We present Very Large Telescope/X-Shooter spectroscopy for the host galaxies of 12 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by the Australian SKA Pathfinder observed through the "Fast and Unbiased FRB Host Galaxy (FURBY)" Large Programme at the European Southern Observatory, which imposes strict selection criteria on the included FRBs and their host galaxies to produce a homogeneous and well-defined sample. We describe the data reduction and analysis of these spectra and report their redshifts, line-emission fluxes, and derived host properties. From the present sample, this paper focuses on the faint host of FRB 20230708A (mR = 22.53 +/- 0.02) identified at low redshift (z = 0.1050). This indicates an intrinsically very low-luminosity galaxy (L approximate to 108L circle dot), making it the lowest-luminosity nonrepeating FRB host to date by a factor of similar to 3 and slightly dimmer than the lowest-luminosity host for repeating FRBs. Our spectral energy distribution fitting analysis reveals a low stellar mass (M* approximate to 108.0M circle dot), low star formation rate (SFR approximate to 0.04M circle dot yr-1), and very low metallicity( 12+log(O/H)similar to(8.0-8.3) ), distinct from the more massive galaxies (log(M/M circle dot) similar to 10) that are commonly identified for nonrepeating FRBs. Its discovery demonstrates that FRBs can arise in the faintest, metal-poor galaxies of the Universe. In turn, this suggests that at least one FRB progenitor channel must include stars (or their remnants) created in very low metallicity environments. This indicates better prospects for detecting FRBs from the high-z Universe where young, low-mass galaxies proliferate.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are luminous, dispersed pulses of extragalactic origin. The physics of the emission mechanism, the progenitor environment, and their origin are unclear. Some repeating FRBs exhibit a frequency-dependent decrease in linear polarization fraction. This has been attributed to multipath propagation in a surrounding complex magneto-ionic environment. In this framework, the depolarization magnitude can be quantified using the parameter sigma'(RM), which can be used to model the magneto-ionic complexity of the medium. In addition to depolarization, some repeating sources (specifically, those with complex magneto-ionic environments) have been identified to have co-located persistent radio sources (PRS). Searches for depolarization of non-repeating sources are challenging due to the limited bandwidth of most FRB detection systems. However, even with a limited bandwidth, such depolarization can be identified if it lies within the sigma'(RM)sensitivity window of the telescope. In this paper, we present a search for depolarization in 12 one-off FRBs detected by the Australian SKA Pathfinder. We report on a strongly depolarized (apparently) non-repeating FRB detected by ASKAP (FRB 20230526A). The source shows a decrease in linear polarization fraction from similar to 60 per cent at 1440 MHz to similar to 20 per cent at 1110 MHz. We also report constraints on the presence of a PRS coincident with FRB 20230526A using observations obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We use this to study the relationship between sigma'(RM) and PRS luminosity. Our investigation supports a scenario in which repeaters and non-repeaters share a common origin and where non-repeaters represent an older population relative to repeating FRB sources.

We introduce the PanRadio Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) program carried out on the Australia Telescope Compact Array: a systematic, multiyear, radio survey of all southern Swift GRB events, comprehensively following the multifrequency evolution of their afterglows from within an hour to years postburst. We present the results of the 400-day observing campaign following the afterglow of the long-duration (collapsar) GRB 230815A—the first one detected through this program. Typically, GRB 230815A would not otherwise receive traditional radio follow-up, given it has no known redshift and lacks comprehensive multiwavelength follow-up, due to its high line-of-sight extinction with A V = 2.3. We found its early X-ray jet break at ∼0.1 days postburst to be at odds with the evolution of the multifrequency radio light curves that were traced over an unusually long duration of 400 days. The radio light curves approximately evolved (with minor deviations) according to the standard self-similar expansion for a relativistic blast wave in a homogeneous environment prior to the jet break, showing no evidence for evolutions of the microphysical parameters describing the electron acceleration processes. We reconcile these features by proposing a two-component jet: the early X-ray break originates from a narrow component with a half-opening angle of ∼2 . ° 1, while the evolution of the radio afterglow stems from a wider component with a half-opening angle of ⪆35°. The PanRadio GRB program will establish a sample of comprehensively followed GRBs, where a rigorous inspection of their microphysical and dynamical parameters can be performed, thereby revealing the diversity of features in their outflows and environments.

