147 research outputs found
Super Luminous Supernovae as standardizable candles and high redshift distance probes
We investigate the use of type Ic Super Luminous Supernovae as standardizable
candles and distance indicators. Their appeal as cosmological probes stems from
their remarkable peak luminosities, hot blackbody temperatures and bright
restframe ultraviolet emission. We present a sample of sixteen published SLSN,
from redshifts 0.1 to 1.2 and calculate accurate K-corrections to determine
uniform magnitudes in two synthetic rest-frame filters with central wavelengths
at 400nm and 520nm. At 400nm, we find a low scatter in their uncorrected, raw
mean magnitudes with M(400)=-21.70 for the full sample of sixteen objects. We
investigate the correlation between their decline rates and peak magnitude and
find that the brighter events appear to decline more slowly. We define a
decay relation. This correlates peak magnitude and decline over
30 days and can reduce the scatter to 0.25. We further show that M(400) appears
to have a strong colour dependence. Using this colour rate decay relation, a
low scatter of between 0.19 and 0.26 can be found depending on sample
selection. However we caution that only eight to ten objects currently have
enough data to test this colour rate decline relation. We conclude that SLSN Ic
are promising distance indicators at high redshift in regimes beyond those
possible with SNe Ia. Although the empirical relationships are encouraging, the
unknown progenitor systems and how they may evolve with redshift are of some
concern. The two major measurement uncertainties are the limited numbers of low
redshift objects to test these relationships and internal dust extinction in
the host galaxies.Comment: The authors regret that in the published version (2014, APJ, 796, 87)
there were calculation errors in many of the values in Table 1 and in
particular the important values for M(400) and the decline rates. The two
main conclusions of the paper are unchanged, but the quantitative rms values
are larger than previously reporte
The death of massive stars - II. Observational constraints on the progenitors of type Ibc supernovae
The progenitors of many type II core-collapse supernovae have now been
identified directly on pre-discovery imaging. Here we present an extensive
search for the progenitors of type Ibc supernovae in all available
pre-discovery imaging since 1998. There are 12 type Ibc supernovae with no
detections of progenitors in either deep ground-based or Hubble Space Telescope
archival imaging. The deepest absolute BVR magnitude limits are between -4 and
-5. We compare these limits with the observed Wolf-Rayet population in the
Large Magellanic Cloud and estimate a 16 per cent probability we have failed to
detect such a progenitor by chance. Alternatively the progenitors evolve
significantly before core-collapse or we have underestimated the extinction
towards the progenitors. Reviewing the relative rates and ejecta mass estimates
from lightcurve modelling of Ibc SNe, we find both incompatible with Wolf-Rayet
stars with initial masses >25Msun being the only progenitors. We present binary
evolution models that fit these observational constraints. Stars in binaries
with initial masses <20Msun lose their hydrogen envelopes in binary
interactions to become low mass helium stars. They retain a low mass hydrogen
envelope until approximately 10,000 years before core-collapse; hence it is not
surprising that galactic analogues have been difficult to identify.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. 31 pages, 12 figures, 8 table
Sher 25: pulsating but apparently alone
The blue supergiant Sher25 is surrounded by an asymmetric, hourglass-shaped
circumstellar nebula, which shows similarities to the triple-ring structure
seen around SN1987A. From optical spectroscopy over six consecutive nights, we
detect periodic radial velocity variations in the stellar spectrum of Sher25
with a peak-to-peak amplitude of ~12 km/s on a timescale of about 6 days,
confirming the tentative detec-tion of similar variations by Hendry et al. From
consideration of the amplitude and timescale of the signal, coupled with
observed line profile variations, we propose that the physical origin of these
variations is related to pulsations in the stellar atmosphere, rejecting the
previous hypothesis of a massive, short-period binary companion. The radial
velocities of two other blue supergiants with similar bipolar nebulae, SBW1 and
HD 168625, were also monitored over the course of six nights, but these did not
