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1. Final Moments. I. Precursor Emission, Envelope Inflation, and Enhanced Mass Loss Preceding the Luminous Type II Supernova 2020tlf

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac3f3a  

   Jacobson-Galán, W. V. ; Dessart, L. ; Jones, D. O. ; Margutti, R. ; Coppejans, D. L. ; Dimitriadis, G. ; Foley, R. J. ; Kilpatrick, C. D. ; Matthews, D. J. ; Rest, S. ; et al ( January 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present panchromatic observations and modeling of supernova (SN) 2020tlf, the first normal Type II-P/L SN with confirmed precursor emission, as detected by the Young Supernova Experiment transient survey. Pre-SN activity was detected in riz -bands at −130 days and persisted at relatively constant flux until first light. Soon after discovery, “flash” spectroscopy of SN 2020tlf revealed narrow, symmetric emission lines that resulted from the photoionization of circumstellar material (CSM) shed in progenitor mass-loss episodes before explosion. Surprisingly, this novel display of pre-SN emission and associated mass loss occurred in a red supergiant (RSG) progenitor with zero-age main-sequence mass of only 10–12 M ⊙ , as inferred from nebular spectra. Modeling of the light curve and multi-epoch spectra with the non-LTE radiative-transfer code CMFGEN and radiation-hydrodynamical code HERACLES suggests a dense CSM limited to r ≈ 10 15 cm, and mass-loss rate of 10 −2 M ⊙ yr −1 . The luminous light-curve plateau and persistent blue excess indicates an extended progenitor, compatible with an RSG model with R ⋆ = 1100 R ⊙ . Limits on the shock-powered X-ray and radio luminosity are consistent with model conclusions and suggest a CSM density of ρ < 2 × 10 −16 g cm −3 for distances from the progenitor star of r ≈ 5 × 10 15 cm, as well as a mass-loss rate of M ̇ < 1.3 × 10 − 5 M ☉ yr − 1 at larger distances. A promising power source for the observed precursor emission is the ejection of stellar material following energy disposition into the stellar envelope as a result of gravity waves emitted during either neon/oxygen burning or a nuclear flash from silicon combustion. 

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2. Luminous Late-time Radio Emission from Supernovae Detected by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS)

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac375e  

   Stroh, Michael C. ; Terreran, Giacomo ; Coppejans, Deanne L. ; Bright, Joe S. ; Margutti, Raffaella ; Bietenholz, Michael F. ; De Colle, Fabio ; DeMarchi, Lindsay ; Duran, Rodolfo Barniol ; Milisavljevic, Danny ; et al ( December 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract We present a population of 19 radio-luminous supernovae (SNe) with emission reaching L ν ∼ 10 26 –10 29 erg s −1 Hz −1 in the first epoch of the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) at 2–4 GHz. Our sample includes one long gamma-ray burst, SN 2017iuk/GRB 171205A, and 18 core-collapse SNe detected at ≈1–60 yr after explosion. No thermonuclear explosion shows evidence for bright radio emission, and hydrogen-poor progenitors dominate the subsample of core-collapse events with spectroscopic classification at the time of explosion (79%). We interpret these findings in the context of the expected radio emission from the forward shock interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM). We conclude that these observations require a departure from the single wind–like density profile (i.e., ρ CSM ∝ r −2 ) that is expected around massive stars and/or from a spherical Newtonian shock. Viable alternatives include the shock interaction with a detached, dense shell of CSM formed by a large effective progenitor mass-loss rate, M ̇ ∼ 10 − 4 – 10 − 1 M ⊙ yr −1 (for an assumed wind velocity of 1000 km s −1 ); emission from an off-axis relativistic jet entering our line of sight; or the emergence of emission from a newly born pulsar-wind nebula. The relativistic SN 2012ap that is detected 5.7 and 8.5 yr after explosion with L ν ∼ 10 28 erg s −1 Hz −1 might constitute the first detections of an off-axis jet+cocoon system in a massive star. However, none of the VLASS SNe with archival data points are consistent with our model off-axis jet light curves. Future multiwavelength observations will distinguish among these scenarios. Our VLASS source catalogs, which were used to perform the VLASS cross-matching, are publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4895112 . 

