2026ApJ...997..311K -
Astrophys. J., 997, 311 (2026/February-1)
Searches for Prompt Low-frequency Radio Counterparts to Gravitational-wave Event S250206dm with the OVRO-LWA Time Machine.
KOSOGOROV N., HALLINAN G., LAW C., HICKISH J., DOWELL J., MOOLEY K.P., ANDERSON M.M., BOWMAN J.D., BYRNE R., CATHA M., CHEN B., CHEN X., CHHABRA S., D'ADDARIO L., DAVIS I., ELDER K., GARY D., HARNACH C., HELLBOURG G., HOBBS R., HODGE D., HODGES M., HUANG Y., ISELLA A., JACOBS D.C., KEMBY G., KLINEFELTER J.T., KOLOPANIS M., LAMB J., MAHESH N., MONDAL S., O'DONNELL B., PLANT K., POSNER C., POWELL T., PRAYAG V., RIZO A., ROMERO-WOLF A., SHI J., TAYLOR G., TRIM J., VIRGIN M., VYDULA A., WEINREB S., WHITE S., WOODY D., YU S., ZENTMEYER T. and ZHANG P.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report on a search for prompt, low-frequency radio emission from the gravitational-wave (GW) merger S250206dm using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA). Early alerts favored a neutron-star-containing merger, making this a compelling target. Motivated by theoretical predictions of coherent radio bursts from mergers involving a neutron star, we utilized the OVRO-LWA Time Machine system to analyze voltage data recorded around the time of the event. Time Machine is a two-stage voltage buffer and processing pipeline that continuously buffers raw data from all antennas across the array's nearly full-hemisphere instantaneous field of view, enabling retrospective beamforming, dedispersion, and fast-transient candidate identification. For this event, we analyzed a 30 minute interval beginning 3.5 minutes after the merger, which included 2 minutes of pre-alert data recovered by the ring buffer. We searched the 50% localization probability region with millisecond time resolution in the 69-86 MHz frequency band. No radio counterpart was detected above a 7σ fluence detection threshold of ∼150 Jy ms. Using Bayesian analysis, we place a 95% confidence upper limit on the source luminosity of L95 = 4 × 1041 erg s–1. These constraints start to probe the bright end of the coherent-emission parameter space predicted by jet-interstellar medium shock processes, magnetar and blitzar-like mechanisms, and recent simulation-based scenarios for neutron-star-containing mergers. This study presents the first sensitive, large-area, millisecond-timescale search for prompt low-frequency radio emission from a GW merger with the OVRO-LWA, establishing a framework in which about 10 additional events will yield stringent population-level constraints.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Gravitational waves - Neutron stars - Radio astronomy - Radio transient sources
Simbad objects:
7
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