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Creators/Authors contains: "Eftekhari, Tarraneh"

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  1. Abstract GRB 221009A is one of the brightest transients ever observed, with the highest peak gamma-ray flux for a gamma-ray burst (GRB). A Type Ic-BL supernova (SN), SN 2022xiw, was definitively detected in late-time JWST spectroscopy (t= 195 days, observer frame). However, photometric studies have found SN 2022xiw to be less luminous (10%−70%) than the canonical GRB-SN, SN 1998bw. We present late-time Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 and JWST/NIRCam imaging of the afterglow and host galaxy of GRB 221009A att∼185, 277, and 345 days post-trigger. Our joint archival ground, HST, and JWST light-curve fits show strong support for a break in the light-curve decay slope att= 50 ± 10 days (observer frame) and a SN at <1.5× the optical/near-IR flux of SN 1998bw. This break is consistent with an interpretation as a jet break when requiring slow-cooling electrons in a wind medium with an electron energy spectral indexp> 2 andνmc. Our light curves and joint HST/JWST spectral energy distribution (SED) also show evidence for the late-time emergence of a bluer component in addition to the fading afterglow and SN. We find consistency with the interpretations that this source is either a young, massive, low-metallicity star cluster or a scattered-light echo of the afterglow with a SED shape offν∝ν2.0±1.0
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 9, 2026
  2. Abstract We present deep James Webb Space Telescope near-infrared imaging to search for a quiescent or transient counterpart to FRB 20250316A, which was precisely localized with the CHIME Outriggers array to an area of 11 × 13 pc in the outer regions of NGC 4141 atd≈ 40 Mpc. Our F150W2 image reveals a faint source near the center of the fast radio burst (FRB) localization region (“NIR-1”;MF150W2≈ −2.5 mag; probability of chance coincidence ≈0.36), the only source within ≈2.7σ. We find that it is too faint to be a globular cluster, a young star cluster, a red supergiant star, or a giant star near the tip of the red giant branch (RGB). It is instead consistent with a red giant near the RGB “clump” or a massive (≳20M) main-sequence star, although the latter explanation is less likely. The source is too bright to be a supernova (SN) remnant, Crab-like pulsar wind nebula, or isolated magnetar. Alternatively, NIR-1 may represent transient emission, namely a dust echo from an energetic outburst associated with the FRB, in which case we would expect it to fade in future observations. We explore the stellar population near the FRB and find that it is composed of a mix of young massive stars (∼10–100 Myr) in a nearby Hiiregion that extends to the location of FRB 20250316A and old evolved stars (≳Gyr). The overlap with a young stellar population, containing stars of up to ≈20M, may implicate a neutron star/magnetar produced in the core collapse of a massive star as the source of FRB 20250316A. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 20, 2026
  3. Abstract We present detailed radio observations of the tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-19bt/AT 2019ahk, obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and the MeerKAT radio telescopes, spanning 40–1464 days after the onset of the optical flare. We find that ASASSN-19bt displays unusual radio evolution compared to other TDEs, as the peak brightness of its radio emission increases rapidly until 457 days post-optical discovery and then plateaus. Using a generalized approach to standard equipartition techniques, we estimate the energy and corresponding physical parameters for two possible emission geometries: a nonrelativistic spherical outflow and a relativistic outflow observed from a range of viewing angles. We find that the nonrelativistic solution implies a continuous energy rise in the outflow fromE∼ 1046toE∼ 1049erg with outflow speedβ≈ 0.05, while the off-axis relativistic jet solution instead suggestsE≈ 1052erg with Lorentz factor Γ ∼ 10 at late times in the maximally off-axis case. We find that neither model provides a holistic explanation for the origin and evolution of the radio emission, emphasizing the need for more complex models. ASASSN-19bt joins the population of TDEs that display unusual radio emission at late times. Conducting long-term radio observations of these TDEs, especially during the later phases, will be crucial for understanding how these types of radio emission in TDEs are produced. 
