FRBs and pulsars exhibiting broad energy distributions by fitting their high-energy tails with power-law models. Two cosmological repeating FRBs (FRB 20201124A and FRB 20220912A), one nearby FRB (FRB 20200120E), and two pulsars (RRATs J1846−0257 and J1854+0306) exhibit power-law indices of α ≳ −1, suggesting that their bright pulses contribute significantly to the total radio pulse energy. The brightest bursts from these sources can be fitted with a power-law model ( α Bri = −0.26 ± 0.05), suggesting that an extremely flat index is required to naturally derive high-luminosity FRBs from low-luminosity sources. We present detailed survey strategies for FAST, MeerKAT, and Parkes cryoPAF in the search for FRBs in nearby GCs using different power-law indices, recommending targets for observation. We suggest that combining observations with FAST (∼3 hr) and Parkes cryoPAF (10−20 hr) is practicable for discovering new FRBs in nearby GCs.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Institutions: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia Telescope National Facility, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, The University of Western Australia, ASTRO-3D, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
OpenAlex ID: W4414483293