Abstract
We present deep X-ray and radio observations of the fast blue optical transient (FBOT) AT 2020xnd/ZTF 20acigmel at
z
= 0.2433 from 13 days to 269 days after explosion. AT 2020xnd belongs to ...the category of optically luminous FBOTs with similarities to the archetypal event AT 2018cow. AT 2020xnd shows luminous radio emission reaching
L
ν
≈ 8 × 10
29
erg s
−1
Hz
−1
at 20 GHz and 75 days post-explosion, accompanied by luminous and rapidly fading soft X-ray emission peaking at
L
X
≈ 6 × 10
42
erg s
−1
. Interpreting the radio emission in the context of synchrotron radiation from the explosion’s shock interaction with the environment, we find that AT 2020xnd launched a high-velocity outflow (
v
∼ 0.1
c
–0.2
c
) propagating into a dense circumstellar medium (effective
M
̇
≈
10
−
3
M
⊙
yr
−1
for an assumed wind velocity of
v
w
= 1000 km s
−1
). Similar to AT 2018cow, the detected X-ray emission is in excess compared to the extrapolated synchrotron spectrum and constitutes a different emission component, possibly powered by accretion onto a newly formed black hole or neutron star. These properties make AT 2020xnd a high-redshift analog to AT 2018cow, and establish AT 2020xnd as the fourth member of the class of optically luminous FBOTs with luminous multiwavelength counterparts.
Abstract
We present a population of 19 radio-luminous supernovae (SNe) with emission reaching
L
ν
∼ 10
26
–10
29
erg s
−1
Hz
−1
in the first epoch of the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) at 2–4 ...GHz. Our sample includes one long gamma-ray burst, SN 2017iuk/GRB 171205A, and 18 core-collapse SNe detected at ≈1–60 yr after explosion. No thermonuclear explosion shows evidence for bright radio emission, and hydrogen-poor progenitors dominate the subsample of core-collapse events with spectroscopic classification at the time of explosion (79%). We interpret these findings in the context of the expected radio emission from the forward shock interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM). We conclude that these observations require a departure from the single wind–like density profile (i.e.,
ρ
CSM
∝
r
−2
) that is expected around massive stars and/or from a spherical Newtonian shock. Viable alternatives include the shock interaction with a detached, dense shell of CSM formed by a large effective progenitor mass-loss rate,
M
̇
∼
10
−
4
–
10
−
1
M
⊙
yr
−1
(for an assumed wind velocity of 1000 km s
−1
); emission from an off-axis relativistic jet entering our line of sight; or the emergence of emission from a newly born pulsar-wind nebula. The relativistic SN 2012ap that is detected 5.7 and 8.5 yr after explosion with
L
ν
∼ 10
28
erg s
−1
Hz
−1
might constitute the first detections of an off-axis jet+cocoon system in a massive star. However, none of the VLASS SNe with archival data points are consistent with our model off-axis jet light curves. Future multiwavelength observations will distinguish among these scenarios. Our VLASS source catalogs, which were used to perform the VLASS cross-matching, are publicly available at
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4895112
.
Abstract
Recently, the accretion geometry of the black hole X-ray binary Cyg X-1 was probed with the X-ray polarization. The position angle of the X-ray-emitting flow was found to be aligned with the ...position angle of the radio jet in the plane of the sky. At the same time, the observed high polarization degree could be obtained only for a high inclination of the X-ray-emitting flow, indicating a misalignment between the binary axis and the black hole spin. The jet, in turn, is believed to be directed by the spin axis; hence, a similar misalignment is expected between the jet and binary axes. We test this hypothesis using very long (up to about 26 yr) multiband radio observations. We find a misalignment of 20°–30°. However, contrary to the earlier expectations, the jet and binary viewing angles are found to be similar, while the misalignment is seen between the position angles of the jet and the binary axis on the plane of the sky. Furthermore, the presence of the misalignment calls into question our understanding of the evolution of this binary system.
