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The modern study of astrophysical transients has been transformed by an exponentially growing volume of data. Within the last decade, the transient discovery rate has increased by a factor of ∼20, with associated survey data, archival data, and metadata also increasing with the number of discoveries. To manage the data at this increased rate, we require new tools. Here we presentYSE-PZ, a transient survey management platform that ingests multiple live streams of transient discovery alerts, identifies the host galaxies of those transients, downloads coincident archival data, and retrieves photometry and spectra from ongoing surveys.YSE-PZalso presents a user with a range of tools to make and support timely and informed transient follow-up decisions. Those subsequent observations enhance transient science and can reveal physics only accessible with rapid follow-up observations. Rather than automating out human interaction,YSE-PZfocuses on accelerating and enhancing human decision making, a role we describe as empowering the human-in-the-loop. Finally,YSE-PZis built to be flexibly used and deployed;YSE-PZcan support multiple, simultaneous, and independent transient collaborations through group-level data permissions, allowing a user to view the data associated with the union of all groups in which they are a member.YSE-PZcan be used as a local instance installed via Docker or deployed as a service hosted in the cloud. We provideYSE-PZas an open-source tool for the community.

 

We present UV and/or optical observations and models of SN 2023ixf, a type II supernova (SN) located in Messier 101 at 6.9 Mpc. Early time (flash) spectroscopy of SN 2023ixf, obtained primarily at Lick Observatory, reveals emission lines of Hi, Hei/ii, Civ, and Niii/iv/vwith a narrow core and broad, symmetric wings arising from the photoionization of dense, close-in circumstellar material (CSM) located around the progenitor star prior to shock breakout. These electron-scattering broadened line profiles persist for ∼8 days with respect to first light, at which time Doppler broadened the features from the fastest SN ejecta form, suggesting a reduction in CSM density atr≳ 10¹⁵cm. The early time light curve of SN 2023ixf shows peak absolute magnitudes (e.g.,M_u= −18.6 mag,M_g= −18.4 mag) that are ≳2 mag brighter than typical type II SNe, this photometric boost also being consistent with the shock power supplied from CSM interaction. Comparison of SN 2023ixf to a grid of light-curve and multiepoch spectral models from the non-LTE radiative transfer codeCMFGENand the radiation-hydrodynamics codeHERACLESsuggests dense, solar-metallicity CSM confined tor= (0.5–1) × 10¹⁵cm, and a progenitor mass-loss rate of$\dot{M}={10}^{-2}{M}_{\odot }$yr⁻¹. For the assumed progenitor wind velocity ofv_w= 50 km s⁻¹, this corresponds to enhanced mass loss (i.e.,superwindphase) during the last ∼3–6 yr before explosion.

 

In late 2014, four images of supernova (SN) “Refsdal,” the first known example of a strongly lensed SN with multiple resolved images, were detected in the MACS J1149 galaxy-cluster field. Following the images’ discovery, the SN was predicted to reappear within hundreds of days at a new position ∼8″ away in the field. The observed reappearance in late 2015 makes it possible to carry out Refsdal’s original proposal to use a multiply imaged SN to measure the Hubble constantH₀, since the time delay between appearances should vary inversely withH₀. Moreover, the position, brightness, and timing of the reappearance enable a novel test of the blind predictions of galaxy-cluster models, which are typically constrained only by the positions of multiply imaged galaxies. We have developed a new photometry pipeline that usesDOLPHOTto measure the fluxes of the five images of SN Refsdal from difference images. We apply four separate techniques to perform a blind measurement of the relative time delays and magnification ratios between the last image SX and the earlier images S1–S4. We measure the relative time delay of SX–S1 to be${\displaystyle {376.0}_{-5.5}^{+5.6}}$days and the relative magnification to be${\displaystyle {0.30}_{-0.3}^{+0.5}}$. This corresponds to a 1.5% precision on the time delay and 17% precision for the magnification ratios and includes uncertainties due to millilensing and microlensing. In an accompanying paper, we place initial and blind constraints on the value of the Hubble constant.

 

A large fraction of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) observations over the next decade will be in the near-infrared (NIR), at wavelengths beyond the reach of the current standard light-curve model for SN Ia cosmology, SALT3 (∼2800–8700 Å central filter wavelength). To harness this new SN Ia sample and reduce future light-curve standardization systematic uncertainties, we train SALT3 at NIR wavelengths (SALT3-NIR) up to 2μm with the open-source model-training softwareSALTshaker, which can easily accommodate future observations. Using simulated data, we show that the training process constrains the NIR model to ∼2%–3% across the phase range (−20 to 50 days). We find that Hubble residual (HR) scatter is smaller using the NIR alone or optical+NIR compared to optical alone, by up to ∼30% depending on filter choice (95% confidence). There is significant correlation between NIR light-curve stretch measurements and luminosity, with stretch and color corrections often improving HR scatter by up to ∼20%. For SN Ia observations expected from the Roman Space Telescope, SALT3-NIR increases the amount of usable data in the SALT framework by ∼20% at redshiftz≲ 0.4 and by ∼50% atz≲ 0.15. The SALT3-NIR model is part of the open-sourceSNCosmoandSNANASN Ia cosmology packages.

