CHIMEFRB

CHIME/FRB refers to the Fast Radio Burst project within the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) that searches for and studies fast radio bursts, mysterious millisecond radio pulses of extragalactic origin. The effort uses the CHIME telescope, a large radio instrument located at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, British Columbia. CHIME comprises four cylindrical reflectors that operate in the 400–800 MHz band, providing a wide field of view and a real-time digital backend capable of detecting FRBs as they occur and distributing alerts for follow-up observations.

The CHIME/FRB collaboration has produced a large sample of FRBs, including many repeating sources, enabling population studies, polarization measurements, and spectral analyses. The project has released several FRB catalogs detailing the bursts detected with CHIME/FRB and has contributed significantly to the growing catalog of known FRBs. The real-time detection pipeline and public data releases have facilitated international collaboration and rapid multi-wavelength follow-up.

Notable results associated with CHIME/FRB include the discovery and monitoring of repeating sources, such as one exhibiting a roughly 16-day activity cycle, and evidence supporting a cosmological origin for many FRBs through dispersion measures. In 2020, CHIME/FRB observed a fast radio burst (FRB 200428) coincident with a magnetar in our Galaxy, providing a link between magnetars and at least some FRBs. CHIME/FRB continues to operate as a major contributor to FRB discovery and characterization, expanding the known population and informing theoretical models.