First limits on the very-high energy gamma-ray afterglow emission of a fast radio burst

H.E.S.S. observations of FRB 150418

¹ Centre for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
² Universität Hamburg, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
³ Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, PO Box 103980, 69029 Heidelberg, Germany
⁴ Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
⁵ National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Marshall Baghramian Avenue, 24, 0019 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
⁶ Yerevan Physics Institute, 2 Alikhanian Brothers St., 375036 Yerevan, Armenia
⁷ Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
⁸ University of Namibia, Department of Physics, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia
⁹ GRAPPA, Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
¹⁰ Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Linnaeus University, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden
¹¹ Institut für Theoretische Physik, Lehrstuhl IV: Weltraum und Astrophysik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
¹² GRAPPA,Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy and Institute of High-Energy Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
¹³ Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
¹⁴ School of Physical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
¹⁵ LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
¹⁶ Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies (LPNHE), 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
¹⁷ Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier, CNRS/IN2P3, CC 72, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
¹⁸ DSM/Irfu, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette Cedex, France
¹⁹ Astronomical Observatory, The University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw, Poland
²⁰ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM UMR 7346, 13288 Marseille, France
²¹ Instytut Fizyki Ja¸drowej PAN, ul. Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Kraków, Poland
²² School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
²³ Laboratoire d’Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS/IN2P3, 74941 Annecy-le-Vieux, France
²⁴ Landessternwarte, Universität Heidelberg, Königstuhl, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁵ Université Bordeaux, CNRS/IN2P3, Centre d’Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, 33175 Gradignan, France
²⁶ Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Albanova University Center, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
²⁷ Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Sand 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
²⁸ Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École Polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, 91128 Palaiseau, France
²⁹ APC, AstroParticule et Cosmologie, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS/IN2P3, CEA/Irfu, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
³⁰ Univ. Grenoble Alpes; CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
³¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
³² Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland
³³ Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
³⁴ Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Erwin-Rommel-Str. 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
³⁵ DESY, 15738 Zeuthen, Germany
³⁶ Obserwatorium Astronomiczne, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Orla 171, 30-244 Kraków, Poland
³⁷ Centre for Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Grudziadzka 5, 87-100 Torun, Poland
³⁸ Department of Physics, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
³⁹ Heisenberg Fellow (DFG), ITA Universität Heidelberg, Germany
⁴⁰ GRAPPA, Institute of High-Energy Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
⁴¹ Department of Physics, Rikkyo University, 3-34-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan
⁴² Japan Aerpspace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229-8510, Japan
⁴³ Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Mail H30, PO Box 218, VIC 3122, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), USA
⁴⁴ SKA Organisation, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, SK11 9DL, UK; ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), USA
⁴⁵ ASTRON, The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁴⁶ Now at Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics and Department of Physics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA

^⋆ Corresponding authors. e-mail: contact.hess@hess-experiment.eu

Received: 14 June 2016
Accepted: 15 November 2016

Abstract

Aims. Following the detection of the fast radio burst FRB150418 by the SUPERB project at the Parkes radio telescope, we aim to search for very-high energy gamma-ray afterglow emission.

Methods. Follow-up observations in the very-high energy gamma-ray domain were obtained with the H.E.S.S. imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope system within 14.5 h of the radio burst.

Results. The obtained 1.4 h of gamma-ray observations are presented and discussed. At the 99% C.L. we obtained an integral upper limit on the gamma-ray flux of Φ_γ(E > 350 GeV) < 1.33 × 10^-8 m^-2 s^-1. Differential flux upper limits as function of the photon energy were derived and used to constrain the intrinsic high-energy afterglow emission of FRB 150418.

Conclusions. No hints for high-energy afterglow emission of FRB 150418 were found. Taking absorption on the extragalactic background light into account and assuming a distance of z = 0.492 based on radio and optical counterpart studies and consistent with the FRB dispersion, we constrain the gamma-ray luminosity at 1 TeV to L < 5.1 × 10⁴⁷ erg/s at 99% C.L.