Abstract
We present a detailed compilation and analysis of the X-ray phase space of low- to intermediate-redshift (0 ≤
z
≤ 1) transients that consolidates observed light curves (and theory where ...necessary) for a large variety of classes of transient/variable phenomena in the 0.3–10 keV energy band. We include gamma-ray burst afterglows, supernovae, supernova shock breakouts and shocks interacting with the environment, tidal disruption events and active galactic nuclei, fast blue optical transients, cataclysmic variables, magnetar flares/outbursts and fast radio bursts, cool stellar flares, X-ray binary outbursts, and ultraluminous X-ray sources. Our overarching goal is to offer a comprehensive resource for the examination of these ephemeral events, extending the X-ray duration–luminosity phase space (DLPS) to show luminosity evolution. We use existing observations (both targeted and serendipitous) to characterize the behavior of various transient/variable populations. Contextualizing transient signals in the larger DLPS serves two primary purposes: to identify areas of interest (i.e., regions in the parameter space where one would expect detections, but in which observations have historically been lacking), and to provide initial qualitative guidance in classifying newly discovered transient signals. We find that while the most luminous (largely extragalactic) and least luminous (largely Galactic) part of the phase space is well populated at
t
> 0.1 days, intermediate-luminosity phenomena (
L
X
= 10
34
–10
42
erg s
−1
) represent a gap in the phase space. We thus identify
L
X
= 10
34
–10
42
erg s
−1
and
t
= 10
−4
to 0.1 days as a key discovery phase space in transient X-ray astronomy.
Abstract
Radio emission from tidal disruption events (TDEs) originates from an interaction of an outflow with the super-massive black hole (SMBH) circumnuclear material (CNM). In turn, this radio ...emission can be used to probe properties of both the outflow launched at the event and the CNM. Until recently, radio emission was detected only for a relatively small number of events. While the observed radio emission pointed to either relativistic or sub-relativistic outflows of different nature, it also indicated that the outflow has been launched shortly after stellar disruption. Recently, however, delayed radio flares, several months and years after stellar disruption, were reported in the case of the TDE ASASSN-15oi. These delayed flares suggest a delay in the launching of outflows and thus may provide new insights into SMBH accretion physics. Here, we present a new radio data set of another TDE, iPTF 16fnl, and discuss the possibility that a delayed radio flare also has been observed in this case, ∼5 months after optical discovery, suggesting that this phenomenon may be common in TDEs. Unlike ASASSN-15oi, the data for iPTF 16fnl is sparse and the delayed radio flare can be explained by several alternative models: among them are a complex varying CNM density structure and a delayed outflow ejection.
Abstract
We present extensive multifrequency Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the radio-bright supernova (SN) IIb SN 2004C that span ∼40–2793 ...days post-explosion. We interpret the temporal evolution of the radio spectral energy distribution in the context of synchrotron self-absorbed emission from the explosion’s forward shock as it expands in the circumstellar medium (CSM) previously sculpted by the mass-loss history of the stellar progenitor. VLBA observations and modeling of the VLA data point to a blastwave with average velocity ∼0.06
c
that carries an energy of ≈10
49
erg. Our modeling further reveals a flat CSM density profile
ρ
CSM
∝
R
−0.03±0.22
up to a break radius
R
br
≈ (1.96 ± 0.10) × 10
16
cm, with a steep density gradient following
ρ
CSM
∝
R
−2.3±0.5
at larger radii. We infer that the flat part of the density profile corresponds to a CSM shell with mass ∼0.021
M
☉
, and that the progenitor’s effective mass-loss rate varied with time over the range (50–500) × 10
−5
M
☉
yr
−1
for an adopted wind velocity
v
w
= 1000 km s
−1
and shock microphysical parameters
ϵ
e
= 0.1,
ϵ
B
= 0.01. These results add to the mounting observational evidence for departures from the traditional single-wind mass-loss scenarios in evolved, massive stars in the centuries leading up to core collapse. Potentially viable scenarios include mass loss powered by gravity waves and/or interaction with a binary companion.
