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1. ASASSN-18am/SN 2018gk: an overluminous Type IIb supernova from a massive progenitor

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab629  

   Bose, Subhash ; Dong, Subo ; Kochanek, C S ; Stritzinger, M D ; Ashall, Chris ; Benetti, Stefano ; Falco, E ; Filippenko, Alexei V ; Pastorello, Andrea ; Prieto, Jose L ; et al ( March 2021 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT ASASSN-18am/SN 2018gk is a newly discovered member of the rare group of luminous, hydrogen-rich supernovae (SNe) with a peak absolute magnitude of MV ≈ −20 mag that is in between normal core-collapse SNe and superluminous SNe. These SNe show no prominent spectroscopic signatures of ejecta interacting with circumstellar material (CSM), and their powering mechanism is debated. ASASSN-18am declines extremely rapidly for a Type II SN, with a photospheric-phase decline rate of ∼6.0 mag (100 d)−1. Owing to the weakening of H i and the appearance of He i in its later phases, ASASSN-18am is spectroscopically a Type IIb SN with a partially stripped envelope. However, itsmore »photometric and spectroscopic evolution shows significant differences from typical SNe IIb. Using a radiative diffusion model, we find that the light curve requires a high synthesized 56Ni mass $M_{\rm Ni} \sim 0.4\, \rm {M_{\odot }}$ and ejecta with high kinetic energy Ekin = (7–10) × 1051 erg. Introducing a magnetar central engine still requires $M_{\rm Ni} \sim 0.3\, \rm {M_{\odot }}$ and Ekin = 3 × 1051 erg. The high 56Ni mass is consistent with strong iron-group nebular lines in its spectra, which are also similar to several SNe Ic-BL with high 56Ni yields. The earliest spectrum shows ‘flash ionization’ features, from which we estimate a mass-loss rate of $\dot{M}\approx 2\times 10^{-4} \, \rm \rm {M_{\odot }}\,yr^{-1}$. This wind density is too low to power the luminous light curve by ejecta–CSM interaction. We measure expansion velocities as high as 17 000 $\rm {\, km\, s^{-1}}$ for Hα, which is remarkably high compared to other SNe II. We estimate an oxygen core mass of 1.8–3.4 M⊙ using the [O i] luminosity measured from a nebular-phase spectrum, implying a progenitor with a zero-age main-sequence mass of 19–26 M⊙.« less
2. The Berkeley sample of Type II supernovae: BVRI light curves and spectroscopy of 55 SNe II

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2714  

   de Jaeger, T. ; Zheng, W. ; Stahl, B. E. ; Filippenko, A. V. ; Brink, T. G. ; Bigley, A. ; Blanchard, K. ; Blanchard, P. K. ; Bradley, J. ; Cargill, S. K. ; et al ( September 2019 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   In this work, BVRI light curves of 55 Type II supernovae (SNe II) from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search programme obtained with the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope and the 1 m Nickel telescope from 2006 to 2018 are presented. Additionally, more than 150 spectra gathered with the 3 m Shane telescope are published. We conduct an analyse of the peak absolute magnitudes, decline rates, and time durations of different phases of the light and colour curves. Typically, our light curves are sampled with a median cadence of 5.5 d for a total of 5093 photometric points. In average, V-band plateau declines with amore »rate of 1.29 mag (100 d)−1, which is consistent with previously published samples. For each band, the plateau slope correlates with the plateau length and the absolute peak magnitude: SNe II with steeper decline have shorter plateau duration and are brighter. A time-evolution analysis of spectral lines in term of velocities and pseudo-equivalent widths is also presented in this paper. Our spectroscopic sample ranges between 1 and 200 d post-explosion and has a median ejecta expansion velocity at 50 d post-explosion of 6500 km s−1 (H α line) and a standard dispersion of 2000 km s−1. Nebular spectra are in good agreement with theoretical models using a progenitor star having a mass <16M⊙. All the data are available to the community and will help to understand SN II diversity better, and therefore to improve their utility as cosmological distance indicators.

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3. SN 2017gci: a nearby Type I Superluminous Supernova with a bumpy tail

