ABSTRACT
We present a comprehensive study of an unbiased sample of 150 nearby (median redshift, z = 0.014) core-collapse supernova (CCSN) host galaxies drawn from the All-Sky Automated Survey for ...Supernovae (ASAS-SN) for direct comparison to the nearest long-duration gamma-ray burst (LGRB) and superluminous supernova (SLSN) hosts. We use public imaging surveys to gather multiwavelength photometry for all CCSN host galaxies and fit their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to derive stellar masses and integrated star formation rates (SFRs). CCSNe populate galaxies across a wide range of stellar masses, from blue and compact dwarf galaxies to large spiral galaxies. We find 33$^{+4}_{-4}$ per cent of CCSNe are in dwarf galaxies (M* < 109 M⊙) and 2$^{+2}_{-1}$ per cent are in dwarf starburst galaxies specific star formation rate (sSFR) > 10−8 yr−1. We reanalyse low-redshift SLSN and LGRB hosts from the literature (out to z < 0.3) in a homogeneous way and compare against the CCSN host sample. The relative SLSN to CCSN supernova rate is increased in low-mass galaxies and at high sSFRs. These parameters are strongly covariant and we cannot break the degeneracy between them with our current sample, although there is some evidence that both factors may play a role. Larger unbiased samples of CCSNe from projects such as ZTF and LSST will be needed to determine whether host-galaxy mass (a proxy for metallicity) or sSFR (a proxy for star formation intensity and potential IMF variation) is more fundamental in driving the preference for SLSNe and LGRBs in unusual galaxy environments.
It is difficult to establish the properties of massive stars that explode as supernovae. The electromagnetic emission during the first minutes to hours after the emergence of the shock from the ...stellar surface conveys important information about the final evolution and structure of the exploding star. However, the unpredictable nature of supernova events hinders the detection of this brief initial phase. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of a newly born, normal type IIb supernova (SN 2016gkg), which reveals a rapid brightening at optical wavelengths of about 40 magnitudes per day. The very frequent sampling of the observations allowed us to study in detail the outermost structure of the progenitor of the supernova and the physics of the emergence of the shock. We develop hydrodynamical models of the explosion that naturally account for the complete evolution of the supernova over distinct phases regulated by different physical processes. This result suggests that it is appropriate to decouple the treatment of the shock propagation from the unknown mechanism that triggers the explosion.
We study 34 Type Ic supernovae that have broad spectral features (SNe Ic-BL). This is the only SN type found in association with long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We obtained our photometric ...data with the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and its continuation, the intermediate PTF (iPTF). This is the first large, homogeneous sample of SNe Ic-BL from an untargeted survey. Furthermore, given the high observational cadence of iPTF, most of these SNe Ic-BL were discovered soon after explosion. We present K-corrected Bgriz light curves of these SNe, obtained through photometry on template-subtracted images. We analyzed the shape of the r-band light curves, finding a correlation between the decline parameter Δm15 and the rise parameter Δm−10. We studied the SN colors and, based on g − r, we estimated the host-galaxy extinction for each event. Peak r-band absolute magnitudes have an average of −18.6 ± 0.5 mag. We fit each r-band light curve with that of SN 1998bw (scaled and stretched) to derive the explosion epochs. We computed the bolometric light curves using bolometric corrections, r-band data, and g − r colors. Expansion velocities from Fe II were obtained by fitting spectral templates of SNe Ic. Bolometric light curves and velocities at peak were fitted using the semianalytic Arnett model to estimate ejecta mass Mej, explosion energy EK and 56Ni mass M(56Ni) for each SN. We find average values of Mej = 4 ± 3 M⊙, EK = (7 ± 6)×1051 erg, and M(56Ni)=0.31 ± 0.16 M⊙. The parameter distributions were compared to those presented in the literature and are overall in agreement with them. We also estimated the degree of 56Ni mixing using scaling relations derived from hydrodynamical models and we find that all the SNe are strongly mixed. The derived explosion parameters imply that at least 21% of the progenitors of SNe Ic-BL are compatible with massive (> 28 M⊙), possibly single stars, whereas at least 64% might come from less massive stars in close binary systems.
