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  1. Over the past decades, many explosion scenarios for Type Ia supernovae have been proposed and investigated including various combinations of deflagrations and detonations in white dwarfs of different masses up to the Chandrasekhar mass. One of these is the gravitationally confined detonation model. In this case a weak deflagration burns to the surface, wraps around the bound core, and collides at the antipode. A subsequent detonation is then initiated in the collision area. Since the parameter space for this scenario, that is, varying central densities and ignition geometries, has not been studied in detail, we used pure deflagration models of a previous parameter study dedicated to Type Iax supernovae as initial models to investigate the gravitationally confined detonation scenario. We aim to judge whether this channel can account for one of the many subgroups of Type Ia supernovae, or even normal events. To this end, we employed a comprehensive pipeline for three-dimensional Type Ia supernova modeling that consists of hydrodynamic explosion simulations, nuclear network calculations, and radiative transfer. The observables extracted from the radiative transfer are then compared to observed light curves and spectra. The study produces a wide range in masses of synthesized 56 Ni ranging from 0.257 to 1.057  M ⊙ , and, thus, can potentially account for subluminous as well as overluminous Type Ia supernovae in terms of brightness. However, a rough agreement with observed light curves and spectra can only be found for 91T-like objects. Although several discrepancies remain, we conclude that the gravitationally confined detonation model cannot be ruled out as a mechanism to produce 91T-like objects. However, the models do not provide a good explanation for either normal Type Ia supernovae or Type Iax supernovae. 
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  2. Context. Due to the ever increasing number of observations during the past decades, Type Ia supernovae are nowadays regarded as a heterogeneous class of optical transients consisting of several subtypes. One of the largest of these subclasses is the class of Type Iax supernovae. They have been suggested to originate from pure deflagrations in carbon-oxygen Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs because the outcome of this explosion scenario is in general agreement with their subluminous nature. Aims. Although a few deflagration studies have already been carried out, the full diversity of the class has not been captured yet. This, in particular, holds for the faint end of the subclass. We therefore present a parameter study of single-spot ignited deflagrations in Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs varying the location of the ignition spark, the central density, the metallicity, and the composition of the white dwarf. We also explore a rigidly rotating progenitor to investigate whether the effect of rotation can spawn additional trends. Methods. We carried out three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations employing the LEAFS code. Subsequently, detailed nucleosynthesis results were obtained with the nuclear network code YANN . In order to compare our results to observations, we calculated synthetic spectra and light curves with the ARTIS code. Results. The new set of models extends the range in brightness covered by previous studies to the lower end. Our single-spot ignited explosions produce 56 Ni masses from 5.8 × 10 −3 to 9.2 × 10 −2   M ⊙ . In spite of the wide exploration of the parameter space, the main characteristics of the models are primarily driven by the mass of 56 Ni and form a one-dimensional sequence. Secondary parameters seem to have too little impact to explain the observed trend in the faint part of the Type Iax supernova class. We report kick velocities of the gravitationally bound explosion remnants from 6.9 to 369.8 km s −1 . The magnitude as well as the direction of the natal kick is found to depend on the strength of the deflagration. Conclusions. This work corroborates the results of previous studies of deflagrations in Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs. The wide exploration of the parameter space in initial conditions and viewing angle effects in the radiative transfer lead to a significant spread in the synthetic observables. The trends in observational properties toward the faint end of the class are, however, not reproduced. This motivates a quantification of the systematic uncertainties in the modeling procedure and the influence of the 56 Ni-rich bound remnant to get to the bottom of these discrepancies. Moreover, while the pure deflagration scenario remains a favorable explanation for bright and intermediate luminosity Type Iax supernovae, our results suggest that other mechanisms also contribute to this class of events. 
