We describe the first observations of the same celestial object with gravitational waves and light.
GW170817 was the first detection of a neutron star merger with gravitational waves.
The ...detection of a spatially coincident weak burst of gamma-rays (GRB 170817A) 1.7 s after the merger constituted the first electromagnetic detection of a gravitational wave source and established a connection between at least some cosmic short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) and binary neutron star mergers.
A fast-evolving optical and near-infrared transient (AT 2017gfo) associated with the event can be interpreted as resulting from the ejection of ∼0.05 M
of material enriched in
r
-process elements, finally establishing binary neutron star mergers as at least one source of
r
-process nucleosynthesis.
Radio and X-ray observations revealed a long-rising source that peaked ∼160,d after the merger. Combined with the apparent superluminal motion of the associated very long baseline interferometry source, these observations show that the merger produced a relativistic structured jet whose core was oriented 20 deg from the line of sight and with properties similar to SGRBs. The jet structure likely results from interaction between the jet and the merger ejecta.
The electromagnetic and gravitational wave information can be combined to produce constraints on the expansion rate of the Universe and the equation of state of dense nuclear matter. These multimessenger endeavors will be a major emphasis of future work.
We study the spectroscopic evolution of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) later than 100 days after maximum light. We present new data for Gaia16apd and SN 2017egm and analyze these with a larger ...sample comprising 41 spectra of 12 events. The spectra become nebular within 2-4 e-folding times after light-curve peak, with the rate of spectroscopic evolution correlated to the light-curve timescale. Emission lines are identified with well-known transitions of oxygen, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and iron. SLSNe are differentiated from other SNe Ic by a prominent O i λ7774 line and higher ionization states of oxygen. The iron-dominated region around 5000 is more similar to broad-lined SNe Ic than to normal SNe Ic. Principal component analysis shows that five "eigenspectra" capture 70% of the variance, while a clustering analysis shows no clear evidence for multiple SLSN subclasses. Line velocities are 5000-8000 km s−1 and show stratification of the ejecta. O i λ7774 likely arises in a dense inner region that also produces calcium emission, while O i λ6300 comes from farther out until 300-400 days. The luminosities of O i λ7774 and Ca ii suggest significant clumping, in agreement with previous studies. Ratios of Ca ii λ7300/O i λ6300 favor progenitors with relatively massive helium cores, likely 6 , though more modeling is required here. SLSNe with broad light curves show the strongest O i λ6300, suggesting larger ejecta masses. We show how the inferred velocity, density, and ionization structure point to a central power source.
We use the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to reduce the uncertainty in the local value of the Hubble constant from 3.3% to 2.4%. The bulk of this improvement comes ...from new near-infrared (NIR) observations of Cepheid variables in 11 host galaxies of recent type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), more than doubling the sample of reliable SNe Ia having a Cepheid-calibrated distance to a total of 19; these in turn leverage the magnitude-redshift relation based on ~300 SNe Ia at z< 0.15. All 19 hosts as well as the megamaser system NGC 4258 have been observed with WFC3 in the optical and NIR, thus nullifying cross-instrument zeropoint errors in the relative distance estimates from Cepheids. Other noteworthy improvements include a 33% reduction in the systematic uncertainty in the maser distance to NGC 4258, a larger sample of Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a more robust distance to the LMC based on late-type detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs), HST observations of Cepheids in M31, and new HST-based trigonometric parallaxes for Milky Way (MW) Cepheids. We consider four geometric distance calibrations of Cepheids: (i) megamasers in NGC 4258, (ii) 8 DEBs in the LMC, (iii) 15 MW Cepheids with parallaxes measured with HST/FGS, HST/WFC3 spatial scanning and/or Hipparcos, and (iv) 2 DEBs in M31. The Hubble constant from each is 72.25 + or - 2.51, 72.04 + or - 2.67, 76.18 + or - 2.37, and 74.50 + or - 3.27 km s super(-1) Mpc super(-1), respectively. Our best estimate of H sub(0)= 73.24 + or - 1.74 km s super(-1) Mpc super(-1) combines the anchors NGC 4258, MW, and LMC, yielding a 2.4% determination (all quoted uncertainties include fully propagated statistical and systematic components). This value is 3.4sigma higher than 66.93 + or - 0.62 km s super(-1) Mpc super(-1) predicted by LambdaCDM with 3 neutrino flavors having a mass of 0.06 eV and the new Planck data, but the discrepancy reduces to 2.1sigma relative to the prediction of 69.3 + or - 0.7 km s super(-1) Mpc super(-1) based on the comparably precise combination of WMAP+ACT+SPT+BAO observations, suggesting that systematic uncertainties in CMB radiation measurements may play a role in the tension. If we take the conflict between Planck high-redshift measurements and our local determination of H sub(0) at face value, one plausible explanation could involve an additional source of dark radiation in the early universe in the range of DeltaN sub(eff)approximate 0.4-1. We anticipate further significant improvements in H sub(0) from upcoming parallax measurements of long-period MW Cepheids.