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  4. Abstract We present multiwavelength observations of the Swift shortγ-ray burst GRB 231117A, localized to an underlying galaxy at redshiftz= 0.257 at a small projected offset (∼2 kpc). We uncover long-lived X-ray Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio/millimeter (VLA, MeerKAT, and ALMA) afterglow emission, detected to ∼37 days and ∼20 days (rest frame), respectively. We measure a wide jet (∼10 . ° 4) and relatively high circumburst density (∼0.07 cm−3) compared to the short GRB population. Our data cannot be easily fit with a standard forward shock model, but they are generally well fit with the incorporation of a refreshed forward shock and a reverse shock at <1 day. We incorporate GRB 231117A into a larger sample of 132 X-ray detected events, 71 of which were radio-observed (17 cm-band detections), for a systematic study of the distributions of redshifts, jet and afterglow properties, galactocentric offsets, and local environments of events with and without detected radio afterglows. Compared to the entire short GRB population, the majority of radio-detected GRBs are at relatively low redshifts (z < 0.6) and have high circumburst densities (>10−2cm−3), consistent with their smaller (<8 kpc) projected galactocentric offsets. We additionally find that 70% of short GRBs with opening angle measurements were radio-detected, indicating the importance of radio afterglows in jet measurements, especially in the cases of wide (>10°) jets where observational evidence of collimation may only be detectable at radio wavelengths. Owing to improved observing strategies and the emergence of sensitive radio facilities, the number of radio-detected short GRBs has quadrupled in the past decade. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available March 17, 2026
  5. Abstract We present the first multiepoch broadband radio and millimeter monitoring of an off-nuclear tidal disruption event (TDE) using the Very Large Array, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the Allen Telescope Array, the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array, and the Submillimeter Array. The off-nuclear TDE AT 2024tvd exhibits double-peaked radio light curves and the fastest-evolving radio emission observed from a TDE to date. With respect to the optical discovery date, the first radio flare rises faster thanFν ∼ t9at Δt = 88–131 days and then decays as fast asFν ∼ t−6. The emergence of a second radio flare is observed at Δt ≈ 194 days with an initial fast rise ofFν ∼ t18and an optically thin decline ofFν ∼ t−12. We interpret these observations in the context of a self-absorbed and free–free absorbed synchrotron spectrum, while accounting for both synchrotron and inverse Compton cooling. We find that a single prompt outflow cannot easily explain these observations and that it is likely that either there is only one outflow that was launched at Δt ∼ 80 days or there are two distinct outflows, with the second launched at Δt ∼ 170–190 days. The nature of these outflows, whether sub-, mildly, or ultrarelativistic, is still unclear, and we explore these different scenarios. Finally, we find a temporal coincidence between the launch time of the first radio-emitting outflow and the onset of a power-law component in the X-ray spectrum, attributed to inverse Compton scattering of thermal photons. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available October 13, 2026
  6. Abstract We present X-ray to radio frequency observations of the bright long gamma-ray burst GRB 210702A. Our Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 97.5 GHz observations show a significant rebrightening by a factor of ≈2 beginning at 8.2 days post-burst and rising to peak brightness at 18.1 days before declining again. This is the first such rebrightening seen in a millimeter afterglow light curve. A standard forward shock model in a stellar wind circumburst medium can explain most of our X-ray, optical, and millimeter observations prior to the rebrightening, but significantly overpredicts the self-absorbed radio emission, and cannot explain the millimeter rebrightening. We investigate possible explanations for the millimeter rebrightening, and find that energy injection or a reverse shock from a late-time shell collision are plausible causes. Similar to other bursts, our radio data may require alternative scenarios such as a thermal electron population or a structured jet to explain the data. Our observations demonstrate that millimeter light curves can exhibit some of the rich features more commonly seen in optical and X-ray afterglow light curves, motivating further millimeter wavelength studies of GRB afterglows. 
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  7. Abstract Luminous interacting supernovae (SNe) are a class of stellar explosions whose progenitors underwent vigorous mass loss in the years prior to core collapse. While the mechanism by which this material is ejected is still debated, obtaining the full density profile of the circumstellar medium (CSM) could reveal more about this process. Here, we present an extensive multiwavelength study of PS1-11aop, a luminous and slowly declining Type IIn SNe discovered by the Pan-STARRS Medium Deep Survey. PS1-11aop had a peakr-band magnitude of −20.5 mag, a total radiated energy >8 × 1050erg, and it exploded near the center of a star-forming galaxy with super-solar metallicity. We obtained multiple detections at the location of PS1-11aop in the radio and X-ray bands between 4 and 10 yr post-explosion, and if due to the supernova (SN), it is one of the most luminous radio SNe identified to date. Taken together, the multiwavelength properties of PS1-11aop are consistent with a CSM density profile with multiple zones. The early optical emission is consistent with the SN blastwave interacting with a dense and confined CSM shell, which contains multiple solar masses of material that was likely ejected in the final <10–100 yr prior to the explosion, (∼0.05−1.0Myr−1at radii of ≲1016cm). The radio observations, on the other hand, are consistent with a sparser environment (≲2 × 10−3Myr−1at radii of ∼0.5–1 × 1017cm)—thus probing the history of the progenitor star prior to its final mass-loss episode. 
