Six months of multiwavelength follow-up of the tidal disruption candidate ASASSN-14li and implied TDE rates from ASAS-SN

We present ground-based and Swift photometric and spectroscopic observations of the candidate tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-14li, found at the center of PGC043234 (d ' 90 Mpc) by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). The source had a peak bolometric luminosity of L ' 1044 ergs

ASASSN-15lh: The Most Luminous Supernova Ever Discovered

We report the discovery and early evolution of ASASSN-15lh, the most luminous supernova ever found. At redshift z=0.2326, ASASSN-15lh reached an absolute magnitude of M_{u,AB} ~ -23.5 and bolometric luminosity L_bol ~ 2.2x10^45 ergs/s, which is >~ 2 times more luminous than any previously known supernova. Its spectra match the hydrogen-poor sub-class of super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose energy sources and progenitors are poorly understood. In contrast to known SLSNe-I, most of which reside in star-forming, dwarf galaxies, its host appears to be a luminous galaxy (M_V ~ -22; M_K ~ -25.1) with little star formation. In the two months since its first detection, ASASSN-15lh has radiated ~7.5x10^51 ergs, challenging the popular magnetar model for the engine of SLSNe-I

The ASAS-SN Bright Supernova Catalog - II. 2015

This manuscript presents information for all supernovae discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) during 2015, its second full year of operations. The same information is presented for bright ($m_V\leq17$), spectroscopically confirmed supernovae discovered by other sources in 2015. As with the first ASAS-SN bright supernova catalog, we also present redshifts and near-UV through IR magnitudes for all supernova host galaxies in both samples. Combined with our previous catalog, this work comprises a complete catalog of 455 supernovae from multiple professional and amateur sources, allowing for population studies that were previously impossible. This is the second of a series of yearly papers on bright supernovae and their hosts from the ASAS-SN team

Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium - VII. The metamorphosis of ASASSN-15ed from a narrow line Type Ibn to a normal Type Ib Supernova

We present the results of the spectroscopic and photometric monitoring campaign of ASASSN-15ed. The transient was discovered quite young by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) survey. Amateur astronomers allowed us to sample the photometric SN evolution around maximum light, which we estimate to have occurred on JD = 2457087.4 ± 0.6 in the r band. Its apparent r-band magnitude at maximum was r = 16.91 ± 0.10, providing an absolute magnitude Mr ≈ −20.04 ± 0.20, which is slightly more luminous than the typical magnitudes estimated for Type Ibn SNe. The post-peak evolution was well monitored, and the decline rate (being in most bands around 0.1 mag d−1 during the first 25 d after maximum) is marginally slower than the average decline rates of SNe Ibn during the same time interval. The object was initially classified as a Type Ibn SN because early-time spectra were characterized by a blue continuum with superimposed narrow P-Cygni lines of He I, suggesting the presence of a slowly moving (1200–1500 km s−1), He-rich circumstellar medium. Later on, broad P-Cygni He I lines became prominent. The inferred velocities, as measured from the minimum of the broad absorption components, were between 6000 and 7000 km s−1. As we attribute these broad features to the SN ejecta, this is the first time we have observed the transition of a Type Ibn SN to a Type Ib SN

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. IX. Velocity–Delay Maps for Broad Emission Lines in NGC 5548

In this contribution, we achieve the primary goal of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) STORM campaign by recovering velocity–delay maps for the prominent broad emission lines (Lyα, C iv, He ii, and Hβ) in the spectrum of NGC 5548. These are the most detailed velocity–delay maps ever obtained for an AGN, providing unprecedented information on the geometry, ionization structure, and kinematics of the broad-line region. Virial envelopes enclosing the emission-line responses show that the reverberating gas is bound to the black hole. A stratified ionization structure is evident. The He ii response inside 5–10 lt-day has a broad single-peaked velocity profile. The Lyα, C iv, and Hβ responses extend from inside 2 to outside 20 lt-day, with double peaks at ±2500 km s−1 in the 10–20 lt-day delay range. An incomplete ellipse in the velocity–delay plane is evident in Hβ. We interpret the maps in terms of a Keplerian disk with a well-defined outer rim at R = 20 lt-day. The far-side response is weaker than that from the near side. The line-center delay $\tau =(R/c)(1-\sin i)\approx 5$ days gives the inclination i ≈ 45°. The inferred black hole mass is MBH ≈ 7 × 107 M⊙. In addition to reverberations, the fit residuals confirm that emission-line fluxes are depressed during the "BLR Holiday" identified in previous work. Moreover, a helical "Barber-Pole" pattern, with stripes moving from red to blue across the C iv and Lyα line profiles, suggests azimuthal structure rotating with a 2 yr period that may represent precession or orbital motion of inner-disk structures casting shadows on the emission-line region farther out

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference