A Search of TESS Full-frame Images for a Simultaneous Optical Counterpart to FRB 181228

Abstract

Abstract FRB 181228 was detected by the Molonglo Synthesis Radio Telescope (MOST) at a position and time coincident with Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations, representing the first simultaneous multiwavelength data collection for a fast radio burst (FRB). The large imaged field of view of TESS allows a search over the uncertainty region produced by MOST. However, the TESS pixel scale of 21″ and the full-frame image (FFI) cadence of 30 minutes is not optimal for the detection of a fast optical burst (FOB) with a possible millisecond duration. We search the TESS FFIs and find no events with a limiting TESS magnitude of 16, assuming a 30 minute event duration, corresponding to an optical flux density upper limit of approximately 2000 Jy for a ∼1 ms signal duration, assuming no signal loss. In addition, the cosmic-ray mitigation method for TESS significantly reduces its sensitivity to short-timescale transients, which we quantify. We compare our results to the predictions of Yang et al. and find that the upper limit is a factor of 2000 higher than the predicted maximum optical flux density. However, we find that if FRB 181228 had occurred in the galaxy thought to host the nearest FRB detection to date (37 Mpc), an FOB may have been detectable by TESS. In the near future, when the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment and Australian SKA Pathfinder will detect hundreds to thousands of FRBs, TESS may be able to detect FOBs from those rare bright and nearby FRBs within this large population (if more sophisticated cosmic-ray excision can be implemented).