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Creators/Authors contains: "Bietenholz, M"

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  1. Abstract We present the discovery of a second radio flare from the tidal disruption event (TDE) AT2020vwl via long-term monitoring radio observations. Late-time radio flares from TDEs are being discovered more commonly, with many TDEs showing radio emission thousands of days after the stellar disruption, but the mechanism that powers these late-time flares is uncertain. Here, we present radio spectral observations of the first and second radio flares observed from the TDE AT2020vwl. Through detailed radio spectral monitoring, we find evidence for two distinct outflow ejection episodes or a period of renewed energy injection into the preexisting outflow. We deduce that the second radio flare is powered by an outflow that is initially slower than the first flare but carries more energy and shows tentative indication of accelerating over time. Through modelling the long-term optical and UV emission from the TDE as arising from an accretion disk, we infer that the second radio outflow launch or energy injection episode occurred approximately at the time of the peak accretion rate. The fast decay of the second flare precludes environmental changes as an explanation, while the velocity of the outflow is at all times too low to be explained by an off-axis relativistic jet. Future observations that search for any link between the accretion disk properties and late-time radio flares from TDEs will aid understanding of what powers the radio outflows in TDEs and confirm if multiple outflow ejections or energy injection episodes are common. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available March 4, 2026
  2. Context. Sensitive radio continuum data could bring the number of known supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Galaxy more in line with what is expected. Due to confusion in the Galactic plane, however, faint SNRs can be challenging to distinguish from brighter HIIregions and filamentary radio emission. Aims. We exploited new 1.3 GHz SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS) radio continuum data, which cover 251° ≤ℓ≤ 358° and 2° ≤ℓ≤ 61° at |b| ≤ 1.5°, to search for SNR candidates in the Milky Way disk. Methods. We also used mid-infrared data from theSpitzerGLIMPSE,SpitzerMIPSGAL, and WISE surveys to help identify SNR candidates. These candidates are sources of extended radio continuum emission that lack mid-infrared counterparts, are not known as HIIregions in the WISE Catalog of Galactic HIIRegions, and have not been previously identified as SNRs. Results. We locate 237 new Galactic SNR candidates in the SMGPS data. We also identify and confirm the expected radio morphology for 201 objects classified in the literature as SNRs and 130 previously identified SNR candidates. The known and candidate SNRs have similar spatial distributions and angular sizes. Conclusions. The SMGPS data allowed us to identify a large population of SNR candidates that can be confirmed as true SNRs using radio polarization measurements or by deriving radio spectral indices. If the 237 candidates are confirmed as true SNRs, it would approximately double the number of known Galactic SNRs in the survey area, alleviating much of the discrepancy between the known and expected populations. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026
  3. Abstract We present results from an extensive follow-up campaign of the tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-15oi spanningδt ∼ 10–3000 days, offering an unprecedented window into the multiwavelength properties of a TDE during its first ≈8 yr of evolution. ASASSN-15oi is one of the few TDEs with strong detections at X-ray, optical/UV, and radio wavelengths and it also featured two delayed radio flares atδt ∼ 180 days andδt ∼ 1400 days. Our observations atδt > 1400 days reveal an absence of thermal X-rays, a late-time variability in the nonthermal X-ray emission, and sharp declines in the nonthermal X-ray and radio emission atδt ∼ 2800 days and ∼3000 days, respectively. The UV emission shows no significant evolution atδt > 400 days and remains above the pre-TDE level. We show that a cooling envelope model can explain the thermal emission consistently across all epochs. We also find that a scenario involving episodic ejection of material due to stream–stream collisions can possibly explain the first radio flare. Given the peculiar spectral and temporal evolution of the late-time emission, however, constraining the origins of the second radio flare and the nonthermal X-rays remains challenging. Our study underscores the critical role of long-term, multiwavelength follow-up to fully characterize the extended evolutionary phases of a TDE. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available April 2, 2026
