arXiv subjects

Jéferson A. S. Fortunato

Publications and source records attributed to Jéferson A. S. Fortunato.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A stochastic forward model for the intergalactic dispersion-measure distribution of Fast Radio Bursts

Fast Radio Bursts probe ionised baryons through their observed dispersion measures. We present \turbofrb, a semi-analytic stochastic forward model for the intergalactic dispersion-measure distribution, $P({\rm DM}_{\rm IGM}\mid z)$, that resolves the diffuse IGM, halo, and filament contributions as explicit physical channels, with the halo and filament encounter rates coupled by a latent line-of-sight environmental variable. Only four effective parameters are calibrated against hydrodynamical ray-traced IllustrisTNG benchmark. The model matches the benchmark mean DM to the percent level and yields a per-redshift Jensen-Shannon divergence of at most $5\times10^{-3}$ across $z = 0.5$-$2.5$. The per-sightline channel decomposition makes explicit what closed-form parametric descriptions cannot show: the diffuse IGM sets the body of the distribution, while halos and filaments populate the high-DM tail. Applied to representative localised FRBs, the forward likelihood quantifies host-excess events independently of their astrophysical signatures and recovers the injected $H_0$ within $1σ$ in a closed-loop consistency test. The \turbofrb package is available at \href{https://github.com/jefersonfortunato/turbofrb}{github.com/jefersonfortunato/turbofrb}.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Probing the Baryon Distribution with Fast Radio Bursts

Baryonic feedback redistributes matter on small to mid cosmological scales, ultimately limiting inferences from Stage IV galaxy surveys. Direct baryon tracers are crucial for recovering cosmological signals masked by astrophysical effects, and vice versa: galaxy formation and other astrophysical processes must be interpreted cosmologically. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) serve as such tracers: their dispersion measure (DM) records the line-of-sight integrated ionised electron density. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the only radio telescope capable of detecting many FRBs in the southern hemisphere, significantly enhancing synergy with surveys such as Rubin Observatory. This chapter completes the FRB trilogy by forecasting the SKA's potential to constrain the baryon distribution from cosmological to galactic scales and across cosmic time. We tackle this question by investigating the DM scatter as a function of redshift. We also study the statistical properties of the DM field and its cross-correlation with Stage IV galaxy surveys. Our focus is on cosmic shear and galaxy clustering. This shows that the SKA can play a crucial role in pinpointing baryonic feedback models, thereby greatly enhancing the cosmological constraining power of Stage IV galaxy surveys. Furthermore, we show that the SKA will be able to measure the properties of the circumgalactic medium using the scattering timescale of FRBs. Lastly, the large redshift range of FRB detections with the SKA can improve our understanding of the epoch of reionisation. It may also clarify the mechanism behind FRBs.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Fast Radio Bursts as Cosmological Probes

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, coherent radio pulses of extragalactic origin. They typically last from microseconds to milliseconds and have energies large enough to be visible over cosmological distances. Since FRBs interact with free electrons along their paths, the original burst is dispersed (Dispersion Measure, DM) and broadened (scattering). Furthermore, the burst's polarization is altered by Faraday rotation. Consequently, FRBs are excellent probes of the cosmological distribution of baryons, the expansion of the Universe, magnetic fields, and minuscule effects of fundamental physics that accumulate over vast distances. This chapter is the second of a trilogy of FRB chapters and discusses FRBs as a standalone probe. We first introduce the foundation of FRB observables related to those questions. Next, we lay the groundwork for forecasting SKA's potential by describing the method to simulate the expected FRB population observable with the SKA. These synthetic FRB catalogues are then used to investigate the SKA's potential to probe the Universe's expansion rate and fundamental physics, such as the equivalence principle and the existence of massive photons. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of tracing cosmic magnetic fields and investigating different dark matter candidates.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Curvature--Radiation Geometries Across the Second CHIME/FRB Fast Radio Burst Population

