Limits on absorption from a 332-MHz survey for fast radio bursts

A 58-day survey at Jodrell Bank Observatory using the Lovell Telescope at 332 MHz detected no fast radio bursts (FRBs), setting a 90% upper limit of 5,500 FRBs per day across the sky above a fluence threshold of 46 Jy ms. The study suggests that absorption, likely from a combination of Induced Compton Scattering and Free-Free Absorption, may explain the lack of detections at low frequencies (<800 MHz). Simulations indicate that these mechanisms could account for the non-detections, with electron density constraints aligning with expectations in superluminous supernovae environments. This research provides new insights into FRB absorption models and their potential progenitors.

Rajwade, K. M., Mickaliger, M. B., Stappers, B. W., Bassa, C. G., Breton, R. P., Karastergiou, A., & Keane, E. F. (2020). Limits on absorption from a 332-MHz survey for fast radio bursts. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 493(3), 4418–4427. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa616