Searching for the sources of excess extragalactic dispersion of FRBs

Abstract

The FLIMFLAM survey is collecting spectroscopic data of field galaxies near fast radio burst (FRB) sightlines to constrain key parameters describing the distribution of matter in the Universe. In this work, we leverage the survey data to determine the source of the excess extragalactic dispersion measure (DM), compared to the Macquart relation estimate of four FRBs: FRB20190714A, FRB20200430A, FRB20200906A, and FRB20210117A. By modeling the gas distribution around the foreground galaxy halos and galaxy groups of the sightlines, we estimate $\rm DM_{halos}$, their contribution to the FRB dispersion measures. The FRB20190714A sightline shows a clear excess of foreground halos which contribute roughly 2/3$^{rd}$ of the observed excess DM, thus implying a baryon-dense sightline. FRB20200906A shows a smaller but non-negligible foreground halo contribution, and further analysis of the IGM is necessary to ascertain the true cosmic contribution to its DM. RB20200430A and FRB20210117A show negligible foreground contributions, implying a large host galaxy excess and/or progenitor environment excess.