The final life stages of the massive star progenitors of stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) are still an open question, especially when it comes to the timing and magnitude of the progenitor stripping. Observing SESNe across the electromagnetic spectrum allows for the most direct constraints on mass loss in the final stages of progenitor evolution. In this work, we present radio (GMRT+VLA) and X-ray (Swift+Chandra) observations of SN 2019yvr obtained from 18-1784 days post-explosion. SN 2019yvr was a type Ib supernova (SN Ib, with strong helium but no or little optical hydrogen features) that transitioned into a type IIn supernova (SN IIn, with shock-driven hydrogen features) at ∼ 100 days post-explosion. The radio evolution is best-fit by a synchrotron self-absorbed model with a ρ∝ r^-1.65 ± 0.25 CSM density profile, suggesting a decreasing mass-loss rate from the progenitor in the years leading up to the explosion. The radio-derived shock speed is high, more than 30,000 km/s at early times, suggesting a compact progenitor star. The combined radio and X-ray data probe CSM that extends from less than 10^16 cm up to ∼ 20×10^16 cm and was created by mass-loss from ∼ 1-3 ×10^-5M_⊙ yr^-1 (assuming a CSM speed of 100 km/s). The combined dataset rules out any dramatic jump in CSM density (which was seen in the optical analog SN 2014C) associated with the emergence of optical hydrogen emission in SN 2019yvr. We place SN 2019yvr in context with similar transitional SNe and discuss implications for the progenitor.

We found two highly scattered Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) during commissioning of the Commensal Realtime ASKAP Fast Transient COherent (CRACO) backend. FRB 240210D and FRB 240312D have scattering times of 34±6 and 300±48 ms, respectively, when scaled to 1 GHz. FRB 240312D originates near a spiral arm of a face-on galaxy at a redshift of only 0.05. Scintillation from a Milky Way screen constrains the distance of the scattering screen to ∼ 10 pc from the source. FRB 240312D is therefore the first highly scattered FRB where scattering screens in the host galaxy centre, a background galaxy, or intervening structures can all be excluded, leaving only the circumsource medium. Integral field spectroscopy of the host reveals a Milky Way-like galaxy with a star-formation region at the FRB position. We find refractive scattering in a pulsar wind nebula as the most likely scattering origin. However, the explanation is not completely satisfactory as it requires a fine-tuned orientation. Hence, additional theoretical studies under different FRB progenitor models are needed. From the two FRBs, we calculate a total rate of R_tot=210^+460_-180 events sky^-1day^-1 with durations between 55.2 ms and 1 s and above a fluence of 9 Jy ms consistent with the rate of shorter FRBs. This elevated rate suggests that the strong scattering seen in other FRBs likewise does not arise from chance-aligned sightlines, but is instead causally linked to the FRB sources.

Current explanations of the mass-loss mechanism for stripped-envelope supernovae remain divided between single and binary progenitor systems. Here we obtain deep ultraviolet (UV) imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of the Type Ic SN 2012fh to search for the presence of a surviving companion star to the progenitor. We synthesize these observations with archival HST imaging, ground-based spectroscopy, and previous analyses from the literature to provide three independent constraints on the progenitor system. We fit the color-magnitude diagram of the surrounding population to constrain the most likely age of the system to be <20 Myr. Analysis of spectra of SN 2012fh provide an estimate of the He core mass of the progenitor star, >5.6 M_⊙. We analyze deep HST images at the precise location after the SN faded to constrain the luminosity of any remaining main-sequence binary companion to be log(L/L_⊙) ≲ 3.35. Combining observational constraints with current binary population synthesis models excludes the presence of a faint stellar companion to SN 2012fh at the ≲10% level. The progenitor was therefore either effectively isolated at the time of explosion or orbited by a black-hole companion. The latter scenario dominates if we only consider models that produce successful supernovae.

With wide-field phased array feed technology, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is ideally suited to search for seemingly rare radio transient sources that are difficult to discover previous-generation narrow-field telescopes. The Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transient (CRAFT) Survey Science Project has developed instrumentation to continuously search for fast radio transients (duration less than or similar to 1 s) with ASKAP, with a particular focus on finding and localising fast radio bursts (FRBs). Since 2018, the CRAFT survey has been searching for FRBs and other fast transients by incoherently adding the intensities received by individual ASKAP antennas, and then correcting for the impact of frequency dispersion on these short-duration signals in the resultant incoherent sum (ICS) in real time. This low-latency detection enables the triggering of voltage buffers, which facilitates the localisation of the transient source and the study of spectro-polarimetric properties at high time resolution. Here we report the sample of 43 FRBs discovered in this CRAFT/ICS survey to date. This includes 22 FRBs that had not previously been reported: 16 FRBs localised by ASKAP to less than or similar to 1 arcsec and 6 FRBs localised to 10 arcmin. Of the new arcsecond-localised FRBs, we have identified and characterised host galaxies (and measured redshifts) for 11. The median of all 30 measured host redshifts from the survey to date is z = 0.23. We summarise results from the searches, in particular those contributing to our understanding of the burst progenitors and emission mechanisms, and on the use of bursts as probes of intervening media. We conclude by foreshadowing future FRB surveys with ASKAP using a coherent detection system that is currently being commissioned. This will increase the burst detection rate by a factor of approximately ten and also the distance to which ASKAP can localise FRBs.

