TY - JOUR
T1 - The Type i Superluminous Supernova PS16aqv
T2 - Lightcurve Complexity and Deep Limits on Radioactive Ejecta in a Fast Event
AU - Blanchard, P. K.
AU - Nicholl, M.
AU - Berger, E.
AU - Chornock, R.
AU - Margutti, R.
AU - Milisavljevic, D.
AU - Fong, W.
AU - Macleod, C.
AU - Bhirombhakdi, K.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Berger Time-Domain Group at Harvard is supported in part by the NSF under grant AST-1714498 and by NASA under grant NNX15AE50G. This paper is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE1144152. We thank Pete Challis and Allyson Bieryla for assistance with some of the FLWO 48 inch observations. We thank Stephen Smartt and Ken Smith for providing access to the early PSST images. This work is based in part on observations obtained at the MDM Observatory, operated by Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Ohio State University, Ohio University, and the University of Michigan. This work is partially based on data acquired with the Swift GO program 1114109 (PI Margutti). R.M. acknowledges partial support from programs No. NNX16AT51G provided by NASA through Swift Guest Investigator Programs. Based on observations (Proposal ID GN-2016B-FT-28) obtained at the Gemini Observatory acquired through the Gemini Observatory Archive and processed using the Gemini IRAF package, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina), and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil). This paper uses data products produced by the OIR Telescope Data Center, supported by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Some observations reported here were obtained at the MMT Observatory, a joint facility of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona. This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Support for program GO-15162 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
Funding Information:
The Berger Time-Domain Group at Harvard is supported in part by the NSF under grant AST-1714498 and by NASA under grant NNX15AE50G. This paper is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE1144152. We thank Pete Challis and Allyson Bieryla for assistance with some of the FLWO 48 inch observations. We thank Stephen Smartt and Ken Smith for providing access to the early PSST images. This work is based in part on observations obtained at the MDM Observatory, operated by Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Ohio State University, Ohio University, and the University of Michigan. This work is partially based on data acquired with the Swift GO program 1114109 (PI Margutti). R.M. acknowledges partial support from programs No. NNX16AT51G provided by NASA through Swift Guest Investigator Programs. Based on observations (Proposal ID GN-2016B-FT-28) obtained at the Gemini Observatory acquired through the Gemini Observatory Archive and processed using the Gemini IRAF package, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/9/20
Y1 - 2018/9/20
N2 - We present UV/optical observations of PS16aqv (SN 2016ard), a fast-evolving Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN-I) that reached a peak absolute magnitude of M r ≈ -22.1. The lightcurves exhibit a significant undulation at 30 rest-frame days after peak, with a behavior similar to undulations seen in the slowly fading SLSN-I SN 2015bn. This similarity strengthens the case that fast and slow SLSNe-I form a continuum with a common origin. At ≈80 days after peak, the lightcurves exhibit a transition to a slow decline, followed by significant steepening, indicative of a plateau phase or a second significant undulation. Deep limits at ≈280 days after peak imply a tight constraint on the nickel mass, M Ni ≲ 0.35 M o (lower than for previous SLSNe-I), and indicate that some SLSNe-I do not produce significantly more nickel than normal Type Ic SNe. Using MOSFiT, we model the lightcurve with a magnetar central engine model and find P spin ≈ 0.9 ms, B ≈ 1.5 ×1014 G, and M ej ≈ 16 M o. The implied rapid spin-down time and large reservoir of available energy coupled with the high ejecta mass may account for the fast lightcurve and slow spectroscopic evolution. We also study PS16aqv's location within its host galaxy and find that it occurred at an offset of 2.46 ±0.21 kpc from the central star-forming region. Aside from high extinction, the host properties are similar to most other SLSN-I host galaxies. The complexity in the lightcurves of PS16aqv and other events highlights the importance of obtaining well-sampled lightcurves for exploring deviations from a uniform decline.
AB - We present UV/optical observations of PS16aqv (SN 2016ard), a fast-evolving Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN-I) that reached a peak absolute magnitude of M r ≈ -22.1. The lightcurves exhibit a significant undulation at 30 rest-frame days after peak, with a behavior similar to undulations seen in the slowly fading SLSN-I SN 2015bn. This similarity strengthens the case that fast and slow SLSNe-I form a continuum with a common origin. At ≈80 days after peak, the lightcurves exhibit a transition to a slow decline, followed by significant steepening, indicative of a plateau phase or a second significant undulation. Deep limits at ≈280 days after peak imply a tight constraint on the nickel mass, M Ni ≲ 0.35 M o (lower than for previous SLSNe-I), and indicate that some SLSNe-I do not produce significantly more nickel than normal Type Ic SNe. Using MOSFiT, we model the lightcurve with a magnetar central engine model and find P spin ≈ 0.9 ms, B ≈ 1.5 ×1014 G, and M ej ≈ 16 M o. The implied rapid spin-down time and large reservoir of available energy coupled with the high ejecta mass may account for the fast lightcurve and slow spectroscopic evolution. We also study PS16aqv's location within its host galaxy and find that it occurred at an offset of 2.46 ±0.21 kpc from the central star-forming region. Aside from high extinction, the host properties are similar to most other SLSN-I host galaxies. The complexity in the lightcurves of PS16aqv and other events highlights the importance of obtaining well-sampled lightcurves for exploring deviations from a uniform decline.
KW - supernovae: general
KW - supernovae: individual (PS16aqv)
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U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aad8b9
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aad8b9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85053917040
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 865
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 9
ER -