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Abstract We present optical photometry and spectroscopy of the Type IIn supernova (SN) 2021qqp. Its unusual light curve is marked by a long precursor for ≈300 days, a rapid increase in brightness for ≈60 days, and then a sharp increase of ≈1.6 mag in only a few days to a first peak ofMr≈ −19.5 mag. The light curve then declines rapidly until it rebrightens to a second distinct peak ofMr≈ −17.3 mag centered at ≈335 days after the first peak. The spectra are dominated by Balmer lines with a complex morphology, including a narrow component with a width of ≈1300 km s−1(first peak) and ≈2500 km s−1(second peak) that we associate with the circumstellar medium (CSM) and a P Cygni component with an absorption velocity of ≈8500 km s−1(first peak) and ≈5600 km s−1(second peak) that we associate with the SN–CSM interaction shell. Using the luminosity and velocity evolution, we construct a flexible analytical model, finding two significant mass-loss episodes with peak mass loss rates of ≈10 and ≈5M⊙yr−1about 0.8 and 2 yr before explosion, respectively, with a total CSM mass of ≈2–4M⊙. We show that the most recent mass-loss episode could explain the precursor for the year preceding the explosion. The SN ejecta mass is constrained to be ≈5–30M⊙for an explosion energy of ≈(3–10) × 1051erg. We discuss eruptive massive stars (luminous blue variable, pulsational pair instability) and an extreme stellar merger with a compact object as possible progenitor channels.
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This content will become publicly available on August 13, 2026
Evidence for an Instability-induced Binary Merger in the Double-peaked, Helium-rich Type IIn Supernova 2023zkd
Abstract We present ultraviolet to infrared observations of the extraordinary Type IIn supernova 2023zkd (SN 2023zkd). Photometrically, it exhibits persistent and luminous precursor emission spanning ∼4 yr preceding discovery (Mr ≈ −15 mag, 1500 days in the observer frame), followed by a secondary stage of gradual brightening in its final year. Post-discovery, it exhibits two photometric peaks of comparable brightness (Mr ≲ −18.7 mag andMr ≈ −18.4 mag, respectively) separated by 240 days. Spectroscopically, SN 2023zkd exhibits highly asymmetric and multicomponent Balmer and HeIprofiles that we attribute to ejecta interaction with fast-moving (1000–2000 km s−1) He-rich polar material and slow-moving (∼400 km s−1) equatorially distributed H-rich material. HeIIfeatures also appear during the second light curve peak and evolve rapidly. Shock-driven models fit to the multiband photometry suggest that the event is powered by interaction with ∼5–6M⊙of CSM, with 2–3M⊙associated with each light curve peak, expelled during mass-loss episodes ∼3–4 yr and ∼1–2 yr prior to explosion. The observed precursor emission, combined with the extreme mass-loss rates required to power each light curve peak, favors either super-Eddington accretion onto a black hole or multiple long-lived eruptions from a massive star to luminosities that have not been previously observed. We consider multiple progenitor scenarios for SN 2023zkd, and find that the brightening optical precursor and inferred explosion properties are most consistent with a massive (MZAMS≥ 30M⊙) and partially stripped He star undergoing an instability-induced merger with a black hole companion.
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- PAR ID:
- 10648134
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- AAS
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 989
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 182
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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