English

Radio Follow-Up of Einstein Probe Fast X-Ray Transients

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2026-07-29 v1 Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Abstract

Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) are brief, luminous bursts of soft X-ray emission whose physical origins remain uncertain. The Einstein Probe (EP) mission has recently enabled prompt discovery of these events, providing opportunities for rapid multi-wavelength follow-up. We present a coordinated radio observing campaign targeting 20 FXTs detected by the EP in 2024. The core consists of 59 epochs with the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), sampling post-burst timescales from \sim1 to \sim65 days and reaching typical 3σ3\sigma sensitivities of 0.6--1.5\,mJy across 1--8\,GHz. Two FXTs---EP240315a and EP241021a---have radio counterparts. For EP241021a, AMI-LA monitoring at 15.5\,GHz reveals a light curve peaking at \sim30 days with Fν1.0F_{\nu}\approx1.0\,mJy; equipartition analysis implies a Newtonian equipartition energy of 3×1049\sim3\times10^{49}\,erg and a mildly relativistic on-axis solution with Γon1.3\Gamma_{\rm on}\approx1.3. Multi-frequency modelling of EP240315a, combining new VLA measurements with published MeerKAT, ATCA, and eMERLIN data, indicates highly relativistic early emission (Γ3\Gamma\gtrsim3) that decelerates with time, consistent with jetted outflow. The detections and ATA non-detections span luminosities overlapping the brightest GRB and relativistic tidal disruption event (TDE) afterglows, suggesting FXTs comprise a heterogeneous population including both relativistic and non-relativistic explosions. Under a GRB-like redshift prior, our 3σ3\sigma ATA limits correspond to observer-frame specific-luminosity thresholds of 1032\sim10^{32}--1033erg s1 Hz110^{33}\,\mathrm{erg\ s^{-1}\ Hz^{-1}}; for nearby events (z0.2z\lesssim0.2), Lν103031erg s1 Hz1L_{\nu}\lesssim10^{30\text{--}31}\,\mathrm{erg\ s^{-1}\ Hz^{-1}}. Planned ATA upgrades and next-generation arrays (SKA, DSA, ngVLA) will enable sensitive, population-level radio studies of the FXT radio sky.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.27439,
  title  = {Radio Follow-Up of Einstein Probe Fast X-Ray Transients},
  author = {Carmen Choza and Joe S. Bright and Francesco Carotenuto and Alex Pollak and Rob Fender and Andrew Siemion},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.27439},
  year   = {2026}
}