CHIME/FRB Outriggers: KKO Station System and Commissioning Results

Understand

Localizing fast radio bursts (FRBs) to their host galaxies is an essential step to better understanding their origins and using them as cosmic probes.

• The CHIME/FRB Outrigger program aims to add VLBI-localization capabilities to CHIME, such that FRBs may be localized to tens of milliarcsecond precision at the time of their discovery, more than sufficient for host galaxy identification.
• The first-built outrigger telescope is KKO, located 66 kilometers west of CHIME.
• Cross-correlating KKO with CHIME can achieve arcsecond-scale localization in right ascension while avoiding the worst effects of the ionosphere.