Context. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are very energetic pulses in the radio wavelengths that have an unknown physical origin. They can be used to study the intergalactic medium thanks to their dispersion measure (DM). The DM has several contributions that can be measured (or estimated), including the contribution from the host galaxy itself, DMhost. The DMhost is generally difficult to measure, thus limiting the use of FRBs as cosmological probes and our understanding of their physical origin(s). Aims. In this work we empirically estimated DMhost for a sample of 12 galaxy hosts of well-localized FRBs at 0.11 < z < 0.53 using a direct method based solely on the properties of the host galaxies themselves, referred to as DMhostdirect. We also explored possible correlations between DMhost and some key global properties of galaxies. Methods. We used VLT/MUSE observations of the FRB hosts to estimate our empirical DMhostdirect. The method relies on estimating the DM contribution of both the FRB host galaxy's interstellar medium (DMhostISM) and its halo (DMhosthalo) separately. For comparison purposes, we also provide an alternative indirect method for estimating DMhost based on the Macquart relation (DMhostMacquart). Results. We find an average < DMhost > = 80 +/- 11 pc cm(-3) with a standard deviation of 38 pc cm(-3) (in the rest frame) using our direct method, with a systematic uncertainty of similar to 30%. This is larger than the typically used value of 50 pc cm(-3) but consistent within the uncertainties. We report positive correlations between DMhost and both the stellar masses and the star formation rates of their hosts galaxies. In contrast, we do not find any strong correlation between DMhost and the redshift nor the projected distances to the center of the FRB hosts. Finally, we do not find any strong correlation between DMhostdirect and DMhostMacquart, although the average values of the two are consistent within the uncertainties. Conclusions. Our reported correlations between DMhostdirect and stellar masses and/or the star formation rates of the galaxies could be used in future studies to improve the priors used in establishing DMhost for individual FRBs. Similarly, such correlations and the lack of a strong redshift evolution can be used to constrain models for the progenitor of FRBs, for example by comparing them with theoretical models. However, the lack of correlation between DMhostdirect and DMhostdirect indicates that there may be contributions to the DM of FRBs not included in our DMhostdirect modeling, for example large DMs from the immediate environment of the FRB progenitor and/or intervening large-scale structures not accounted for in DMhostMacquart.

Current explanations of the mass-loss mechanism for stripped-envelope supernovae (SNe) remain divided between single and binary progenitor systems. Here we obtain deep ultraviolet (UV) imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of the Type Ic SN 2012fh to search for the presence of a surviving companion star to the progenitor. We synthesize these observations with archival HST imaging, ground-based spectroscopy, and previous analyses from the literature to provide three independent constraints on the progenitor system. We fit the color-magnitude diagram of the surrounding population to constrain the most likely age of the system to be <20 Myr. Analysis of spectra of SN 2012fh provides an estimate of the He core mass of the progenitor star, >5.6 M-circle dot. We analyze deep HST images at the precise location after the SN faded to constrain the luminosity of any remaining main-sequence binary companion to be log(L/L-circle dot)less than or similar to 3.35 . Combining observational constraints with current binary population synthesis models excludes the presence of a faint stellar companion to SN 2012fh at the less than or similar to 10% level. The progenitor was therefore either effectively isolated at the time of explosion or orbited by a black-hole companion. The latter scenario dominates if we only consider models that produce successful SNe.

We examine the energy distribution of the fast radio burst (FRB) population using a well-defined sample of 63 FRBs from the ASKAP radio telescope, 28 of which are localised to a host galaxy. We apply the luminosity-volume (V/Vmax) test to examine the distribution of these transient sources, accounting for cosmological and instrumental effects, and determine the energy distribution for the sampled population over the redshift range 0.01 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 1.02. We find the distribution between 10(23) and 10(26)J Hz(-1) to be consistent with both a pure power-law with differential slope gamma = -1.96 +/- 0.15, and a Schechter function with gamma=-1.82 +/- 0.12 and downturn energy E-max similar to 6.3 & sdot;10(25 )J Hz(-1). We identify systematic effects which currently limit our ability to probe the luminosity function outside this range and give a prescription for their treatment. Finally, we find that with the current dataset, we are unable to distinguish between the evolutionary and spectral models considered in this work.