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  3. ABSTRACT The progenitor systems and explosion mechanism of Type Ia supernovae are still unknown. Currently favoured progenitors include double-degenerate systems consisting of two carbon-oxygen white dwarfs with thin helium shells. In the double-detonation scenario, violent accretion leads to a helium detonation on the more massive primary white dwarf that turns into a carbon detonation in its core and explodes it. We investigate the fate of the secondary white dwarf, focusing on changes of the ejecta and observables of the explosion if the secondary explodes as well rather than survives. We simulate a binary system of a $$1.05\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$$ and a $$0.7\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$$ carbon-oxygen white dwarf with $$0.03\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$$ helium shells each. We follow the system self-consistently from inspiral to ignition, through the explosion, to synthetic observables. We confirm that the primary white dwarf explodes self-consistently. The helium detonation around the secondary white dwarf, however, fails to ignite a carbon detonation. We restart the simulation igniting the carbon detonation in the secondary white dwarf by hand and compare the ejecta and observables of both explosions. We find that the outer ejecta at $$v~\gt ~15\, 000$$ km s−1 are indistinguishable. Light curves and spectra are very similar until $$\sim ~40 \ \mathrm{d}$$ after explosion and the ejecta are much more spherical than violent merger models. The inner ejecta differ significantly slowing down the decline rate of the bolometric light curve after maximum of the model with a secondary explosion by ∼20 per cent. We expect future synthetic 3D nebular spectra to confirm or rule out either model. 
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  4. Abstract We present extensive optical photometry of the afterglow of GRB 221009A. Our data cover 0.9–59.9 days from the time of Swift and Fermi gamma-ray burst (GRB) detections. Photometry in rizy -band filters was collected primarily with Pan-STARRS and supplemented by multiple 1–4 m imaging facilities. We analyzed the Swift X-ray data of the afterglow and found a single decline rate power law f ( t ) ∝ t −1.556±0.002 best describes the light curve. In addition to the high foreground Milky Way dust extinction along this line of sight, the data favor additional extinction to consistently model the optical to X-ray flux with optically thin synchrotron emission. We fit the X-ray-derived power law to the optical light curve and find good agreement with the measured data up to 5−6 days. Thereafter we find a flux excess in the riy bands that peaks in the observer frame at ∼20 days. This excess shares similar light-curve profiles to the Type Ic broad-lined supernovae SN 2016jca and SN 2017iuk once corrected for the GRB redshift of z = 0.151 and arbitrarily scaled. This may be representative of an SN emerging from the declining afterglow. We measure rest-frame absolute peak AB magnitudes of M g = −19.8 ± 0.6 and M r = − 19.4 ± 0.3 and M z = −20.1 ± 0.3. If this is an SN component, then Bayesian modeling of the excess flux would imply explosion parameters of M ej = 7.1 − 1.7 + 2.4 M ⊙ , M Ni = 1.0 − 0.4 + 0.6 M ⊙ , and v ej = 33,900 − 5700 + 5900 km s −1 , for the ejecta mass, nickel mass, and ejecta velocity respectively, inferring an explosion energy of E kin ≃ 2.6–9.0 × 10 52 erg. 
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  5. Abstract We present multiwavelength photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2022jli, an unprecedented Type Ic supernova discovered in the galaxy NGC 157 at a distance of ≈ 23 Mpc. The multiband light curves reveal many remarkable characteristics. Peaking at a magnitude ofg= 15.11 ± 0.02, the high-cadence photometry reveals periodic undulations of 12.5 ± 0.2 days superimposed on the 200-day supernova decline. This periodicity is observed in the light curves from nine separate filter and instrument configurations with peak-to-peak amplitudes of ≃ 0.1 mag. This is the first time that repeated periodic oscillations, over many cycles, have been detected in a supernova light curve. SN 2022jli also displays an extreme early excess that fades over ≈25 days, followed by a rise to a peak luminosity ofLopt= 1042.1erg s−1. Although the exact explosion epoch is not constrained by data, the time from explosion to maximum light is ≳ 59 days. The luminosity can be explained by a large ejecta mass (Mej≈ 12 ± 6M) powered by56Ni, but we find it difficult to quantitatively model the early excess with circumstellar interaction and cooling. Collision between the supernova ejecta and a binary companion is a possible source of this emission. We discuss the origin of the periodic variability in the light curve, including interaction of the SN ejecta with nested shells of circumstellar matter and neutron stars colliding with binary companions. 
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