(Proposal ID) S16B-046

(PI) Totani, Tomonori

(Proposal Title)
Subaru Follow-up of Fast Radio Bursts

(Abstract)
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are a mysterious transient phenomenon whose duration 
is only a few msec.  Their dispersion measures imply that they are located at 
cosmological distances of z ~ 0.5-1. Recently, the first detection of a radio 
afterglow and identification of the host galaxy at z=0.492 was reported for 
FRB 150418, in which our previous proposals played a crucial role. Here we 
propose to continue Subaru follow-up for FRBs to firmly establish their 
cosmological origin and reveal the progenitors. The unique wide-field imaging 
capability of Subaru to cover the entire FRB error regions (~14 arcmin diameter
 FWHM) with 8m-class sensitivity is especially powerful. We have set up the 
collaboration with the FRB search team using the Parkes radio observatory, and 
expect a few FRB events in the S16B semester. Some proposed FRB scenarios 
predict detectable optical counterparts on time scales from days to months, 
and we will search optical transients on various time scales depending on the 
telescope schedule at the time of a FRB alert. We also request to use 
optical/NIR spectroscopic/imaging instruments of Subaru for follow-up of 
particularly interesting events found by other observatories or our own HSC 
observations.