Canadian-Chilean array for radio transients studies (CHARTS) – Tomas Cassanelli

Fast radio bursts or FRBs are micro- to milli-second duration flashes of coherent radio emission, of an extragalactic origin and unknown astrophysical mechanism. Since their first detection in 2007 FRB science has evolved to a mature state, with several FRB localized to their galactic host, and a few events detected worldwide by radio facilities. Nevertheless, their origins, mechanisms, and potential multi-wavelength counterparts are still a mystery. The Canadian-Chilean array for radio transient studies (CHARTS) will be an aperture-array interferometer located at the outskirts to Santiago de Chile and capable of detecting ~100 FRB events per year. The array and its 256-element antennas (over an area of 20 m x 20 m) will probe the southern sky with a ~pi steradian field-of-view at low frequencies 300–500 MHz. CHARTS will implement a mix of commercial and in-house developed instruments to be built at Canadian and Chilean institutions and within the third year of operation will be completed and ready to observe autonomously 24/7.
Once completed CHARTS-256 will be able to localize bright and nearby FRB events, monitor the Galactic center (potential magnetar bright radio bursts), and probe the nearly empty southern skies. In this talk I will discuss the CHARTS overall project and timeline, progress made in telescope hardware, and future science and collaborations with local facilities to constrain even further the hidden nature of FRBs.