We present SOFIA/HAWC+ continuum polarization data on the magnetic fields ( B fields) threading 17 pc-scale massive molecular clumps at the western end of the η Carinae giant molecular cloud (Region 9 of the Galactic Census of High- and Medium-mass Protostars, or CHaMP, representing all stages of star formation from pre-stellar to dispersing via feedback), revealing important details about the field morphology and role in the gas structures of this clump sample. We performed Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi (DCF) and histogram of relative orientation (HRO) analyses tracing column densities 25.0 < log( N /m −2 ) < 27.2. With HRO, B fields change from mostly parallel to column density structures to mostly perpendicular at a threshold N crit = (3.7 ± 0.6) × 10 26 m −2 , indicating that gravitational forces exceed magnetic forces above this value. The same analysis in 10 individual clumps gives similar results, with the same clear trend in alignments and a threshold N crit = (1.9 − 0.8 + 1.5 ) × 10 26 m −2 . In the other seven clumps, the alignment trend with N is much flatter or even reversed, inconsistent with the usual HRO pattern. Instead, these clumps’ fields reflect external environmental forces from the nearby H ii region NGC 3324. DCF analysis reveals field strengths somewhat higher than typical of nearby clouds, with the B–n data lying mostly above the R. M. Crutcher relation. The mass-to-flux ratio λ across all clumps has a Gaussian distribution, log λ DCF = –0.75 ± 0.45; only small areas are dominated by gravity. However, a significant trend of rising log λ with falling T dust parallels R. L. Pitts et al.’s result: T dust falls as N H 2 rises toward clump centres. In this massive clump sample, B fields provide enough support against gravity to explain their overall low star formation rate.

We study the late-time evolution of the compact Type IIb SN 2001ig in the spiral galaxy NGC 7424, with new and unpublished archival data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. More than two decades after the SN explosion, its radio luminosity is showing a substantial re-brightening: it is now two orders of magnitude brighter than expected from the standard model of a shock expanding into a uniform circumstellar wind (i.e., with a density scaling as R^-2). This suggests that the SN ejecta have reached a denser shell, perhaps compressed by the fast wind of the Wolf-Rayet progenitor or expelled centuries before the final stellar collapse. We model the system parameters (circumstellar density profile, shock velocity, mass loss rate), finding that the denser layer was encountered when the shock reached a distance of 0.1 pc; the mass-loss rate of the progenitor immediately before the explosion was Mdot/v_w 10^-7 Msun/yr/(km/s). We compare SN 2001ig with other SNe that have shown late-time re-brightenings, and highlight the opposite behaviour of some extended Type IIb SNe which show instead a late-time flux cut-off.

We present the first results from a new backend on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the Commensal Realtime ASKAP Fast Transient COherent (CRACO) upgrade. CRACO records millisecond time resolution visibility data, and searches for dispersed fast transient signals including fast radio bursts (FRB), pulsars, and ultra-long period objects (ULPO). With the visibility data, CRACO can localise the transient events to arcsecond-level precision after the detection. Here, we describe the CRACO system and report the result from a sky survey carried out by CRACO at 110-ms resolution during its commissioning phase. During the survey, CRACO detected two FRBs (including one discovered solely with CRACO, FRB 20231027A), reported more precise localisations for four pulsars, discovered two new RRATs, and detected one known ULPO, GPM J1839 - 10, through its sub-pulse structure. We present a sensitivity calibration of CRACO, finding that it achieves the expected sensitivity of 11.6 Jy ms to bursts of 110 ms duration or less. CRACO is currently running at a 13.8 ms time resolution and aims at a 1.7 ms time resolution before the end of 2024. The planned CRACO has an expected sensitivity of 1.5 Jy ms to bursts of 1.7 ms duration or less and can detect 10x more FRBs than the current CRAFT incoherent sum system (i.e. 0.5 - 2 localised FRBs per day), enabling us to better constrain the models for FRBs and use them as cosmological probes.