display any significant radial velocity variations.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Spatially resolved MaNGA observations of the host galaxy of superluminous supernova 2017egm
Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are found predominantly in dwarf galaxies,
indicating that their progenitors have a low metallicity. However, the most
nearby SLSN to date, SN 2017egm, occurred in the spiral galaxy NGC 3191, which
has a relatively high stellar mass and correspondingly high metallicity. In
this paper, we present detailed analysis of the nearby environment of SN
2017egm using MaNGA IFU data, which provides spectral data on kiloparsec
scales. From the velocity map we find no evidence that SN 2017egm occurred
within some intervening satellite galaxy, and at the SN position most
metallicity diagnostics yield a solar and above solar metallicity (12 + log
(O/H) = 8.8-9.1). Additionally we measure a small H-alpha equivalent width (EW)
at the SN position of just 34 Angs, which is one of the lowest EWs measured at
any SLSN or Gamma-Ray Burst position, and indicative of the progenitor star
being comparatively old. We also compare the observed properties of NGC 3191
with other SLSN host galaxies. The solar-metallicity environment at the
position of SN 2017egm presents a challenge to our theoretical understanding,
and our spatially resolved spectral analysis provides further constraints on
the progenitors of SLSNe.Comment: Accepted version in ApJ Letter. Thank you for useful comment
An upper mass limit for the progenitor of the TypeII-P supernova SN1999gi
Masses and progenitor evolutionary states of TypeII supernovae remain almost
unconstrained by direct observations. Only one robust observation of a
progenitor (SN1987A) and one plausible observation (SN1993J) are available.
Neither matched theoretical predictions and in this Letter we report limits on
a third progenitor (SN1999gi). The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged the site
of the TypeII-P supernova SN1999gi with the WFPC2 in two filters (F606W and
F300W) prior to explosion. The distance to the host galaxy (NGC3184) of 7.9Mpc
means that the most luminous, massive stars are resolved as single objects in
the archive images. The supernova occurred in a resolved, young OB association
2.3kpc from the centre of NGC3184 with an association age of about 4Myrs.
Follow-up images of SN1999gi with WFPC2 taken 14 months after discovery
determine the precise position of the SN on the pre-explosion frames. An upper
limit of the absolute magnitude of the progenitor is estimated (M_v >= -5.1).
By comparison with stellar evolutionary tracks this can be interpreted as a
stellar mass, and we determine an upper mass limit of 9(+3/-2)M_solar. We
discuss the possibility of determining the masses or mass limits for numerous
nearby core-collapse supernovae using the HST archive enhanced by our current
SNAP programme.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letters, 16 pages, 3 figure
The birth place of the type Ic Supernova 2007gr
We report our attempts to locate the progenitor of the peculiar type Ic SN
2007gr in HST pre-explosion images of the host galaxy, NGC 1058. Aligning
adaptive optics Altair/NIRI imaging of SN 2007gr from the Gemini (North)
Telescope with the pre-explosion HST WFPC2 images, we identify the SN position
on the HST frames with an accuracy of 20 mas. Although nothing is detected at
the SN position we show that it lies on the edge of a bright source, 134+/-23
mas (6.9 pc) from its nominal centre. Based on its luminosity we suggest that
this object is possibly an unresolved, compact and coeval cluster and that the
SN progenitor was a cluster member, although we note that model profile fitting
favours a single bright star. We find two solutions for the age of this assumed
cluster; 7-/+0.5 Myrs and 20-30 Myrs, with turn-off masses of 28+/-4 Msun and
12-9 Msun respectively. Pre-explosion ground-based K-band images marginally
favour the younger cluster age/higher turn-off mass. Assuming the SN progenitor
was a cluster member, the turn-off mass provides the best estimate for its
initial mass. More detailed observations, after the SN has faded, should
determine if the progenitor was indeed part of a cluster, and if so allow an
age estimate to within ~2 Myrs thereby favouring either a high mass single star
or lower mass interacting binary progenitor.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, resolution of fig 1. has been reduced, some
revision based on referee's comments, Accepted ApJL 27 Nov 200
