We present optical photometric and spectroscopic coverage of the superluminous supernova (SLSN) PS1-11ap, discovered with the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey at z=0.524. This intrinsically blue transient rose slowly to reach a peak magnitude of M_u_=-21.4mag and bolometric luminosity of 8x10^43^erg/s before settling on to a relatively shallow gradient of decline. The observed decline is significantly slower than those of the SLSNe-Ic which have been the focus of much recent attention. Spectroscopic similarities with the lower redshift SN2007bi and a decline rate similar to 56Co decay time-scale initially indicated that this transient could be a candidate for a pair instability supernova (PISN) explosion. Overall the transient appears quite similar to SN2007bi and the lower redshift object PTF12dam. The extensive data set, from 30d before peak to 230d after, allows a detailed and quantitative comparison with published models of PISN explosions. We find that the PS1-11ap data do not match these model explosion parameters well, supporting the recent claim that these SNe are not pair instability explosions. We show that PS1-11ap has many features in common with the faster declining SLSNe-Ic, and the light-curve evolution can also be quantitatively explained by the magnetar spin-down model. At a redshift of z=0.524, the observer-frame optical coverage provides comprehensive rest-frame UV data and allows us to compare it with the SLSNe recently found at high redshifts between z=2 and 4. While these high-z explosions are still plausible PISN candidates, they match the photometric evolution of PS1-11ap and hence could be counterparts to this lower redshift transient.
M33 contains a large number of emission nebulae identified as supernova remnants (SNRs) based on the high [SII]:H{alpha} ratios characteristic of shocked gas. Using Chandra data from the ChASeM33 survey with a 0.35-2keV sensitivity of ~2x10^34^erg/s, we have detected 82 of 137 SNR candidates, yielding confirmation of (or at least strongly support for) their SNR identifications. A spectral analysis of the seven X-ray brightest SNRs reveals that two, G98-31 and G98-35, have spectra that appear to indicate enrichment by ejecta from core-collapse supernova explosions. We have used a combination of new and archival optical and radio observations to attempt to better understand why some objects are detected as X-ray sources and others are not. We have also developed a morphological classification scheme for the optically identified SNRs and discussed the efficacy of this scheme as a predictor of X-ray detectability. Finally, we have compared the SNRs found in M33 to those that have been observed in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds.
A sample of 109 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) with recession velocity <~30000km/s is compiled from published SN Ia light curves to explore the expansion rate of the local universe. Based on the color parameter {Delta}C_12_ and the decline rate {delta}m15, we found that the average absorption-to-reddening ratios for SN Ia host galaxies are R_UBVI_=4.37+/-0.25, 3.33+/-0.11, 2.30+/-0.11, and 1.18+/-0.11, which are systematically lower than the standard values in the Galaxy. We investigated the correlations of the intrinsic luminosity with light-curve decline rate, color index, and SN environmental parameters.
Type Ibn supernovae (SNe Ibn) are thought to be the core-collapse explosions of massive stars whose ejecta interact with He-rich circumstellar material (CSM). We report the discovery of a SN Ibn, with the longest rise-time ever observed, OGLE-2014-SN-131. We discuss the potential powering mechanisms and the progenitor nature of this peculiar stripped-envelope (SE), circumstellar-interacting SN. Optical photometry and spectroscopy were obtained with multiple telescopes including VLT, NTT, and GROND. We compare light curves and spectra with those of other known SNe Ibn and Ibc. CSM velocities are derived from the spectral analysis. The SN light curve is modeled under different assumptions about its powering mechanism (56Ni decay, CSM-interaction, magnetar) in order to estimate the SN progenitor parameters. OGLE-2014-SN-131 spectroscopically resembles SNe Ibn such as SN 2010al. Its peak luminosity and post-peak colors are also similar to those of other SNe Ibn. However, it shows an unprecedentedly long rise-time and a much broader light curve compared to other SNe Ibn. Its bolometric light curve can be reproduced by magnetar and CSM-interaction models, but not by a 56Ni-decay powering model. To explain the unusually long rise-time, the broad light curve, the light curve decline, and the spectra characterized by narrow emission lines, we favor a powering mechanism where the SN ejecta are interacting with a dense CSM. The progenitor of OGLE-2014-SN-131 was likely a Wolf-Rayet star with a mass greater than that of a typical SN Ibn progenitor, which expelled the CSM that the SN is interacting with.
The results of speckle-interferometric observations at the 4.1m Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope in 2019 are given, totaling 2555 measurements of 1972 resolved pairs with separations from 15mas (median 0.21") and magnitude difference up to 6mag, and non-resolutions of 684 targets. We resolved for the first time 90 new pairs or subsystems in known binaries. This work continues our long-term speckle program. Its main goal is to monitor orbital motion of close binaries, including members of high-order hierarchies and Hipparcos pairs in the solar neighborhood. We give a list of 127 orbits computed using our latest measurements. Their quality varies from excellent (25 orbits of grades 1 and 2) to provisional (47 orbits of grades 4 and 5).
