We report the discovery of a variable optical and X-ray source within the error ellipse of the previously unassociated Fermi Large Area Telescope γ-ray source 4FGL J0407.7–5702. A 22 ks observation from XMM-Newton/European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) shows an X-ray light curve with rapid variability and flaring. The X-ray spectrum is well fit by a hard power law with Γ = 1.7. Optical photometry taken over several epochs is dominated by aperiodic variations of moderate amplitude. Optical spectroscopy with Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) and Gemini reveals a blue continuum with broad and double-peaked H and He emission, as expected for an accretion disk around a compact binary. Overall, the optical, X-ray, and γ-ray properties of 4FGL J0407.7–5702 are consistent with a classification as a transitional millisecond pulsar in the subluminous disk state. We also present evidence that this source is more distant than other confirmed or candidate transitional millisecond pulsar binaries, and that the ratio of X-ray to γ-ray flux is a promising tool to help identify such binaries, indicating that a more complete census for these rare systems is becoming possible.
We report the detection and interferometric localization of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source FRB 20220912A during commissioning observations with the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110). Two bursts were detected from FRB 20220912A, one each on 2022 October 18 and 2022 October 25. The best-fit position is (R.A. J2000, decl. J2000) = (23:09:04.9, +48:42:25.4), with a 90% confidence error ellipse with radii ±2″ and ±1″ in R.A. and decl., respectively. The two bursts are polarized, and we find a Faraday rotation measure that is consistent with the low value of +0.6 rad m−2 reported by CHIME/FRB. The DSA-110 localization overlaps with the galaxy PSO J347.2702+48.7066 at a redshift z = 0.0771, which we identify as the likely host. PSO J347.2702+48.7066 has a stellar mass of approximately 1010
M
⊙, modest internal dust extinction, and a star formation rate likely in excess of 0.1 M
⊙ yr−1. The host-galaxy contribution to the dispersion measure is likely ≲50 pc cm−3. The FRB 20220912A source is therefore likely viewed along a tenuous plasma column through the host galaxy.
We report the detection and interferometric localization of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source FRB 20220912A during commissioning observations with the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110).
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