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3. Early Hard X-Rays from the Nearby Core-collapse Supernova SN 2023ixf

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdf4e  

   Grefenstette, Brian W. ; Brightman, Murray ; Earnshaw, Hannah P. ; Harrison, Fiona A. ; Margutti, R. ( July 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract We present NuSTAR observations of the nearby SN 2023ixf in M101 ( d = 6.9 Mpc) that provide the earliest hard X-ray detection of a nonrelativistic stellar explosion to date at δ t ≈ 4 days and δ t ≈ 11 days. The spectra are well described by a hot thermal bremsstrahlung continuum with T > 25 keV shining through a thick neutral medium with a neutral hydrogen column that decreases with time (initial N Hint = 2.6 × 10 23 cm −2 ). A prominent neutral Fe K α emission line is clearly detected, similar to other strongly interacting supernovae (SNe) such as SN 2010jl. The rapidly decreasing intrinsic absorption with time suggests the presence of a dense but confined circumstellar medium (CSM). The absorbed broadband X-ray luminosity (0.3–79 keV) is L X ≈ 2.5 × 10 40 erg s −1 during both epochs, with the increase in overall X-ray flux related to the decrease in the absorbing column. Interpreting these observations in the context of thermal bremsstrahlung radiation originating from the interaction of the SN shock with a dense medium we infer large particle densities in excess of n CSM ≈ 4 × 10 8 cm −3 at r < 10 15 cm, corresponding to an enhanced progenitor mass-loss rate of M ̇ ≈ 3 × 10 − 4 M ⊙ yr −1 for an assumed wind velocity of v w = 50 km s −1 . 

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4. Supernova Precursor Emission and the Origin of Pre-explosion Stellar Mass Loss

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac892c  

   Matsumoto, Tatsuya ; Metzger, Brian D. ( September 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   A growing number of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) that show evidence for interaction with dense circumstellar medium (CSM) are accompanied by “precursor” optical emission rising weeks to months prior to the explosion. The precursor luminosities greatly exceed the Eddington limit of the progenitor star, implying that they are accompanied by substantial mass loss. Here, we present a semi-analytic model for SN precursor light curves, which we apply to constrain the properties and mechanisms of the pre-explosion mass loss. We explore two limiting mass-loss scenarios: (1) an “eruption” arising from shock breakout following impulsive energy deposition below the stellar surface; and (2) a steady “wind,” due to sustained heating of the progenitor envelope. The eruption model, which resembles a scaled-down version of Type IIP SNe, can explain the luminosities and timescales of well-sampled precursors, for ejecta masses ∼ 0.1–1M_⊙and velocities ∼ 100–1000 km s⁻¹. By contrast, the steady wind scenario cannot explain the highest precursor luminosities ≳ 10⁴¹erg s⁻¹, under the constraint that the total ejecta mass does not exceed the entire progenitor mass (though the less luminous SN 2020tlf precursor can be explained by a mass-loss rate ∼ 1M_⊙yr⁻¹). However, shock interaction between the wind and pre-existing (earlier ejected) CSM may boost its radiative efficiency and mitigate this constraint. In both the eruption and wind scenarios, the precursor ejecta forms compact (≲10¹⁵cm) optically thick CSM at the time of core collapse; though only directly observable via rapid post-explosion spectroscopy (≲ a few days before being overtaken by the SN ejecta), this material can boost the SN luminosity via shock interaction.

    

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5. Circumstellar Medium Constraints on the Environment of Two Nearby Type Ia Supernovae: SN 2017cbv and SN 2020nlb

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac20da  

   Sand, D. J. ; Sarbadhicary, S. K. ; Pellegrino, C. ; Misra, K. ; Dastidar, R. ; Brown, P. J. ; Itagaki, K. ; Valenti, S. ; Swift, Jonathan J. ; Andrews, J. E. ; et al ( November 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present deep Chandra X-ray observations of two nearby Type Ia supernovae, SN 2017cbv and SN 2020nlb, which reveal no X-ray emission down to a luminosity L X ≲ 5.3 × 10 37 and ≲ 5.4 × 10 37 erg s −1 (0.3–10 keV), respectively, at ∼16–18 days after the explosion. With these limits, we constrain the pre-explosion mass-loss rate of the progenitor system to be M ̇ < 7.2 × 10 −9 and < 9.7 × 10 −9 M ⊙ yr −1 for each (at a wind velocity v w = 100 km s −1 and a radius of R ≈ 10 16 cm), assuming any X-ray emission would originate from inverse Compton emission from optical photons upscattered by the supernova shock. If the supernova environment was a constant-density medium, we would find a number density limit of n CSM < 36 and < 65 cm −3 , respectively. These X-ray limits rule out all plausible symbiotic progenitor systems, as well as large swathes of parameter space associated with the single degenerate scenario, such as mass loss at the outer Lagrange point and accretion winds. We also present late-time optical spectroscopy of SN 2020nlb, and set strong limits on any swept up hydrogen ( L H α < 2.7 × 10 37 erg s −1 ) and helium ( L He, λ 6678 < 2.7 × 10 37 erg s −1 ) from a nondegenerate companion, corresponding to M H ≲ 0.7–2 × 10 −3 M ⊙ and M He ≲ 4 × 10 −3 M ⊙ . Radio observations of SN 2020nlb at 14.6 days after explosion also yield a non-detection, ruling out most plausible symbiotic progenitor systems. While we have doubled the sample of normal Type Ia supernovae with deep X-ray limits, more observations are needed to sample the full range of luminosities and subtypes of these explosions, and set statistical constraints on their circumbinary environments. 

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