We report the appearance of a new radio source at a projected offset of 460 pc from the nucleus of Cygnus A. The flux density of the source (which we designate Cygnus A-2) rose from an upper limit of ...<0.5 mJy in 1989 to 4 mJy in 2016 ( = 8.5 GHz), but is currently not varying by more than a few percent per year. The radio luminosity of the source is comparable to the most luminous known supernovae, it is compact in Very Long Baseline Array observations down to a scale of 4 pc, and it is coincident with a near-infrared point source seen in pre-existing adaptive optics and HST observations. The most likely interpretation of this source is that it represents a secondary supermassive black hole in a close orbit around the Cygnus A primary, though an exotic supernova model cannot be ruled out. The gravitational influence of a secondary SMBH at this location may have played an important role in triggering the rapid accretion that has powered the Cygnus A radio jet over the past 107 years.
We present the first direct imaging of what may be the thick torus in the active galactic nucleus (AGN) of the archetype powerful radio galaxy Cygnus A, using the Jansky Very Large Array at 18-48 ...GHz, with a resolution down to 45 mas. Such a torus has long been a key component of AGN models, but direct imaging on the relevant physical scales in sources of extreme (quasar-like) luminosities, remains scarce. An elongated structure, perpendicular to the radio jets and centered on the core, is well resolved, with a full length of 0 48 (528 pc), and a full width of 0 26 (286 pc). The radio emission spectrum is consistent with optically thin free-free emission. We present a toy model of a flaring torus, with a half-opening angle for the poloidal region of 62°. The radio jets are oriented along the poles. The observations require a clumpy gas distribution, with the free-free emission dominated by clumps with densities ≥4000 cm−3.
With the advent of new wide-field, high-cadence optical transient surveys, our understanding of the diversity of core-collapse supernovae has grown tremendously in the last decade. However, the ...pre-supernova evolution of massive stars, which sets the physical backdrop to these violent events, is theoretically not well understood and difficult to probe observationally. Here we report the discovery of the supernova iPTF 13dqy = SN 2013fs a mere ∼3 h after explosion. Our rapid follow-up observations, which include multiwavelength photometry and extremely early (beginning at ∼6 h post-explosion) spectra, map the distribution of material in the immediate environment (<, ~1015 cm) of the exploding star and establish that it was surrounded by circumstellar material (CSM) that was ejected during the final ∼1 yr prior to explosion at a high rate, around 10-3 solar masses per year. The complete disappearance of flash-ionized emission lines within the first several days requires that the dense CSM be confined to within <, ~1015 cm, consistent with radio non-detections at 70-100 days. The observations indicate that iPTF 13dqy was a regular type II supernova; thus, the finding that the probable red supergiant progenitor of this common explosion ejected material at a highly elevated rate just prior to its demise suggests that pre-supernova instabilities may be common among exploding massive stars.
We investigate the light-curve properties of a sample of 26 spectroscopically confirmed hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) in the Palomar Transient Factory survey. These events are ...brighter than SNe Ib/c and SNe Ic-BL, on average, by about 4 and 2 mag, respectively. The peak absolute magnitudes of SLSNe-I in rest-frame g band span −22 Mg −20 mag, and these peaks are not powered by radioactive 56Ni, unless strong asymmetries are at play. The rise timescales are longer for SLSNe than for normal SNe Ib/c, by roughly 10 days, for events with similar decay times. Thus, SLSNe-I can be considered as a separate population based on photometric properties. After peak, SLSNe-I decay with a wide range of slopes, with no obvious gap between rapidly declining and slowly declining events. The latter events show more irregularities (bumps) in the light curves at all times. At late times, the SLSN-I light curves slow down and cluster around the 56Co radioactive decay rate. Powering the late-time light curves with radioactive decay would require between 1 and 10 M of Ni masses. Alternatively, a simple magnetar model can reasonably fit the majority of SLSNe-I light curves, with four exceptions, and can mimic the radioactive decay of 56Co, up to ∼400 days from explosion. The resulting spin values do not correlate with the host-galaxy metallicities. Finally, the analysis of our sample cannot strengthen the case for using SLSNe-I for cosmology.