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  8. Abstract We present the first catalog of fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies from CHIME/FRB Outriggers, selected uniformly in the radio and the optical by localizing 81 new bursts to 2″ × ∼ 60″ accuracy using CHIME and the k’niʔatn k’l ⌣ stk’masqt Outrigger station, located 66 km from CHIME. Of the 81 localized bursts, we use the probabilistic association of transients to their hosts algorithm to securely identify 21 new FRB host galaxies, and compile spectroscopic redshifts for 19 systems, 15 of which are newly obtained via spectroscopic observations. The most nearby source is FRB 20231229A, at a distance of 90 Mpc. One burst in our sample is from a previously reported repeating source in a galaxy merger (FRB 20190303A). Three new FRB host galaxies (FRBs 20230203A, 20230703A, and 20231206A) are found toward X-ray and optically selected galaxy clusters, potentially doubling the sample of known galaxy cluster FRBs. A search for radio counterparts reveals that FRB 20231128A is associated with a luminous persistent radio source (PRS) candidate with high significance (Pcc ∼ 10−2). If its compactness is confirmed, it would be the nearest known compact PRS atz= 0.1079. Our catalog significantly increases the statistics of the Macquart relation at low redshifts (z < 0.2). In the near future, the completed CHIME/FRB Outriggers array will produce hundreds of FRBs localized with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). This will significantly expand the known sample and pave the way for future telescopes relying on VLBI for FRB localization. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 13, 2026
  9. Abstract Kilonovae, the ultraviolet/optical/infrared counterparts to binary neutron star mergers, are an exceptionally rare class of transients. Optical follow-up campaigns are plagued by contaminating transients, which may mimic kilonovae but do not receive sufficient observations to measure the full photometric evolution. In this work, we present an analysis of the multiwavelength dataset of supernova (SN) 2025ulz, a proposed kilonova candidate following the low-significance detection of gravitational waves originating from the potential binary neutron star merger S250818k. Despite an early rapid decline in brightness, our multiwavelength observations of SN 2025ulz reveal that it is a type IIb SN. As part of this analysis, we demonstrate the capabilities of a novel quantitative scoring algorithm to determine the likelihood that a transient candidate is a kilonova, based primarily on its three-dimensional location and light-curve evolution. We also apply our scoring algorithm to other transient candidates in the localization volume of S250818k and find that, at all times after the discovery of SN 2025ulz, there are ≥4 candidates with a score comparable to SN 2025ulz, indicating that the kilonova search may have benefited from the additional follow-up of other candidates. During future kilonova searches, this type of scoring algorithm will be useful to rule out contaminating transients in real time, optimizing the use of valuable telescope resources. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 25, 2026
  10. Abstract FRB 20220610A is a high-redshift fast radio burst (FRB) that has not been observed to repeat. Here, we present rest-frame UV and optical Hubble Space Telescope observations of the field of FRB 20220610A. The imaging reveals seven extended sources, one of which we identify as the most likely host galaxy with a spectroscopic redshift ofz= 1.017. We spectroscopically confirm three additional sources to be at the same redshift and identify the system as a compact galaxy group with possible signs of interaction among group members. We determine the host of FRB 20220610A to be a star-forming galaxy with a stellar mass of ≈109.7M, mass-weighted age of ≈2.6 Gyr, and star formation rate (integrated over the last 100 Myr) of ≈1.7Myr−1. These host properties are commensurate with the star-forming field galaxy population atz∼ 1 and trace their properties analogously to the population of low-zFRB hosts. Based on estimates of the total stellar mass of the galaxy group, we calculate a fiducial contribution to the observed dispersion measure from the intragroup medium of ≈90–182 pc cm−3(rest frame). This leaves a significant excess of 515 272 + 122 pc cm−3(in the observer frame); further observation will be required to determine the origin of this excess. Given the low occurrence rates of galaxies in compact groups, the discovery of an FRB in one demonstrates a rare, novel environment in which FRBs can occur. As such groups may represent ongoing or future mergers that can trigger star formation, this supports a young stellar progenitor relative to star formation. 
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