There has been a rapid increase in the known fast radio burst (FRB) population, yet the progenitor(s) of these events have remained an enigma. A small number of FRBs have displayed some level of quasi-periodicity in their burst profile, which can be used to constrain their plausible progenitors. However, these studies suffer from the lack of polarization data which can greatly assist in constraining possible FRB progenitors and environments. Here, we report on the detection and characterisation of FRB 20230708A by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a burst which displays a rich temporal and polarimetric morphology. We model the burst time series to test for the presence of periodicity, scattering and scintillation. We find a potential period of T = 7.267 ms within the burst, but with a low statistical significance of 1.77 sigma. Additionally, we model the burst's time- and frequency-dependent polarization to search for the presence of (relativistic and non-relativistic) propagation effects. We find no evidence to suggest that the high circular polarization seen in FRB 20230708A is generated by Faraday conversion. The majority of the properties of FRB 20230708A are broadly consistent with a (non-millisecond) magnetar model in which the quasi-periodic morphology results from microstructure in the beamed emission, but other explanations are not excluded.

We present deep optical and near-infrared observations of the host galaxies of 34 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transient (or CRAFT) survey on the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) to compare the locations of FRBs relative to their host light distributions. Incorporating three additional FRBs from the literature, for a total of four repeating and 33 apparently nonrepeating FRBs, we determine their projected galactocentric offsets and find a median of 4.2(-2.5)(+5.7) kpc ( 1.0(-0.6)(+1.5)re ). We model their host surface-brightness profiles and develop synthetic spatial distributions of their globular clusters (GCs) based on host properties. We calculate the likelihood the observed location of each FRB is consistent with the smooth light of its host galaxy, residual (primarily spiral) substructure, or GC distributions. The majority of FRBs favor locations within the disks of their galaxies, while only 11% +/- 5% favor a GC origin, primarily those with galactocentric offsets greater than or similar to 3r(e). At z < 0.15, where spiral structure is apparent in 86% of our sample of FRB hosts, we find approximate to 20%-46% of FRBs favor an association with spiral arms. Assuming FRBs derive from magnetars, our results support multiple formation channels, with the majority of progenitors associated with massive stars and a minority formed through dynamical channels. However, the moderate fraction of FRBs associated with spiral structure indicates that high star formation efficiency of the youngest and most massive stars is not a predominant driver in the production of FRB progenitors.

We present the second and final release of optical spectroscopy of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained during the first and second phases of the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP-I and CSP-II). The newly released data consist of 148 spectra of 30 SNe Ia observed in the course of the CSP-I, and 234 spectra of 127 SNe Ia obtained during the CSP-II. We also present 216 optical spectra of 46 historical SNe Ia, including 53 spectra of 30 SNe Ia observed by the Calán/Tololo Supernova Survey. We combine these observations with previously published CSP data and publicly-available spectra to compile a large sample of measurements of spectroscopic parameters at maximum light, consisting of pseudo-equivalent widths and expansion velocities of selected features, for 232 CSP and historical SNe Ia (including more than 1000 spectra). Finally, we review some of the strongest correlations between spectroscopic and photometric properties of SNe Ia. Specifically, we define two samples: one consisting of SNe Ia discovered by targeted searches (most of them CSP-I objects) and the other composed of SNe Ia discovered by untargeted searches, which includes most of the CSP-II objects. The analysed correlations are similar for both samples. We find a larger incidence of SNe Ia belonging to the Cool (CL)and Broad Line (BL) Branch subtypes among the events discovered by targeted searches, Shallow Silicon (SS) SNe Ia are present with similar frequencies in both samples, while Core Normal (CN) SNe Ia are more frequent in untargeted searches.

Fast radio burst (FRB) science primarily revolves around two facets: the origin of these bursts and their use in cosmological studies. This work follows from previous redshift-dispersion measure (z-DM) analyses in which we model instrumental biases and simultaneously fit population parameters and cosmological parameters to the observed population of FRBs. This sheds light on both the progenitors of FRBs and cosmological questions. Previously, we have completed similar analyses with data from the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murriyang (Parkes) Multibeam system. In this manuscript, we use 119 FRBs with 29 associated redshifts by additionally modelling the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA) and the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). We also invoke a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler and implement uncertainty in the Galactic DM contributions. The latter leads to larger uncertainties in derived model parameters than previous estimates despite the additional data and indicate that precise measurements of DM $_\textrm{ISM}$ will be important in the future. We provide refined constraints on FRB population parameters and derive a new constraint on the minimum FRB energy of log $E_{\mathrm{min}}$ (erg)=39.47 $<^>{+0.54}_{-1.28}$ which is significantly higher than bursts detected from strong repeaters. This result likely indicates a low-energy turnover in the luminosity function or may alternatively suggest that strong repeaters have a different luminosity function to single bursts. We also predict that FAST will detect 25-41% of their FRBs at $z \gtrsim 2$ and DSA will detect 2-12% of their FRBs at $z \gtrsim 1$ .

