Article

Light Curves of Hydrogen-poor Superluminous Supernovae from the Palomar Transient Factory

A. DeEuropean Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Str. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyA. Gal‐YamDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelA. RubinDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelG. LeloudasDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelP. M. VreeswijkDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelD. A. PerleyAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L35RF, UKR. M. QuimbyDepartment of Astronomy, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USALin YanMS100-22, Caltech/IPAC, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAM. SullivanDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKAndreas FlörsEuropean Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Str. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyJ. SollermanThe Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-10691, Stockholm, SwedenD. BersierAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L35RF, UKS. B. CenkoAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAM. Gal-YamThe Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Center, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, IsraelK. MaguireAstrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UKE. O. OfekDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelS. PrenticeAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L35RF, UKS. SchulzeDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelJ. SpyromilioEuropean Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Str. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyStefano ValentiDepartment of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USAIair ArcaviLas Cumbres Observatory, 6740 Cortona Dr. Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117, USAA. CorsiDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas Tech University, Box 1051, Lubbock, TX 79409-1051, USAD. A. HowellDepartment of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USAP. A. MazzaliMax-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching, GermanyM. M. KasliwalAstronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAF. TaddiaThe Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-10691, Stockholm, SwedenO. YaronDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

2018en

ABI

Abstract

Abstract We investigate the light-curve properties of a sample of 26 spectroscopically confirmed hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) in the Palomar Transient Factory survey. These events are brighter than SNe Ib/c and SNe Ic-BL, on average, by about 4 and 2 mag, respectively. The peak absolute magnitudes of SLSNe-I in rest-frame g band span −22 ≲ M g ≲ −20 mag, and these peaks are not powered by radioactive 56 Ni, unless strong asymmetries are at play. The rise timescales are longer for SLSNe than for normal SNe Ib/c, by roughly 10 days, for events with similar decay times. Thus, SLSNe-I can be considered as a separate population based on photometric properties. After peak, SLSNe-I decay with a wide range of slopes, with no obvious gap between rapidly declining and slowly declining events. The latter events show more irregularities (bumps) in the light curves at all times. At late times, the SLSN-I light curves slow down and cluster around the 56 Co radioactive decay rate. Powering the late-time light curves with radioactive decay would require between 1 and 10 M ⊙ of Ni masses. Alternatively, a simple magnetar model can reasonably fit the majority of SLSNe-I light curves, with four exceptions, and can mimic the radioactive decay of 56 Co, up to ∼400 days from explosion. The resulting spin values do not correlate with the host-galaxy metallicities. Finally, the analysis of our sample cannot strengthen the case for using SLSNe-I for cosmology.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aab9b6

Citations and references

Cited by 30 references

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