This is the second paper of a series in which we present new measurements of the observed rates of supernovae (SNe) in the local Universe, determined from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search ...(LOSS). In this paper, a complete SN sample is constructed, and the observed (uncorrected for host-galaxy extinction) luminosity functions (LFs) of SNe are derived. These LFs solve two issues that have plagued previous rate calculations for nearby SNe: the luminosity distribution of SNe and the host-galaxy extinction. We select a volume-limited sample of 175 SNe, collect photometry for every object and fit a family of light curves to constrain the peak magnitudes and light-curve shapes. The volume-limited LFs show that they are not well represented by a Gaussian distribution. There are notable differences in the LFs for galaxies of different Hubble types (especially for SNe Ia). We derive the observed fractions for the different subclasses in a complete SN sample, and find significant fractions of SNe II-L (10 per cent), IIb (12 per cent) and IIn (9 per cent) in the SN II sample. Furthermore, we derive the LFs and the observed fractions of different SN subclasses in a magnitude-limited survey with different observation intervals, and find that the LFs are enhanced at the high-luminosity end and appear more 'standard' with smaller scatter, and that the LFs and fractions of SNe do not change significantly when the observation interval is shorter than 10 d. We also discuss the LFs in different galaxy sizes and inclinations, and for different SN subclasses. Some notable results are that there is not a strong correlation between the SN LFs and the host-galaxy size, but there might be a preference for SNe IIn to occur in small, late-type spiral galaxies. The LFs in different inclination bins do not provide strong evidence for extreme extinction in highly inclined galaxies, though the sample is still small. The LFs of different SN subclasses show significant differences. We also find that SNe Ibc and IIb come from more luminous galaxies than SNe II-P, while SNe IIn come from less luminous galaxies, suggesting a possible metallicity effect. The limitations and applications of our LFs are also discussed.
We re-examine the classifications of supernovae (SNe) presented in the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) volume-limited sample with a focus on the stripped-envelope SNe. The LOSS ...volume-limited sample, presented by Leaman et al. and Li et al., was calibrated to provide meaningful measurements of SN rates in the local universe; the results presented therein continue to be used for comparisons to theoretical and modeling efforts. Many of the objects from the LOSS sample were originally classified based upon only a small subset of the data now available, however, and recent studies have both updated some subtype distinctions and improved our ability to perform robust classifications, especially for stripped-envelope SNe. We re-examine the spectroscopic classifications of all events in the LOSS volume-limited sample (180 SNe and SN impostors) and update them if necessary. We discuss the populations of rare objects in our sample including broad-lined SNe Ic, Ca-rich SNe, SN 1987A-like events (we identify SN 2005io as SN 1987A-like here for the first time), and peculiar subtypes. The relative fractions of SNe Ia, SNe II, and stripped-envelope SNe in the local universe are not affected, but those of some subtypes are. Most significantly, after discussing the often unclear boundary between SNe Ib and Ic when only noisy spectra are available, we find a higher SN Ib fraction and a lower SN Ic fraction than calculated by Li et al.: spectroscopically normal SNe Ib occur in the local universe 1.7 0.9 times more often than do normal SNe Ic.