We present a population-level spectral analysis of fast radio bursts from the second CHIME/FRB catalog using three curvature-radiation-motivated templates: point-source, one-dimensional bunch, and paired-bunch cavity models. Fits are evaluated with reduced chi-squared $χ^2_r$, AIC/BIC, and the Ljung-Box residual autocorrelation test. All three templates yield median $χ^2_r$ values close to unity for both repeating and non-repeating bursts. Repeaters show narrower $χ^2_r$ distributions than non-repeaters, with statistically significant but modest population-level differences. AIC favours the one-dimensional bunch model for the largest fraction of sources, whereas BIC increases the relative preference for the simpler point-source model. However, residual autocorrelation remains widespread across all models: only 15%-21% of sources simultaneously satisfy goodness-of-fit and residual-independence criteria, indicating persistent structured residuals beyond the tested templates. These results suggest that while curvature-radiation-motivated geometries capture the dominant spectral envelope of many FRBs, additional physical ingredients or spectral components are required to describe the fine-scale spectral structure of the data. The inferred coherence scales are $\sim$16-18 cm for the one-dimensional model and $\sim$25-28 cm for the cavity model.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Testing the cosmic distance-duality relation with localized fast radio bursts: a cosmological model-independent study

We test the Etherington cosmic distance-duality relation (CDDR), by comparing Type Ia supernova (SNIa) luminosity-distance information from the Pantheon+ compilation with an angular-diameter-distance reconstructed from localized Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). The core of our methodology is a data-driven reconstruction from FRBs using artificial neural networks (ANNs): we infer a smooth mean extragalactic dispersion-measure relation and use its redshift derivative to recover $H(z)$ and hence $D_\mathrm{A}^{\rm FRB}(z)$ without assuming a parametric form for the expansion history. Possible deviations from CDDR are parameterized through three one-parameter models of $η(z)\equiv D_\mathrm{L}/[(1+z)^2D_\mathrm{A}]$. We implement two complementary likelihoods: (i) a direct approach using individual SNIa with the full Pantheon+ covariance, and (ii) a machine-learning approach in which we reconstruct the SN Hubble diagram on the FRB redshift grid, propagating SN and FRB uncertainties into non-diagonal covariance matrices via Monte Carlo and bootstrap realizations. Within the FRB reconstruction, we anchor the mean extragalactic dispersion measure at $z=0$, which yields a data-driven constraint on the average host/near-source contribution $\mathrm{DM}_{\rm host}=128.8\pm 34.1\,\mathrm{pc\,cm^{-3}}$ ($3σ$ of statistical confidence). We find that both likelihood implementations give consistent posteriors and no statistically significant evidence for departures from CDDR at the current precision.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Probing Cosmic Curvature with Fast Radio Bursts and DESI DR2

The spatial curvature of the Universe remains a central question in modern cosmology. In this work, we explore the potential of localized Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) as a novel tool to constrain the cosmic curvature parameter $Ω_k$ in a cosmological model-independent way. Using a sample of 120 FRBs with known redshifts and dispersion measures, we reconstruct the Hubble parameter $H(z)$ via artificial neural networks, and use it to obtain angular-diameter distances $D_A(z)$ through two complementary approaches. First, we derive the comoving distance $D_C(z)$ and $D_A(z)$ directly from FRBs without assuming a fiducial cosmology. Then, we combine the FRB-based $H(z)$ with Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) DESI DR2 measurements to infer $D_A(z)$. By comparing the FRB-derived and BAO+FRB-derived $D_A(z)$, we constrain spatial curvature. Our covariance-based likelihood (accounting for correlated uncertainties) yields $Ω_k = -0.31\pm0.57$, while a diagonal (Gaussian) treatment gives $Ω_k = -0.13\pm0.46$. Both estimations are consistent with spatial flatness at the $1σ$ level, albeit with a mild preference for negative curvature. Explicitly accounting for the full covariance broadens the intervals and avoids underestimation of uncertainties. These results highlight the growing relevance of FRBs in precision cosmology and their synergy with BAO as a powerful, cosmological model-independent probe of the large-scale geometry of the Universe.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Comparative analysis of machine learning techniques for feature selection and classification of Fast Radio Bursts

