Article

Spectra of Hydrogen-poor Superluminous Supernovae from the Palomar Transient Factory

R. M. QuimbyDepartment of Astronomy/Mount Laguna Observatory, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92812-1221, USA; [email protected]A. DeDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, IsraelA. Gal‐YamDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, IsraelG. LeloudasDark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 København Ø, DenmarkR. LunnanCahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAD. A. PerleyAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UKP. M. VreeswijkDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelLin YanCahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAJ. S. BloomDepartment of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USAS. B. CenkoAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAJeff CookeCentre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, H30, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, AustraliaRichard S. EllisDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKA. V. FilippenkoDepartment of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USAM. M. KasliwalCahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAI. K. W. KleiserCahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAS. R. KulkarniCahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAT. MathesonNational Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719-4933, USAP. NugentDepartment of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USAY. C. PanDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAJ. M. SilvermanDepartment of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USAA. SternbergObservatoire Astronomique de l’Université de Genéve, Chemin des Maillettes 51, CH-1290, Versoix, SwitzerlandM. SullivanDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ, UKO. YaronDepartment of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

2018en

ABI

Abstract

Abstract Most Type I superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) reported to date have been identified by their high peak luminosities and spectra lacking obvious signs of hydrogen. We demonstrate that these events can be distinguished from normal-luminosity SNe (including Type Ic events) solely from their spectra over a wide range of light-curve phases. We use this distinction to select 19 SLSNe-I and four possible SLSNe-I from the Palomar Transient Factory archive (including seven previously published objects). We present 127 new spectra of these objects and combine these with 39 previously published spectra, and we use these to discuss the average spectral properties of SLSNe-I at different spectral phases. We find that Mn ii most probably contributes to the ultraviolet spectral features after maximum light, and we give a detailed study of the O ii features that often characterize the early-time optical spectra of SLSNe-I. We discuss the velocity distribution of O ii , finding that for some SLSNe-I this can be confined to a narrow range compared to relatively large systematic velocity shifts. Mg ii and Fe ii favor higher velocities than O ii and C ii , and we briefly discuss how this may constrain power-source models. We tentatively group objects by how well they match either SN 2011ke or PTF12dam and discuss the possibility that physically distinct events may have been previously grouped together under the SLSN-I label.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aaac2f

Citations and references

Cited by 20 references

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