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa4035  

   Fiore, A ; Chen, T-W ; Jerkstrand, A ; Benetti, S ; Ciolfi, R ; Inserra, C ; Cappellaro, E ; Pastorello, A ; Leloudas, G ; Schulze, S ; et al ( February 2021 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT We present and discuss the optical spectrophotometric observations of the nearby (z = 0.087) Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN I) SN 2017gci, whose peak K-corrected absolute magnitude reaches Mg = −21.5 mag. Its photometric and spectroscopic evolution includes features of both slow- and of fast-evolving SLSN I, thus favoring a continuum distribution between the two SLSN-I subclasses. In particular, similarly to other SLSNe I, the multiband light curves (LCs) of SN 2017gci show two re-brightenings at about 103 and 142 d after the maximum light. Interestingly, this broadly agrees with a broad emission feature emerging around 6520 Å after ∼51 d from themore »maximum light, which is followed by a sharp knee in the LC. If we interpret this feature as Hα, this could support the fact that the bumps are the signature of late interactions of the ejecta with a (hydrogen-rich) circumstellar material. Then we fitted magnetar- and CSM-interaction-powered synthetic LCs on to the bolometric one of SN 2017gci. In the magnetar case, the fit suggests a polar magnetic field Bp ≃ 6 × 1014 G, an initial period of the magnetar Pinitial ≃ 2.8 ms, an ejecta mass $M_{\rm ejecta}\simeq 9\, \mathrm{M}_\odot $ and an ejecta opacity $\kappa \simeq 0.08\, \mathrm{cm}^{2}\, \rm{g}^{-1}$. A CSM-interaction scenario would imply a CSM mass $\simeq 5\, \mathrm{M}_\odot $ and an ejecta mass $\simeq 12\, \mathrm{M}_\odot $. Finally, the nebular spectrum of phase  + 187 d was modeled, deriving a mass of $\sim 10\, {\rm M}_\odot$ for the ejecta. Our models suggest that either a magnetar or CSM interaction might be the power sources for SN 2017gci and that its progenitor was a massive ($40\, {\rm M}_\odot$) star.« less
4. The low-luminosity Type II SN 2016aqf: a well-monitored spectral evolution of the Ni/Fe abundance ratio

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa1932  

   Müller-Bravo, Tomás E ; Gutiérrez, Claudia P ; Sullivan, Mark ; Jerkstrand, Anders ; Anderson, Joseph P ; González-Gaitán, Santiago ; Sollerman, Jesper ; Arcavi, Iair ; Burke, Jamison ; Galbany, Lluís ; et al ( September 2020 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT Low-luminosity Type II supernovae (LL SNe II) make up the low explosion energy end of core-collapse SNe, but their study and physical understanding remain limited. We present SN 2016aqf, an LL SN II with extensive spectral and photometric coverage. We measure a V-band peak magnitude of −14.58 mag, a plateau duration of ∼100 d, and an inferred 56Ni mass of 0.008 ± 0.002 M⊙. The peak bolometric luminosity, Lbol ≈ 1041.4 erg s−1, and its spectral evolution are typical of other SNe in the class. Using our late-time spectra, we measure the [O i] λλ6300, 6364 lines, which we compare against SN II spectral synthesis models to constrain the progenitormore »zero-age main-sequence mass. We find this to be 12 ± 3 M⊙. Our extensive late-time spectral coverage of the [Fe ii] λ7155 and [Ni ii] λ7378 lines permits a measurement of the Ni/Fe abundance ratio, a parameter sensitive to the inner progenitor structure and explosion mechanism dynamics. We measure a constant abundance ratio evolution of $0.081^{+0.009}_{-0.010}$ and argue that the best epochs to measure the ratio are at ∼200–300 d after explosion. We place this measurement in the context of a large sample of SNe II and compare against various physical, light-curve, and spectral parameters, in search of trends that might allow indirect ways of constraining this ratio. We do not find correlations predicted by theoretical models; however, this may be the result of the exact choice of parameters and explosion mechanism in the models, the simplicity of them, and/or primordial contamination in the measured abundance ratio.« less
5. Evidence for a Chandrasekhar-mass explosion in the Ca-strong 1991bg-like type Ia supernova 2016hnk

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935537  

   Galbany, L. ; Ashall, C. ; Höflich, P. ; González-Gaitán, S. ; Taubenberger, S. ; Stritzinger, M. ; Hsiao, E. Y. ; Mazzali, P. ; Baron, E. ; Blondin, S. ; et al ( October 2019 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Aims . We present a comprehensive dataset of optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of type Ia supernova (SN) 2016hnk, combined with integral field spectroscopy (IFS) of its host galaxy, MCG -01-06-070, and nearby environment. Our goal with this complete dataset is to understand the nature of this peculiar object. Methods . Properties of the SN local environment are characterized by means of single stellar population synthesis applied to IFS observations taken two years after the SN exploded. We performed detailed analyses of SN photometric data by studying its peculiar light and color curves. SN 2016hnk spectra were compared tomore »other 1991bg-like SNe Ia, 2002es-like SNe Ia, and Ca-rich transients. In addition, we used abundance stratification modeling to identify the various spectral features in the early phase spectral sequence and also compared the dataset to a modified non-LTE model previously produced for the sublumnious SN 1999by. Results . SN 2016hnk is consistent with being a subluminous ( M B  = −16.7 mag, s B V =0.43 ± 0.03), highly reddened object. The IFS of its host galaxy reveals both a significant amount of dust at the SN location, residual star formation, and a high proportion of old stellar populations in the local environment compared to other locations in the galaxy, which favors an old progenitor for SN 2016hnk. Inspection of a nebular spectrum obtained one year after maximum contains two narrow emission lines attributed to the forbidden [Ca  II ] λ λ 7291,7324 doublet with a Doppler shift of 700 km s −1 . Based on various observational diagnostics, we argue that the progenitor of SN 2016hnk was likely a near Chandrasekhar-mass ( M Ch ) carbon-oxygen white dwarf that produced 0.108 M ⊙ of 56 Ni. Our modeling suggests that the narrow [Ca  II ] features observed in the nebular spectrum are associated with 48 Ca from electron capture during the explosion, which is expected to occur only in white dwarfs that explode near or at the M Ch limit.« less