A Synthetic Pulse Injection System for the CHIME/FRB Experiment

Marcus Merryfield ( Université McGill )

The detection pipeline in the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst project (CHIME/FRB), like all FRB detection pipelines, is subject to selection effects. To correct for these, a synthetic pulse injection system was developed. The system injected a sample population comprised of ~85,000 synthetic pulses with ~25,000 corresponding detections for the First CHIME/FRB Catalog, and is now being modified to inject an order of magnitude larger sample. Such an increase in sample size will improve our understanding of CHIME/FRB's biases, and the true FRB population as a result. We present in detail the architecture of the injection system, and the methods with which it was operated for the First CHIME/FRB Catalog. We share some examples of the injection dataset’s utility in understanding and correcting biases in the First CHIME/FRB Catalog, and discuss what further insights can be made with a larger injection sample. Finally, we discuss the utility of the injection system in improving CHIME/FRB's sensitivity.