  4. Abstract We present radio observations of 23 optically discovered tidal disruption events (TDEs) on timescales of ∼500–3200 days postdiscovery. We detect nine new TDEs that did not have detectable radio emission at earlier times, indicating a late-time brightening after several hundred (and up to 2300) days; an additional seven TDEs exhibit radio emission whose origin is ambiguous or may be attributed to the host galaxy or an active galactic nucleus. We also report a new rising component in one TDE previously detected in the radio at ∼103days. While the radio emission in some of the detected TDEs peaked on a timescale ≈2–4 yr, over half of the sample still show rising emission. The range of luminosities for the sample is ∼1037–1039erg s−1, about 2 orders of magnitude below the radio luminosity of the relativistic TDE Sw J1644+57. Our data set indicates ∼40% of all optical TDEs are detected in radio hundreds to thousands of days after discovery, and that this is probably more common than early radio emission peaking at ∼102days. Using an equipartition analysis, we find evidence for a delayed launch of the radio-emitting outflows, with delay timescales of ∼500–2000 days, inferred velocities of ≈0.02–0.15c, and kinetic energies of ∼1047–1049erg. We rule out off-axis relativistic jets as a viable explanation for this population, and conclude delayed outflows are a more likely explanation, possibly from delayed disk formation. We conclude late radio emission marks a fairly ubiquitous but heretofore overlooked phase of TDE evolution. 
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  5. Abstract We present the results from a multiyear radio campaign of the superluminous supernova (SLSN) SN 2017ens, which yielded the earliest radio detection of an SLSN to date at the age of ∼3.3 yr after explosion. SN 2017ens was not detected at radio frequencies in the first ∼300 days but reachedLν≈ 1028erg s−1cm−2Hz−1atν∼ 6 GHz, ∼1250 days post explosion. Interpreting the radio observations in the context of synchrotron radiation from the supernova shock interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM), we infer an effective mass-loss rate M ̇ 10 4 M yr 1 atr∼ 1017cm from the explosion’s site, for a wind speed ofvw= 50–60 km s−1as measured from optical spectra. These findings are consistent with the spectroscopic metamorphosis of SN 2017ens from hydrogen poor to hydrogen rich ∼190 days after explosion reported by Chen et al. SN 2017ens is thus an addition to the sample of hydrogen-poor massive progenitors that explode shortly after having lost their hydrogen envelope. The inferred circumstellar densities, implying a CSM mass up to ∼0.5M, and low velocity of the ejection suggest that binary interactions (in the form of common-envelope evolution and subsequent envelope ejection) play a role in shaping the evolution of the stellar progenitors of SLSNe in the ≲500 yr preceding core collapse. 
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  6. Abstract We present late-time radio/millimeter (as well as optical/UV and X-ray) detections of tidal disruption event (TDE) AT2018hyz, spanning 970–1300 d after optical discovery. In conjunction with earlier deeper limits, including those at ≈700 days, our observations reveal rapidly rising emission at 0.8–240 GHz, steeper than F ν ∝ t 5 relative to the time of optical discovery. Such a steep rise cannot be explained in any reasonable scenario of an outflow launched at the time of disruption (e.g., off-axis jet, sudden increase in the ambient density), and instead points to a delayed launch. Our multifrequency data allow us to directly determine the radius and energy of the radio-emitting outflow, and we find from our modeling that the outflow was launched ≈750 days after optical discovery. The outflow velocity is mildly relativistic, with β ≈ 0.25 and ≈0.6 for a spherical geometry and a 10° jet geometry, respectively, and the minimum kinetic energy is E K ≈ 5.8 × 10 49 and ≈6.3 × 10 49 erg, respectively. This is the first definitive evidence for the production of a delayed mildly relativistic outflow in a TDE; a comparison to the recently published radio light curve of ASASSN-15oi suggests that the final rebrightening observed in that event (at a single frequency and time) may be due to a similar outflow with a comparable velocity and energy. Finally, we note that the energy and velocity of the delayed outflow in AT2018hyz are intermediate between those of past nonrelativistic TDEs (e.g., ASASSN-14li, AT2019dsg) and the relativistic TDE Sw J1644+57. We suggest that such delayed outflows may be common in TDEs. 