Signatures of an eruptive phase before the explosion of the peculiar core-collapse SN 2013gc
We present photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the peculiar
core-collapse SN 2013gc, spanning seven years of observations. The light curve
shows an early maximum followed by a fast decline and a phase of almost
constant luminosity. At +200 days from maximum, a brightening of 1 mag is
observed in all bands, followed by a steep linear luminosity decline after +300
d. In archival images taken between 1.5 and 2.5 years before the explosion, a
weak source is visible at the supernova location, with mag20. The
early supernova spectra show Balmer lines, with a narrow (560 km
s) P-Cygni absorption superimposed on a broad (3400 km s)
component, typical of type IIn events. Through a comparison of colour curves,
absolute light curves and spectra of SN 2013gc with a sample of supernovae IIn,
we conclude that SN 2013gc is a member of the so-called type IId subgroup. The
complex profile of the H line suggests a composite circumstellar medium
geometry, with a combination of lower velocity, spherically symmetric gas and a
more rapidly expanding bilobed feature. This circumstellar medium distribution
has been likely formed through major mass-loss events, that we directly
observed from 3 years before the explosion. The modest luminosity
( near maximum) of SN 2013gc at all phases, the very small amount
of ejected Ni (of the order of M), the major
pre-supernova stellar activity and the lack of prominent [O I] lines in
late-time spectra support a fall-back core-collapse scenario for the massive
progenitor of SN~2013gc.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 8 tables, accepted by MNRA
Enabling science from the Rubin alert stream with Lasair
Lasair is the UK Community Broker for transient alerts from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. We explain the system’s capabilities, how users can achieve their scientific goals, and how Lasair is implemented. Lasair offers users a kit of parts that they can use to build filters to concentrate their desired alerts. The kit has novel light-curve features, sky context, watchlists of special sky objects and regions of the sky, dynamic cross-matching with catalogues of known astronomical sources, and classifications and annotations from other users and partner projects. These resources can be shared with other users, copied, and modified. Lasair offers real-time machine-to-machine notifications of filtered transient alerts. Even though the Rubin Observatory is not yet complete, Lasair is a mature system: it has been processing and serving data from the similarly formatted stream of the Zwicky Transient Facility alerts
A First Catalog of Variable Stars Measured by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) carries out its
primary planetary defense mission by surveying about 13000 deg^2 at least four
times per night. The resulting data set is useful for the discovery of variable
stars to a magnitude limit fainter than r~18, with amplitudes down to 0.01 mag
for bright objects. Here we present a Data Release One catalog of variable
stars based on analyzing 142 million stars measured at least 100 times in the
first two years of ATLAS operations. Using a Lomb-Scargle periodogram and other
variability metrics, we identify 4.7 million candidate variables which we
analyze in detail. Through Space Telescope Science Institute, we publicly
release lightcurves for all of them, together with a vector of 169
classification features for each star. We do this at the level of unconfirmed
candidate variables in order to provide the community with a large set of
homogeneously analyzed photometry and avoid pre-judging which types of objects
others may find most interesting. We use machine learning to classify the
candidates into fifteen different broad categories based on lightcurve
morphology. About 10% (430,000 stars) pass extensive tests designed to screen
out spurious variability detections: we label these as `probable' variables. Of
these, 230,000 receive specific classifications as eclipsing binaries,
pulsating, Mira-type, or sinusoidal variables: these are the `classified'
variables. New discoveries among the probable variables number more than
300,000, while 150,000 of the classified variables are new, including about
10,000 pulsating variables, 2,000 Mira stars, and 70,000 eclipsing binaries.Comment: Accepted by AJ; gives instructions for querying ATLAS variable star
database; this new version has nicer lightcurve figure
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