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Creators/Authors contains: "Pan, Yen-Chen"

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  1. Abstract We present the optical photometric and spectroscopic analysis of two Type Iax supernovae (SNe), 2018cni and 2020kyg. SN 2018cni is a bright Type Iax SN ( M V ,peak = −17.81 ± 0.21 mag), whereas SN 2020kyg ( M V ,peak = −14.52 ± 0.21 mag) is a faint one. We derive 56 Ni mass of 0.07 and 0.002 M ⊙ and ejecta mass of 0.48 and 0.14 M ⊙ for SNe 2018cni and 2020kyg, respectively. A combined study of the bright and faint Type Iax SNe in R / r -band reveals that the brighter objects tend to have a longer rise time. However, the correlation between the peak luminosity and decline rate shows that bright and faint Type Iax SNe exhibit distinct behavior. Comparison with standard deflagration models suggests that SN 2018cni is consistent with the deflagration of a CO white dwarf, whereas the properties of SN 2020kyg can be better explained by the deflagration of a hybrid CONe white dwarf. The spectral features of both the SNe point to the presence of similar chemical species but with different mass fractions. Our spectral modeling indicates stratification at the outer layers and mixed inner ejecta for both of the SNe. 
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  2. Abstract Type Iax supernovae (SNe Iax) are the largest known class of peculiar white dwarf SNe, distinct from normal Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The unique properties of SNe Iax, especially their strong photospheric lines out to extremely late times, allow us to model their optical spectra and derive the physical parameters of the long-lasting photosphere. We present an extensive spectral timeseries, including 21 new spectra, of SN Iax 2014dt from +11 to +562 days after maximum light. We are able to reproduce the entire timeseries with a self-consistent, nearly unaltered deflagration explosion model from Fink et al. usingTARDIS, an open source radiative-transfer code. We find that the photospheric velocity of SN 2014dt slows its evolution between +64 and +148 days, which closely overlaps the phase when we see SN 2014dt diverge from the normal spectral evolution of SNe Ia (+90 to +150 days). The photospheric velocity at these epochs, ∼400–1000 km s−1, may demarcate a boundary within the ejecta below which the physics of SNe Iax and normal SNe Ia differ. Our results suggest that SN 2014dt is consistent with a weak deflagration explosion model that leaves behind a bound remnant and drives an optically thick, quasi-steady-state wind creating the photospheric lines at late times. The data also suggest that this wind may weaken at epochs past +450 days, perhaps indicating a radioactive power source that has decayed away. 
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  3. Abstract We present the photometric and spectroscopic evolution of SN 2022oqm, a nearby multipeaked hydrogen- and helium-weak calcium-rich transient (CaRT). SN 2022oqm was detected 13.1 kpc from its host galaxy, the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 5875. Extensive spectroscopic coverage reveals an early hot (T≥ 40,000 K) continuum and carbon features observed ∼1 day after discovery, SN Ic-like photospheric-phase spectra, and strong forbidden calcium emission starting 38 days after discovery. SN 2022oqm has a relatively high peak luminosity (MB= −17 mag) for CaRTs, making it an outlier in the population. We determine that three power sources are necessary to explain the light curve (LC), with each corresponding to a distinct peak. The first peak is powered by an expanding blackbody with a power-law luminosity, suggesting shock cooling by circumstellar material (CSM). Subsequent LC evolution is powered by a double radioactive decay model, consistent with two sources of photons diffusing through optically thick ejecta. From the LC, we derive an ejecta mass and56Ni mass of ∼0.6Mand ∼0.09M. Spectroscopic modeling ∼0.6Mof ejecta, and with well-mixed Fe-peak elements throughout. We discuss several physical origins for SN 2022oqm and find either a surprisingly massive white dwarf progenitor or a peculiar stripped envelope model could explain SN 2022oqm. A stripped envelope explosion inside a dense, hydrogen- and helium-poor CSM, akin to SNe Icn, but with a large 56Ni mass and small CSM mass could explain SN 2022oqm. Alternatively, helium detonation on an unexpectedly massive white dwarf could also explain SN 2022oqm. 