We report the discovery of short-period photometric variability and modulated Zeeman-split hydrogen emission in SDSSJ125230.93-023417.72 (EPIC 228939929), a variable white dwarf star observed at long cadence in K2 Campaign 10. The behavior is associated with a magnetic (B=5.0MG) spot on the stellar surface, making the 317.278s period a direct measurement of the stellar rotation rate. This object is therefore the fastest-rotating, apparently isolated (without a stellar companion) white dwarf yet discovered and the second found to exhibit chromospheric Balmer emission after GD 356, in which the emission has been attributed to a unipolar inductor mechanism driven by a possible rocky planet. We explore the properties and behavior of this object, and consider whether its evolution may hold implications for white dwarf mergers and their remnants.
Several studies have reported the presence of sodium excess objects having neutral atomic absorption lines at 5895{AA} (Na.D) and 8190{AA} that are deeper than expected based on stellar population models that match the stellar continuum. The origin of these lines is therefore hotly debated. van Dokkum & Conroy (2010Natur.468..940V) proposed that low-mass stars (<~0.3M_{sun}_) are more prevalent in massive early-type galaxies, which may lead to a strong Na I 8190 line strength. It is necessary to test this prediction, however, against other prominent optical line indices such as Na.D, Mg b, and Fe 5270, which can be measured with a significantly higher signal-to-noise ratio than Na I 8190. We identified a new sample of roughly 1000 Na.D excess objects (NEOs; ~8% of galaxies in the sample) based on Na.D line strength in the redshift range 0.00<=z<=0.08 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7 through detailed analysis of galaxy spectra. We explore the properties of these new objects here. The novelty of this work is that the galaxies were carefully identified through direct visual inspection of SDSS images, and we systematically compared the properties of NEOs and those of a control sample of galaxies with normal Na.D line strengths. We note that the majority of galaxies with high velocity dispersions ({sigma}_e_>250km/s) show Na.D excesses.
We present basic observational data and association membership analysis for 45 young and active low-mass stellar systems from the ongoing Research Consortium On Nearby Stars photometry and astrometry program at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Most of these systems have saturated X-ray emission (log(L_X_/L_bol_)>-3.5) based on X-ray fluxes from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, and many are significantly more luminous than main-sequence stars of comparable color. We present parallaxes and proper motions, Johnson-Kron-Cousins VRI photometry, and multiplicity observations from the CTIOPI program on the CTIO 0.9m telescope. To this we add low-resolution optical spectroscopy and line measurements from the CTIO 1.5m telescope, and interferometric binary measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors. We also incorporate data from published sources: JHK_S_ photometry from the Two Micron All Sky Survey point source catalog, X-ray data from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, and radial velocities from literature sources. Within the sample of 45 systems, we identify 21 candidate low-mass pre-main-sequence members of nearby associations, including members of {beta} Pictoris, TW Hydrae, Argus, AB Doradus, two ambiguous {approx}30Myr old systems, and one object that may be a member of the Ursa Major moving group. Of the 21 candidate young systems, 14 are newly identified as a result of this work, and six of those are within 25pc of the Sun.
We construct a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for the stellar/substellar boundary based on a sample of 63 objects ranging in spectral type from M6V to L4. We report newly observed VRI photometry for all 63 objects and new trigonometric parallaxes for 37 objects. The remaining 26 objects have trigonometric parallaxes from the literature. We combine our optical photometry and trigonometric parallaxes with 2MASS and WISE photometry and employ a novel spectral energy distribution fitting algorithm to determine effective temperatures, bolometric luminosities, and radii. Our uncertainties range from ~20K to ~150K in temperature, ~0.01 to ~0.06 in log (L/L_{sun}_) and ~3% to ~10% in radius. We check our methodology by comparing our calculated radii to radii directly measured via long baseline optical interferometry. We find evidence for the local minimum in the radius-temperature and radius-luminosity trends that signals the end of the stellar main sequence and the start of the brown dwarf sequence at T_eff_~2075K, log(L/L_{sun}_)~-3.9, and (R/R_{sun}_)~0.086. The existence of this local minimum is predicted by evolutionary models, but at temperatures ~400K cooler. The minimum radius happens near the locus of 2MASS J0523-1403, an L2.5 dwarf with V-K=9.42. We make qualitative arguments as to why the effects of the recent revision in solar abundances accounts for the discrepancy between our findings and the evolutionary models. We also report new color-absolute magnitude relations for optical and infrared colors which are useful for estimating photometric distances. We study the optical variability of all 63 targets and find an overall variability fraction of 36_-7_^+9^% at a threshold of 15mmag in the I band, which is in agreement with previous studies.
We present 114 trigonometric parallaxes for 107 nearby white dwarf (WD) systems from both the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Parallax Investigation (CTIOPI) and the U. S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) parallax programs. Of these, 76 parallaxes for 69 systems were measured by the CTIOPI program and 38 parallaxes for as many systems were measured by the NOFS program. A total of 50 systems are confirmed to be within the 25-pc horizon of interest. Coupled with a spectroscopic confirmation of a common proper-motion companion to a Hipparcos star within 25pc as well as confirmation parallax determinations for two WD systems included in the recently released Tycho Gaia Astrometric Solution catalog, we add 53 new systems to the 25-pc WD sample-a 42% increase. Our sample presented here includes four strong candidate halo systems, a new metal-rich DAZ WD, a confirmation of a recently discovered nearby short-period (P=2.85hr) double degenerate, a WD with a new astrometric perturbation (long period, unconstrained with our data), and a new triple system where the WD companion main-sequence star has an astrometric perturbation (P~1.6year).