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients of extragalactic origin, exhibiting a wide range of physical and observational properties. Distinguishing between repeating and non-repeating FRBs remains a key challenge in understanding their nature. In this work, we apply unsupervised machine learning techniques to classify FRBs based on both primary observables from the CHIME catalog and physically motivated derived features. We evaluate three hybrid pipelines combining dimensionality reduction with clustering: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) + k-means, t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) + Hierarchical Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (HDBSCAN), and t-SNE + Spectral Clustering. To identify optimal hyperparameters, we implement a comprehensive grid search using a custom scoring function that prioritizes recall while penalizing excessive cluster fragmentation and noise. Feature relevance is assessed using principal component loadings, mutual information with the known repeater label, and permutation-based F\textsubscript{2} score sensitivity. Our results demonstrate that the derived features, including redshift, luminosity, and spectral properties, such as the spectral index and the spectral running, significantly enhance the classification performance. Finally, we identify a set of FRBs currently labeled as non-repeaters that consistently cluster with known repeaters across all methods, highlighting promising candidates for future follow-up observations and reinforcing the utility of unsupervised approaches in FRB population studies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Fast Radio Bursts and Artificial Neural Networks: a cosmological-model-independent estimation of the Hubble Constant

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) have emerged as powerful cosmological probes in recent years offering valuable insights into cosmic expansion. These predominantly extragalactic transients encode information on the expansion of the Universe through their dispersion measure, reflecting interactions with the intervening medium along the line of sight. In this study, we introduce a novel method for reconstructing the late-time cosmic expansion rate and estimating the Hubble constant, solely derived from FRBs measurements coupled with their redshift information while employing Artificial Neural Networks. Our approach yields a Hubble constant estimate of $H_0 = 67.3\pm6.6\rm \ km \ s^{-1} \ Mpc^{-1}$. With a dataset comprising 23 localised data points, we demonstrate a precision of $\sim10\%$. However, our forecasts using simulated datasets indicate that in the future it could be possible to achieve precision comparable to the SH0ES collaboration or the Planck satellite. Our findings underscore the potential of FRBs as alternative, independent tools for probing cosmic dynamics.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Cosmography from well-localized Fast Radio Bursts

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration pulses occurring at cosmological distances that have emerged as prominent cosmological probes due to their dispersion measure (DM) evolution with redshift. In this work, we use cosmography, a model-independent approach to describe the evolution of the universe, to introduce the cosmographic expansion of the DM-z relation. By fitting two different models for the intergalactic medium and host contributions to a sample of 23 well-localized FRBs, we estimate the kinematic parameters $q_0=-0.59 \substack{+0.20 \\ -0.17}$, $j_0=1.08 \substack{+0.62 \\ -0.56}$, $s_0=-2.1\pm7.0$, and $H_0=69.4\pm4.7$ achieving a precision of $6\%$ and $7\%$ for the Hubble constant depending on the models used for contributions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this approach can be used as an alternative and complementary cosmological-model independent method to revisit the long-standing "Missing Baryons" problem in astrophysics by estimating that $82\%$ of the baryonic content of the universe resides in the intergalactic medium, within $7\%$ and $8\%$ precision, according to the contribution models considered here. Our findings highlight the potential of FRBs as a valuable tool in cosmological research and underscore the importance of ongoing efforts to improve our understanding of these enigmatic events.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

The constrained cosmological model in Lyra geometry

In this article, we study a flat homogeneous FLRW model in Lyra geometry which is described by a time-dependent displacement vector. We consider an appropriate parametrization of the energy density of scalar field $ ρ_ϕ$ in terms of the cosmic scale factor. The result shows two transitions from deceleration to acceleration. Furthermore, we constrain the model parameter $ α$ and the displacement field vector $ β$ using the recent supernovae data, Hubble data set of 77 points, and their joint data which predicts the accelerated expanding phase of the universe in late times. The effective equation of state parameter $ ω_{eff} $ speculate $ Λ$CDM in late times. Finally, we use the statefinder diagnostic to differentiate our model from the various dark energy models.

gr-qc↗