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  4. Abstract Seeing pristine material from the donor star in a type Ia supernova (SN Ia) explosion can reveal the nature of the binary system. In this paper, we present photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2020esm, one of the best-studied SNe of the class of “super-Chandrasekhar” SNe Ia (SC SNe Ia), with data obtained −12 to +360 days relative to peak brightness, obtained from a variety of ground- and space-based telescopes. Initially misclassified as a type II supernova, SN 2020esm peaked at M B = −19.9 mag, declined slowly (Δ m 15 ( B ) = 0.92 mag), and had particularly blue UV and optical colors at early times. Photometrically and spectroscopically, SN 2020esm evolved similarly to other SC SNe Ia, showing the usual low ejecta velocities, weak intermediate-mass elements, and the enhanced fading at late times, but its early spectra are unique. Our first few spectra (corresponding to a phase of ≳10 days before peak) reveal a nearly pure carbon/oxygen atmosphere during the first days after explosion. This composition can only be produced by pristine material, relatively unaffected by nuclear burning. The lack of H and He may further indicate that SN 2020esm is the outcome of the merger of two carbon/oxygen white dwarfs. Modeling its bolometric light curve, we find an 56 Ni mass of 1.23 − 0.14 + 0.14 M ☉ and an ejecta mass of 1.75 − 0.20 + 0.32 M ☉ , in excess of the Chandrasekhar mass. Finally, we discuss possible progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms of SN 2020esm and, in general, the SC SNe Ia class. 
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  5. Abstract Here we present 1701 light curves of 1550 unique, spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that will be used to infer cosmological parameters as part of the Pantheon+ SN analysis and the Supernovae and H 0 for the Equation of State of dark energy distance-ladder analysis. This effort is one part of a series of works that perform an extensive review of redshifts, peculiar velocities, photometric calibration, and intrinsic-scatter models of SNe Ia. The total number of light curves, which are compiled across 18 different surveys, is a significant increase from the first Pantheon analysis (1048 SNe), particularly at low redshift ( z ). Furthermore, unlike in the Pantheon analysis, we include light curves for SNe with z < 0.01 such that SN systematic covariance can be included in a joint measurement of the Hubble constant ( H 0 ) and the dark energy equation-of-state parameter ( w ). We use the large sample to compare properties of 151 SNe Ia observed by multiple surveys and 12 pairs/triplets of “SN siblings”—SNe found in the same host galaxy. Distance measurements, application of bias corrections, and inference of cosmological parameters are discussed in the companion paper by Brout et al., and the determination of H 0 is discussed by Riess et al. These analyses will measure w with ∼3% precision and H 0 with ∼1 km s −1 Mpc −1 precision. 
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  7. Abstract We present high-cadence ultraviolet through near-infrared observations of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2023bee atD= 32 ± 3 Mpc, finding excess flux in the first days after explosion, particularly in our 10 minutes cadence TESS light curve and Swift UV data. Compared to a few other normal SNe Ia with early excess flux, the excess flux in SN 2023bee is redder in the UV and less luminous. We present optical spectra of SN 2023bee, including two spectra during the period where the flux excess is dominant. At this time, the spectra are similar to those of other SNe Ia but with weaker Siii, Cii,and Caiiabsorption lines, perhaps because the excess flux creates a stronger continuum. We compare the data to several theoretical models on the origin of early excess flux in SNe Ia. Interaction with either the companion star or close-in circumstellar material is expected to produce a faster evolution than observed. Radioactive material in the outer layers of the ejecta, either from double detonation explosion or from a56Ni clump near the surface, cannot fully reproduce the evolution either, likely due to the sensitivity of early UV observable to the treatment of the outer part of ejecta in simulation. We conclude that no current model can adequately explain the full set of observations. We find that a relatively large fraction of nearby, bright SNe Ia with high-cadence observations have some amount of excess flux within a few days of explosion. Considering potential asymmetric emission, the physical cause of this excess flux may be ubiquitous in normal SNe Ia. 
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