A persistently active fast radio burst source embedded in an expanding supernova remnant

Chen-Hui Niu¹, Di Li², Yuan-Pei Yang³, Yuhao Zhu⁴, Yongkun Zhang⁵, Jia-Heng Zhang⁶, Zexin Du⁶, Jumei Yao⁷, Xiaoping Zheng⁶, Pei Wang⁵, Yi Feng⁸, Bing Zhang⁹, Weiwei Zhu⁵, Wenfei Yu¹⁰, Ji-An Jiang¹¹, Shi Dai¹², Chao-Wei Tsai⁴, A Ming Chen¹³, Yijun Hou⁵, Jiarui Niu⁵, Weiyang Wang¹⁴, Chenchen Miao¹⁵, Xinming Li⁶, Junshuo Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: niuchenhui@ccnu.edu.cn.
² New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Research Center for Astronomical Computing, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China. Electronic address: dili@tsinghua.edu.cn.
³ South-Western Institute for Astronomy Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China.
⁴ National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁵ National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁶ Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
⁷ Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Radio Astrophysics, Urumqi 830011, China.
⁸ Research Center for Astronomical Computing, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China; Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, LV 89154, USA.
¹⁰ Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China.
¹¹ Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan.
¹² Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Space and Astronomy, Locked Bag, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia; Western Sydney University, Locked Bag, Penrith South DC, NSW 2751, Australia.
¹³ Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China; Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 201210, China; Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE), Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
¹⁴ School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
¹⁵ Research Center for Astronomical Computing, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China.

PMID: 41365731
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.11.023

Free article

A persistently active fast radio burst source embedded in an expanding supernova remnant

Chen-Hui Niu et al. Sci Bull (Beijing). 2026.

Free article

. 2026 Jan 15;71(1):76-82.

doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.11.023. Epub 2025 Nov 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: niuchenhui@ccnu.edu.cn.
² New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Research Center for Astronomical Computing, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China. Electronic address: dili@tsinghua.edu.cn.
³ South-Western Institute for Astronomy Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China.
⁴ National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁵ National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁶ Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
⁷ Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Radio Astrophysics, Urumqi 830011, China.
⁸ Research Center for Astronomical Computing, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China; Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, LV 89154, USA.
¹⁰ Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China.
¹¹ Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan.
¹² Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Space and Astronomy, Locked Bag, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia; Western Sydney University, Locked Bag, Penrith South DC, NSW 2751, Australia.
¹³ Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China; Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 201210, China; Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE), Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
¹⁴ School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
¹⁵ Research Center for Astronomical Computing, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China.

PMID: 41365731
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.11.023

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) remain one of the most puzzling astrophysical phenomena. While most FRBs are detected only once or sporadically, we present the identification of FRB 20190520B as the first persistently active source over a continuous span of ∼4 years. This rare long-term activity enabled a detailed investigation of its dispersion measure (DM) evolution. We also report that FRB 20190520B exhibits a substantial decrease in DM at a global rate of (-12.4±0.3) pc cm^-3yr^-1, exceeding previous FRB's DM variation measurements by a factor of three and surpassing those observed in pulsars by orders of magnitude. The magnitude and consistency of the DM evolution, along with a high host DM contribution, strongly indicate that the source resides in a dense, expanding ionized medium, likely a young supernova remnant (SNR).

Keywords: Dispersion measure; FRB 20190520B; Fast radio bursts; Propagation effect; Supernova remnant.

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A persistently active fast radio burst source embedded in an expanding supernova remnant

Affiliations

A persistently active fast radio burst source embedded in an expanding supernova remnant

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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