 

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are more precise standardizable candles when measured in the near-infrared (NIR) than in the optical. With this motivation, from 2012 to 2017 we embarked on the RAISIN program with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain rest-frame NIR light curves for a cosmologically distant sample of 37 SNe Ia (0.2 ≲z≲ 0.6) discovered by Pan-STARRS and the Dark Energy Survey. By comparing higher-zHST data with 42 SNe Ia atz< 0.1 observed in the NIR by the Carnegie Supernova Project, we construct a Hubble diagram from NIR observations (with only time of maximum light and some selection cuts from optical photometry) to pursue a unique avenue to constrain the dark energy equation-of-state parameter,w. We analyze the dependence of the full set of Hubble residuals on the SN Ia host galaxy mass and find Hubble residual steps of size ∼0.06-0.1 mag with 1.5σ−2.5σsignificance depending on the method and step location used. Combining our NIR sample with cosmic microwave background constraints, we find 1 +w= −0.17 ± 0.12 (statistical + systematic errors). The largest systematic errors are the redshift-dependent SN selection biases and the properties of the NIR mass step. We also use these data to measureH₀= 75.9 ± 2.2 km s⁻¹Mpc⁻¹from stars with geometric distance calibration in the hosts of eight SNe Ia observed in the NIR versusH₀= 71.2 ± 3.8 km s⁻¹Mpc⁻¹using an inverse distance ladder approach tied to Planck. Using optical data, we find 1 +w= −0.10 ± 0.09, and with optical and NIR data combined, we find 1 +w= −0.06 ± 0.07; these shifts of up to ∼0.11 inwcould point to inconsistency in the optical versus NIR SN models. There will be many opportunities to improve this NIR measurement and better understand systematic uncertainties through larger low-zsamples, new light-curve models, calibration improvements, and eventually by building high-zsamples from the Roman Space Telescope.

 

Ultraviolet (UV) observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are crucial for constraining the properties of their progenitor systems. Theoretical studies predicted that the UV spectra, which probe the outermost layers of an SN, should be sensitive to the metal content of the progenitor. Using the largest SN Ia UV (λ < 2900 Å) spectroscopic sample obtained from Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, we investigate the dependence of UV spectra on metallicity. For the first time, our results reveal a correlation (∼2σ) between SN Ia UV flux and host-galaxy metallicities, with SNe in more metal-rich galaxies (which are likely to have higher progenitor metallicities) having lower UV flux level. We find that this metallicity effect is only significant at short wavelengths (λ ≲ 2700 Å), which agrees well with the theoretical predictions. We produce UV spectral templates for SNe Ia at peak brightness. With our sample, we could disentangle the effect of light-curve shape and metallicity on the UV spectra. We also examine the correlation between the UV spectra and SN luminosities as parametrized by Hubble residuals. However, we do not see a significant trend with Hubble residuals. This is probably due to the large uncertainties in SN distances, as the majority of our sample members are extremely nearby (redshift z ≲ 0.01). Future work with SNe discovered in the Hubble flow will be necessary to constrain a potential metallicity bias on SN Ia cosmology.

 

The Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) 2011by, hosted in NGC 3972, and 2011fe, hosted in M101, are optical ‘twins,’ having almost identical optical light-curve shapes, colours, and near-maximum-brightness spectra. However, SN 2011fe had significantly more ultraviolet (UV; 1600 < λ < 2500 Å) flux than SN 2011by before and at peak luminosity. Several theoretical models predict that SNe Ia with higher progenitor metallicity should (1) have additional UV opacity and thus lower UV flux; (2) have an essentially unchanged optical spectral-energy distribution; (3) have a similar optical light-curve shape; and (4) because of the excess neutrons, produce more stable Fe-group elements at the expense of radioactive 56Ni and thus have a lower peak luminosity. Following these predictions, Foley and Kirshner suggested that the difference in UV flux between SNe 2011by and 2011fe was the result of their progenitors having significantly different metallicities. They also measured a large, but insignificant, difference between the peak absolute magnitudes of the SNe (ΔMV, peak = 0.60 ± 0.36 mag), with SN 2011fe being more luminous. We present a new Cepheid-based distance to NGC 3972, substantially improving the precision of the distance measurement for SN 2011by. With these new data, we determine that the SNe have significantly different peak luminosities (ΔMV, peak = 0.335 ± 0.069 mag). Consequently, SN 2011fe produced 38 per cent more 56Ni than SN 2011by, consistent with predictions for progenitor metallicity differences for these SNe, although alternative models may also explain this difference. We discuss how progenitor metallicity differences can contribute to the intrinsic scatter for light-curve-shape-corrected SN luminosities, the use of ‘twin’ SNe for measuring distances, and implications for using SNe Ia for constraining cosmological parameters.

 

Abstract We present the Young Supernova Experiment Data Release 1 (YSE DR1), comprised of processed multicolor PanSTARRS1 griz and Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) gr photometry of 1975 transients with host–galaxy associations, redshifts, spectroscopic and/or photometric classifications, and additional data products from 2019 November 24 to 2021 December 20. YSE DR1 spans discoveries and observations from young and fast-rising supernovae (SNe) to transients that persist for over a year, with a redshift distribution reaching z ≈ 0.5. We present relative SN rates from YSE’s magnitude- and volume-limited surveys, which are consistent with previously published values within estimated uncertainties for untargeted surveys. We combine YSE and ZTF data, and create multisurvey SN simulations to train the ParSNIP and SuperRAENN photometric classification algorithms; when validating our ParSNIP classifier on 472 spectroscopically classified YSE DR1 SNe, we achieve 82% accuracy across three SN classes (SNe Ia, II, Ib/Ic) and 90% accuracy across two SN classes (SNe Ia, core-collapse SNe). Our classifier performs particularly well on SNe Ia, with high (>90%) individual completeness and purity, which will help build an anchor photometric SNe Ia sample for cosmology. We then use our photometric classifier to characterize our photometric sample of 1483 SNe, labeling 1048 (∼71%) SNe Ia, 339 (∼23%) SNe II, and 96 (∼6%) SNe Ib/Ic. YSE DR1 provides a training ground for building discovery, anomaly detection, and classification algorithms, performing cosmological analyses, understanding the nature of red and rare transients, exploring tidal disruption events and nuclear variability, and preparing for the forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time. 

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.