2017MNRAS.469L.104K

Are some neutron stars produced without a supernova, without ejecting mass in a remnant? Theoretical calculations of core collapse in massive stars often predict this. The observation of the repeating FRB 121102, whose dispersion measure has not changed over several years, suggests that dark core collapses are not just failures of computer codes, but may be real. The existence of one repeating fast radio burst (FRB) with unchanging dispersion measure is not conclusive, but within a decade hundreds or thousands of FRB are expected to be discovered, likely including scores of repeaters, permitting useful statistical inferences. A naive supernova remnant model predicts observable decline in dispersion measure for 100 yr after its formation. If an upper limit on the decline of 2 pc/cm3/ yr is set for five repeating FRBs, then the naive model with nominal parameters is rejected at the 95 per cent level of confidence. This may indicate dark neutron star formation without a supernova or supernova remnant. This hypothesis may also be tested with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) data that would show, if present, a supernova at an interferometric FRB position if it occurred within the LSST epoch.