Highly dust-obscured starbursting galaxies (submillimeter galaxies and their ilk) represent the most extreme sites of star formation in the distant universe and contribute significantly to overall ...cosmic star formation beyond z > 1.5. Some stars formed in these environments may also explode as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and contribute to the population of "dark" bursts. Here we present Very Large Array wideband radio-continuum observations of 15 heavily dust-obscured Swift GRBs to search for radio synchrotron emission associated with intense star formation in their host galaxies. Most of these targets (11) are not detected. Of the remaining four objects, one detection is marginal, and for two others we cannot yet rule out the contribution of a long-lived radio afterglow. The final detection is secure, but indicates a star formation rate (SFR) roughly consistent with the dust-corrected UV-inferred value. Most galaxies hosting obscured GRBs are therefore not forming stars at extreme rates, and the amount of optical extinction seen along a GRB afterglow sightline does not clearly correlate with the likelihood that the host has a sufficiently high SFR to be radio-detectable. While some submillimeter galaxies do readily produce GRBs, these GRBs are often not heavily obscured-suggesting that the outer (modestly obscured) parts of these galaxies overproduce GRBs and the inner (heavily obscured) parts underproduce GRBs relative to their respective contributions to star formation, hinting at strong chemical or initial mass function gradients within these systems.
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 UV and near-IR (nIR) imaging of 21 Superluminous Supernovae (SLSNe) host galaxies, providing a sensitive probe of star formation and ...stellar mass within the hosts. Comparing the photometric and morphological properties of these host galaxies with those of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs), we find SLSN hosts are fainter and more compact at both UV and nIR wavelengths, in some cases we barely recover hosts with absolute magnitude around MV ≈ −14. With the addition of ground based optical observations and archival results, we produce spectral energy distribution fits to these hosts, and show that SLSN hosts possess lower stellar mass and star formation rates. This is most pronounced for the hydrogen deficient Type-I SLSN hosts, although Type-II H-rich SLSN host galaxies remain distinct from the bulk of CCSNe, spanning a remarkably broad range of absolute magnitudes, with ∼30 per cent of SLSNe-II arising from galaxies fainter than M
nIR ∼ −14. The detection of our faintest SLSN hosts increases the confidence that SLSNe-I hosts are distinct from those of LGRBs in star formation rate and stellar mass, and suggests that apparent similarities in metallicity may be due to the limited fraction of hosts for which emission line metallicity measurements are feasible. The broad range of luminosities of SLSN-II hosts is difficult to describe by metallicity cuts, and does not match the expectations of any reasonable UV-weighted luminosity function, suggesting additional environmental constraints are likely necessary to yield hydrogen rich SLSNe.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are one of the most tantalizing mysteries of the radio sky; their progenitors and origins remain unknown and until now no rapid multiwavelength follow-up of an FRB has been ...possible. New instrumentation has decreased the time between observation and discovery from years to seconds, and enables polarimetry to be performed on FRBs for the first time. We have discovered an FRB (FRB 140514) in real-time on 2014 May 14 at 17:14:11.06 UTC at the Parkes radio telescope and triggered follow-up at other wavelengths within hours of the event. FRB 140514 was found with a dispersion measure (DM) of 562.7(6) cm−3 pc, giving an upper limit on source redshift of z ≲ 0.5. FRB 140514 was found to be 21 ± 7 per cent (3σ) circularly polarized on the leading edge with a 1σ upper limit on linear polarization <10 per cent. We conclude that this polarization is intrinsic to the FRB. If there was any intrinsic linear polarization, as might be expected from coherent emission, then it may have been depolarized by Faraday rotation caused by passing through strong magnetic fields and/or high-density environments. FRB 140514 was discovered during a campaign to re-observe known FRB fields, and lies close to a previous discovery, FRB 110220; based on the difference in DMs of these bursts and time-on-sky arguments, we attribute the proximity to sampling bias and conclude that they are distinct objects. Follow-up conducted by 12 telescopes observing from X-ray to radio wavelengths was unable to identify a variable multiwavelength counterpart, allowing us to rule out models in which FRBs originate from nearby (z < 0.3) supernovae and long duration gamma-ray bursts.
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