Prospects for Detecting Fast Radio Bursts in the Globular Clusters of Nearby Galaxies

Abstract

The recent detection of a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) in an old globular cluster in M81 challenges traditional FRB formation mechanisms based on the magnetic activity of young neutron stars formed in core-collapse supernovae. Furthermore, the detection of this repeater in such a nearby galaxy implies a high local universe rate of similar events in globular clusters. Building off the properties inferred from the M81 FRB, we predict the number of FRB sources in nearby (d ≲ 20 Mpc) galaxies with large globular cluster systems known. Incorporating the uncertain burst energy distribution, we estimate the rate of bursts detectable in these galaxies by radio instruments such as FAST and MeerKat. Of all local galaxies, we find M87 is the best candidate for FRB detections. We predict that M87's globular cluster system contains O(10) FRB sources at present and that a dedicated radio survey (by either FAST or MeerKat) of O(10) hr has a 90% probability of detecting a globular cluster FRB in M87. The detection of even a handful of additional globular cluster FRBs would provide invaluable constraints on FRB mechanisms and population properties. Previous studies have demonstrated young neutron stars formed following the collapse of dynamically formed massive white dwarf binary mergers may provide the most natural mechanism for these bursts. We explore the white dwarf merger scenario using a suite of N-body cluster models, focusing in particular on such mergers in M87's clusters. We describe a number of outstanding features of this scenario that in principle may be testable with an ensemble of observed FRBs in nearby globular clusters.

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