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  7. Abstract We present new radio and optical data, including very-long-baseline interferometry, as well as archival data analysis, for the luminous, decades-long radio transient FIRST J141918.9+394036. The radio data reveal a synchrotron self-absorption peak around 0.3 GHz and a radius of around 1.3 mas (0.5 pc) 26 yr post-discovery, indicating a blastwave energy ∼5 × 10 50 erg. The optical spectrum shows a broad [O iii ] λ 4959,5007 emission line that may indicate collisional excitation in the host galaxy, but its association with the transient cannot be ruled out. The properties of the host galaxy are suggestive of a massive stellar progenitor that formed at low metallicity. Based on the radio light curve, blastwave velocity, energetics, nature of the host galaxy and transient rates, we find that the properties of J1419+3940 are most consistent with long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) afterglows. Other classes of (optically discovered) stellar explosions as well as neutron star mergers are disfavored, and invoking any exotic scenario may not be necessary. It is therefore likely that J1419+3940 is an off-axis LGRB afterglow (as suggested by Law et al. and Marcote et al.), and under this premise the inverse beaming fraction is found to be f b − 1 ≃ 280 − 200 + 700 , corresponding to an average jet half-opening angle < θ j > ≃ 5 − 2 + 4 degrees (68% confidence), consistent with previous estimates. From the volumetric rate we predict that surveys with the Very Large Array, Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, and MeerKAT will find a handful of J1419+3940-like events over the coming years. 
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  8. MeerKAT’s large number (64) of 13.5 m diameter antennas, spanning 8 km with a densely packed 1 km core, create a powerful instrument for wide-area surveys, with high sensitivity over a wide range of angular scales. The MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey (MGCLS) is a programme of long-track MeerKAT L -band (900−1670 MHz) observations of 115 galaxy clusters, observed for ∼6−10 h each in full polarisation. The first legacy product data release (DR1), made available with this paper, includes the MeerKAT visibilities, basic image cubes at ∼8″ resolution, and enhanced spectral and polarisation image cubes at ∼8″ and 15″ resolutions. Typical sensitivities for the full-resolution MGCLS image products range from ∼3−5 μJy beam −1 . The basic cubes are full-field and span 2° × 2°. The enhanced products consist of the inner 1.2° × 1.2° field of view, corrected for the primary beam. The survey is fully sensitive to structures up to ∼10′ scales, and the wide bandwidth allows spectral and Faraday rotation mapping. Relatively narrow frequency channels (209 kHz) are also used to provide H  I mapping in windows of 0 <  z  < 0.09 and 0.19 <  z  < 0.48. In this paper, we provide an overview of the survey and the DR1 products, including caveats for usage. We present some initial results from the survey, both for their intrinsic scientific value and to highlight the capabilities for further exploration with these data. These include a primary-beam-corrected compact source catalogue of ∼626 000 sources for the full survey and an optical and infrared cross-matched catalogue for compact sources in the primary-beam-corrected areas of Abell 209 and Abell S295. We examine dust unbiased star-formation rates as a function of cluster-centric radius in Abell 209, extending out to 3.5 R 200 . We find no dependence of the star-formation rate on distance from the cluster centre, and we observe a small excess of the radio-to-100 μm flux ratio towards the centre of Abell 209 that may reflect a ram pressure enhancement in the denser environment. We detect diffuse cluster radio emission in 62 of the surveyed systems and present a catalogue of the 99 diffuse cluster emission structures, of which 56 are new. These include mini-halos, halos, relics, and other diffuse structures for which no suitable characterisation currently exists. We highlight some of the radio galaxies that challenge current paradigms, such as trident-shaped structures, jets that remain well collimated far beyond their bending radius, and filamentary features linked to radio galaxies that likely illuminate magnetic flux tubes in the intracluster medium. We also present early results from the H  I analysis of four clusters, which show a wide variety of H  I mass distributions that reflect both sensitivity and intrinsic cluster effects, and the serendipitous discovery of a group in the foreground of Abell 3365. 
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