Abstract
The light-curve diversity of hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) has kept open the possibility that multiple power sources account for the population. Specifically, ...pair-instability explosions (PISNe), which produce large masses of
56
Ni, have been argued as the origin of some slowly-evolving SLSNe. Here we present detailed observations of SN 2016inl (=PS16fgt), a slowly-evolving SLSN at
z
= 0.3057, whose unusually red spectrum matches PS1-14bj, an SLSN with an exceptionally long rise time consistent with a PISN. Ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope data, spanning about 800 rest-frame days, reveal a significant light-curve flattening, similar to that seen in SN 2015bn and much slower than the decline rate expected from radioactive decay of
56
Co. We therefore conclude that despite its slow evolution, SN 2016inl is inconsistent with a PISN. Instead, the light-curve evolution matches the expected power-law spindown of a magnetar central engine, but with a shallower power law (
L
∝
t
−2.8
) compared to that in SN 2015bn, indicating a possible difference in the
γ
-ray opacity between the two events. Analytical modeling indicates typical magnetar engine parameters, but one of the highest ejecta masses (≈20
M
⊙
) inferred for an SLSN. Our results indicate that monitoring the late-time light-curve evolution of SLSNe provides a powerful diagnostic of their energy source.
Automated classification of supernovae (SNe) based on optical photometric light-curve information is essential in the upcoming era of wide-field time domain surveys, such as the Legacy Survey of ...Space and Time (LSST) conducted by the Rubin Observatory. Photometric classification can enable real-time identification of interesting events for extended multiwavelength follow-up, as well as archival population studies. Here we present the complete sample of 5243 "SN-like" light curves (in gP1rP1iP1zP1) from the Pan-STARRS1 Medium-Deep Survey (PS1-MDS). The PS1-MDS is similar to the planned LSST Wide-Fast-Deep survey in terms of cadence, filters, and depth, making this a useful training set for the community. Using this data set, we train a novel semisupervised machine learning algorithm to photometrically classify 2315 new SN-like light curves with host galaxy spectroscopic redshifts. Our algorithm consists of an RF supervised classification step and a novel unsupervised step in which we introduce a recurrent autoencoder neural network (RAENN). Our final pipeline, dubbed SuperRAENN, has an accuracy of 87% across five SN classes (Type Ia, Ibc, II, IIn, SLSN-I) and macro-averaged purity and completeness of 66% and 69%, respectively. We find the highest accuracy rates for SNe Ia and SLSNe and the lowest for SNe Ibc. Our complete spectroscopically and photometrically classified samples break down into 62.0% Type Ia (1839 objects), 19.8% Type II (553 objects), 4.8% Type IIn (136 objects), 11.7% Type Ibc (291 objects), and 1.6% Type I SLSNe (54 objects).
At redshift z = 0.03, the recently discovered SN 2017egm is the nearest Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN) to date and first near the center of a massive spiral galaxy (NGC 3191). Using SDSS ...spectra of NGC 3191, we find a metallicity ∼2 at the nucleus and ∼1.3 for a star-forming region at a radial offset similar to SN 2017egm. Archival radio-to-UV photometry reveals a star formation rate of ∼15 yr−1 (with ∼70% dust obscured), which can account for a Swift X-ray detection and a stellar mass of . We model the early UV-optical light curves with a magnetar central-engine model, using the Bayesian light curve fitting tool MOSFiT. The fits indicate an ejecta mass of 2-4 , a spin period of 4-6 ms, a magnetic field of G, and a kinetic energy of erg. These parameters are consistent with the overall distributions for SLSNe, modeled by Nicholl et al., although the derived mass and spin are toward the low end, possibly indicating an enhanced loss of mass and angular momentum before explosion. This has two implications: (i) SLSNe can occur at solar metallicity, although with a low fraction of ∼10%, and (ii) metallicity has at most a modest effect on their properties. Both conclusions are in line with results for long gamma-ray bursts. Assuming a monotonic rise gives an explosion date of MJD 57889 1. However, a short-lived excess in the data relative to the best-fitting models may indicate an early-time "bump." If confirmed, SN 2017egm would be the first SLSN with a spectrum during the bump phase; this shows the same O ii lines seen at maximum light, which may be an important clue for explaining these bumps.