FRB 20220610A is a high-redshift Fast Radio Burst (FRB) that has not been observed to repeat. Here, we present rest-frame UV and optical $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$ observations of the field of FRB 20220610A. The imaging reveals seven extended sources, one of which we identify as the most likely host galaxy with a spectroscopic redshift of $z$=1.017. We spectroscopically confirm at least three additional sources to be at the same redshift, and identify the system as a compact galaxy group with possible signs of interaction among group members. We determine the host of FRB 20220610A to be a star-forming galaxy with stellar mass of $\approx10^{9.7}\,M_{\odot}$, mass-weighted age of $\approx2.6$~Gyr, and star formation rate (integrated over the last 100 Myr) of $\approx1.7$~M$_{\odot}$~yr$^{-1}$. These host properties are commensurate with the star-forming field galaxy population at z~1 and trace their properties analogously to the population of low-$z$ FRB hosts. Based on estimates of the total stellar mass of the galaxy group, we calculate a fiducial contribution to the observed Dispersion Measure (DM) from the intragroup medium of $\approx 110-220$ $\rm pc \, cm^{-3}$ (rest-frame). This leaves a significant excess of $500^{+272}_{-109}$ $\rm pc \, cm^{-3}$ (in the observer frame), with additional sources of DM possibly originating from the circumburst environment, host galaxy interstellar medium, and/or foreground structures along the line of sight. Given the low occurrence rates of galaxies in compact groups, the discovery of an FRB in such a group demonstrates a rare and novel environment in which FRBs can occur.

Identification and follow up observations of the host galaxies of fast radio bursts (FRBs) not only help us understand the environments in which the FRB progenitors reside, but also provide a unique way of probing the cosmological parameters using the dispersion measures of FRBs and distances to their origin. A fundamental requirement is an accurate distance measurement to the FRB host galaxy, but for some sources viewed through the Galactic plane, optical/NIR spectroscopic redshifts are extremely difficult to obtain due to dust extinction. Here we report the first radio-based spectroscopic redshift measurement for an FRB host galaxy, through detection of its neutral hydrogen (HI) 21-cm emission using MeerKAT observations. We obtain an HI-based redshift of z = 0.0357 for the host galaxy of FRB 20230718A, an apparently non-repeating FRB detected in the CRAFT survey and localized at a Galactic latitude of -0.367 deg. Our observations also reveal that the FRB host galaxy is interacting with a nearby companion, which is evident from the detection of an HI bridge connecting the two galaxies. A subsequent optical spectroscopic observation confirmed an FRB host galaxy redshift of 0.0359 +- 0.0004. This result demonstrates the value of HI to obtain redshifts of FRBs at low Galactic latitudes and redshifts. Such nearby FRBs whose dispersion measures are dominated by the Milky Way can be used to characterise these components and thus better calibrate the remaining cosmological contribution to dispersion for more distant FRBs that provide a strong lever arm to examine the Macquart relation between cosmological DM and redshift.

We present observations from the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System/Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager at Gemini South of five fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies of FRBs with subarcsecond localizations. We examine and quantify the spatial distributions and locations of the FRBs with respect to their host galaxy light distributions, finding a median host-normalized offset of 2.09 half-light radii (r e ) and the trend that these FRBs occur in fainter regions of their host galaxies. When combined with the FRB host galaxy sample from Mannings et al., we find that FRBs are statistically distinct from Ca-rich transients in terms of light at the source location and from SGRBs and LGRBs in terms of host-normalized offset. We further find that most FRBs are in regions of elevated local stellar mass surface densities in comparison to the mean global values of their hosts. This, along with the finding that the FRB locations trace the distribution of stellar mass, points toward a possible similarity of the environments of CCSNe and FRBs. We also find that four out of five FRB hosts exhibit distinct spiral arm features, and the bursts originating from such hosts tend to appear on or close to their host's spiral structure, with a median distance of 0.53 +/- 0.27 kpc. With many well-localized FRB detections looming on the horizon, we will be able to better characterize the properties of FRB environments relative to their host galaxies and other transient classes. Such insights may only require us to double the number of FRBs with subarcsecond localizations.