We present detailed observations of ZTF18abukavn (SN2018gep), discovered in high-cadence data from the Zwicky Transient Facility as a rapidly rising (1.4 0.1 mag hr−1) and luminous ( mag) transient. ...It is spectroscopically classified as a broad-lined stripped-envelope supernova (Ic-BL SN). The high peak luminosity ( ), the short rise time ( in g band), and the blue colors at peak ( ) all resemble the high-redshift Ic-BL iPTF16asu, as well as several other unclassified fast transients. The early discovery of SN2018gep (within an hour of shock breakout) enabled an intensive spectroscopic campaign, including the highest-temperature ( ) spectra of a stripped-envelope SN. A retrospective search revealed luminous ( mag) emission in the days to weeks before explosion, the first definitive detection of precursor emission for a Ic-BL. We find a limit on the isotropic gamma-ray energy release , a limit on X-ray emission , and a limit on radio emission . Taken together, we find that the early ( ) data are best explained by shock breakout in a massive shell of dense circumstellar material (0.02 ) at large radii ( ) that was ejected in eruptive pre-explosion mass-loss episodes. The late-time ( ) light curve requires an additional energy source, which could be the radioactive decay of Ni-56.
Recently, the accretion geometry of the black-hole X-ray binary Cyg X-1 was probed with the X-ray polarization. The position angle of the X-ray emitting flow was found to be aligned with the position ...angle of the radio jet in the plane of the sky. At the same time, the observed high polarization degree could be obtained only for a high inclination of the X-ray emitting flow, indicating a misalignment between the binary axis and the black hole spin. The jet, in turn, is believed to be directed by the spin axis, hence similar misalignment is expected between the jet and binary axes. We test this hypothesis using very long (up to about 26 years) multi-band radio observations. We find the misalignment of \(20^\circ\)--\(30^\circ\). However, on the contrary to the earlier expectations, the jet and binary viewing angles are found to be similar, while the misalignment is seen between position angles of the jet and the binary axis on the plane of the sky. Furthermore, the presence of the misalignment questions our understanding of the evolution of this binary system.
We present a detailed compilation and analysis of the X-ray phase space of low- to intermediate-redshift (\( 0\le z \le 1\)) transients that consolidates observed light curves (and theory where ...necessary) for a large variety of classes of transient/variable phenomena in the 0.3--10 keV energy band. We include gamma-ray burst afterglows, supernovae, supernova shock breakouts and shocks interacting with the environment, tidal disruption events and active galactic nuclei, fast blue optical transients, cataclysmic variables, magnetar flares/outbursts and fast radio bursts, cool stellar flares, X-ray binary outbursts, and ultraluminous X-ray sources. Our overarching goal is to offer a comprehensive resource for the examination of these ephemeral events, extending the X-ray duration-luminosity phase space (DLPS) to show luminosity evolution. We use existing observations (both targeted and serendipitous) to characterize the behavior of various transient/variable populations. Contextualizing transient signals in the larger DLPS serves two primary purposes: to identify areas of interest (i.e., regions in the parameter space where one would expect detections, but in which observations have historically been lacking) and to provide initial qualitative guidance in classifying newly discovered transient signals. We find that while the most luminous (largely extragalactic) and least luminous (largely Galactic) part of the phase space is well-populated at \(t > 0.1\) days, intermediate luminosity phenomena (L\(_x = 10^{34} - 10^{42}\) erg s\(^{-1}\)) represent a gap in the phase space. We thus identify L\(_x = 10^{34} - 10^{42}\) erg s\(^{-1}\) and \(t = 10^{-4} - 0.1\) days as a key discovery phase space in transient X-ray astronomy.
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