CHIME/FRB Discovery of 25 Repeating Fast Radio Burst Sources

We present the discovery of 25 new repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources found among CHIME/FRB events detected between 2019 September 30 and 2021 May 1. The sources were found using a new clustering algorithm that looks for multiple events colocated on the sky having similar dispersion measures (DMs). The new repeaters have DMs ranging from similar to 220 to similar to 1700 pc cm(-3), and include sources having exhibited as few as two bursts to as many as twelve. We report a statistically significant difference in both the DM and extragalactic DM (eDM) distributions between repeating and apparently nonrepeating sources, with repeaters having a lower mean DM and eDM, and we discuss the implications. We find no clear bimodality between the repetition rates of repeaters and upper limits on repetition from apparently nonrepeating sources after correcting for sensitivity and exposure effects, although some active repeating sources stand out as anomalous. We measure the repeater fraction over time and find that it tends to an equilibrium of 2.6(-2.6) (+2.9)% over our total time-on-sky thus far. We also report on 14 more sources, which are promising repeating FRB candidates and which merit follow-up observations for confirmation.

Automated summary

We have discovered 25 new repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources using a clustering algorithm that identifies colocated events with similar dispersion measures (DMs). The repeaters have DMs ranging from approximately 220 to 1700 pc cm(-3), with as few as two bursts and as many as twelve. We observe a significant difference in DM and extragalactic DM distributions between repeating and nonrepeating sources, with repeaters showing lower mean values. The repeater fraction tends to stabilize at 2.6% over our total time-on-sky.