Abstract
We present the stellar population properties of 69 short gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies, representing the largest uniformly modeled sample to date. Using the
Prospector
stellar ...population inference code, we jointly fit photometry and/or spectroscopy of each host galaxy. We find a population median redshift of
z
=
0.64
−
0.32
+
0.83
(68% confidence), including nine photometric redshifts at
z
≳ 1. We further find a median mass-weighted age of
t
m
=
0.8
−
0.53
+
2.71
Gyr, stellar mass of log(
M
*
/
M
⊙
) =
9.69
−
0.65
+
0.75
, star formation rate of SFR =
1.44
−
1.35
+
9.37
M
⊙
yr
−1
, stellar metallicity of log(
Z
*
/
Z
⊙
) =
−
0.38
−
0.42
+
0.44
, and dust attenuation of
A
V
=
0.43
−
0.36
+
0.85
mag (68% confidence). Overall, the majority of short GRB hosts are star-forming (≈84%), with small fractions that are either transitioning (≈6%) or quiescent (≈10%); however, we observe a much larger fraction (≈40%) of quiescent and transitioning hosts at
z
≲ 0.25, commensurate with galaxy evolution. We find that short GRB hosts populate the star-forming main sequence of normal field galaxies, but do not include as many high-mass galaxies as the general galaxy population, implying that their binary neutron star (BNS) merger progenitors are dependent on a combination of host star formation and stellar mass. The distribution of ages and redshifts implies a broad delay-time distribution, with a fast-merging channel at
z
> 1 and a decreased neutron star binary formation efficiency from high to low redshifts. If short GRB hosts are representative of BNS merger hosts within the horizon of current gravitational wave detectors, these results can inform future searches for electromagnetic counterparts. All of the data and modeling products are available on the Broadband Repository for Investigating Gamma-ray burst Host Traits website.
This is the first paper of a series in which we present new measurements of the observed rates of supernovae (SNe) in the local Universe, determined from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search. We ...have obtained 2.3 million observations of 14 882 sample galaxies over an interval of 11 years (1998 March to 2008 December). We considered 1036 SNe detected in our sample and used an optimal subsample of 726 SNe (274 Type Ia SNe, 116 Type Ibc SNe and Type II 324 SNe) to determine our SN rates. This is the largest and most homogeneous set of nearby SNe ever assembled for this purpose, and ours is the first local SN rate analysis based on CCD imaging and modern image-subtraction techniques. In this paper, we lay the foundation of the study. We derive the recipe for the control-time calculation for SNe with a known luminosity function and provide details on the construction of the galaxy and SN samples used in the calculations. Compared with a complete volume-limited galaxy sample, our sample has a deficit of low-luminosity galaxies but still provides enough statistics for a reliable rate calculation. There is a strong Malmquist bias, so the average size (luminosity or mass) of the galaxies increases monotonically with distance, and this trend is used to showcase a correlation between SN rates and galaxy sizes. Very few core-collapse SNe are found in early-type galaxies, providing strong constraints on the amount of recent star formation within these galaxies. The small average observation interval (∼9 d) of our survey ensures that our control-time calculations can tolerate a reasonable amount of uncertainty in the luminosity functions of SNe. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to determine the limiting magnitude of each image and the SN detection efficiency as a function of galaxy Hubble type. The limiting magnitude and the detection efficiency, together with the luminosity function derived from a complete sample of very nearby SNe in Paper II, will be used to calculate the control time and the SN rates in Paper III.
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