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Abstract We present NuSTAR observations of the nearby SN 2023ixf in M101 ( d = 6.9 Mpc) that provide the earliest hard X-ray detection of a nonrelativistic stellar explosion to date at δ t ≈ 4 days and δ t ≈ 11 days. The spectra are well described by a hot thermal bremsstrahlung continuum with T > 25 keV shining through a thick neutral medium with a neutral hydrogen column that decreases with time (initial N Hint = 2.6 × 10 23 cm −2 ). A prominent neutral Fe K α emission line is clearly detected, similar to other strongly interacting supernovae (SNe) such as SN 2010jl. The rapidly decreasing intrinsic absorption with time suggests the presence of a dense but confined circumstellar medium (CSM). The absorbed broadband X-ray luminosity (0.3–79 keV) is L X ≈ 2.5 × 10 40 erg s −1 during both epochs, with the increase in overall X-ray flux related to the decrease in the absorbing column. Interpreting these observations in the context of thermal bremsstrahlung radiation originating from the interaction of the SN shock with a dense medium we infer large particle densities in excess of n CSM ≈ 4 × 10 8 cm −3 at r < 10 15 cm, corresponding to an enhanced progenitor mass-loss rate of M ̇ ≈ 3 × 10 − 4 M ⊙ yr −1 for an assumed wind velocity of v w = 50 km s −1 . 

We present optical, radio, and X-ray observations of a rapidly evolving transient SN2019wxt (PS19hgw), discovered during the search for an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational-wave (GW) trigger S191213g. Although S191213g was not confirmed as a significant GW event in the off-line analysis of LIGO-Virgo data, SN2019wxt remained an interesting transient due to its peculiar nature. The optical/near-infrared (NIR) light curve of SN2019wxt displayed a double-peaked structure evolving rapidly in a manner analogous to currently known ultrastripped supernovae (USSNe) candidates. This double-peaked structure suggests the presence of an extended envelope around the progenitor, best modeled with two components: (i) early-time shock-cooling emission and (ii) late-time radioactive⁵⁶Ni decay. We constrain the ejecta mass of SN2019wxt atM_ej≈ 0.20M_⊙, which indicates a significantly stripped progenitor that was possibly in a binary system. We also followed up SN2019wxt with long-term Chandra and Jansky Very Large Array observations spanning ∼260 days. We detected no definitive counterparts at the location of SN2019wxt in these long-term X-ray and radio observational campaigns. We establish the X-ray upper limit at 9.93 × 10⁻¹⁷erg cm⁻²s⁻¹and detect an excess radio emission from the region of SN2019wxt. However, there is little evidence for SN1993J- or GW170817-like variability of the radio flux over the course of our observations. A substantial host-galaxy contribution to the measured radio flux is likely. The discovery and early-time peak capture of SN2019wxt in optical/NIR observations during EMGW follow-up observations highlight the need for dedicated early, multiband photometric observations to identify USSNe.

 

The corona is an integral component of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) which produces the bulk of the X-ray emission above 1-2 keV. However, many of its physical properties and the mechanisms powering this emission remain a mystery. In particular, the temperature of the coronal plasma has been difficult to constrain for large samples of AGNs, as constraints require high-quality broadband X-ray spectral coverage extending above 10 keV in order to measure the high-energy cutoff, which provides constraints on the combination of coronal optical depth and temperature. We present constraints on the coronal temperature for a large sample of Seyfert 1 AGNs selected from the Swift/BAT survey using high-quality hard X-ray data from the NuSTAR observatory combined with simultaneous soft X-ray data from Swift/XRT or XMM-Newton. When applying a physically motivated, nonrelativistic disk-reflection model to the X-ray spectra, we find a mean coronal temperature kT e = 84 ± 9 keV. We find no significant correlation between the coronal cutoff energy and accretion parameters such as the Eddington ratio and black hole mass. We also do not find a statistically significant correlation between the X-ray photon index, Γ, and Eddington ratio. This calls into question the use of such relations to infer properties of supermassive black hole systems.