| 1. |
- Smartt, S. J., et al.
(författare)
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PESSTO : survey description and products from the first data release by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 579
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The Public European Southern Observatory Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO) began as a public spectroscopic survey in April 2012. PESSTO classifies transients from publicly available sources and wide-field surveys, and selects science targets for detailed spectroscopic and photometric follow-up. PESSTO runs for nine months of the year, January - April and August - December inclusive, and typically has allocations of 10 nights per month. Aims. We describe the data reduction strategy and data products that are publicly available through the ESO archive as the Spectroscopic Survey data release 1 (SSDR1). Methods. PESSTO uses the New Technology Telescope with the instruments EFOSC2 and SOFI to provide optical and NIR spectroscopy and imaging. We target supernovae and optical transients brighter than 20.5(m) for classification. Science targets are selected for follow-up based on the PESSTO science goal of extending knowledge of the extremes of the supernova population. We use standard EFOSC2 set-ups providing spectra with resolutions of 13-18 angstrom between 3345-9995 angstrom. A subset of the brighter science targets are selected for SOFI spectroscopy with the blue and red grisms (0.935-2.53 mu m and resolutions 23-33 angstrom) and imaging with broadband JHK(s) filters. Results. This first data release (SSDR1) contains flux calibrated spectra from the first year (April 2012-2013). A total of 221 confirmed supernovae were classified, and we released calibrated optical spectra and classifications publicly within 24 h of the data being taken (via WISeREP). The data in SSDR1 replace those released spectra. They have more reliable and quantifiable flux calibrations, correction for telluric absorption, and are made available in standard ESO Phase 3 formats. We estimate the absolute accuracy of the flux calibrations for EFOSC2 across the whole survey in SSDR1 to be typically similar to 15%, although a number of spectra will have less reliable absolute flux calibration because of weather and slit losses. Acquisition images for each spectrum are available which, in principle, can allow the user to refine the absolute flux calibration. The standard NIR reduction process does not produce high accuracy absolute spectrophotometry but synthetic photometry with accompanying JHK(s) imaging can improve this. Whenever possible, reduced SOFI images are provided to allow this. Conclusions. Future data releases will focus on improving the automated flux calibration of the data products. The rapid turnaround between discovery and classification and access to reliable pipeline processed data products has allowed early science papers in the first few months of the survey.
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| 2. |
- Valenti, S., et al.
(författare)
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PESSTO spectroscopic classification of La Silla-Quest Transients
- 2012
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- PESSTO is the "Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects" (http://www.pessto.org) using the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) at La Silla and the EFOSC2 (optical) and SOFI (near-IR) spectrographs. It is one of two currently running public spectroscopic surveys at ESO. The survey details are as follows: - PESSTO has 90 nights per year on the NTT: 9 lunations (August to April), 10 nights per lunation (we are not observing May-July).
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| 3. |
- Maguire, K., et al.
(författare)
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A statistical analysis of circumstellar material in Type Ia supernovae
- 2013
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 436:1, s. 222-240
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A key tracer of the elusive progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is the detection of narrow blueshifted time-varying Na I D absorption lines, interpreted as evidence of circumstellar material surrounding the progenitor system. The origin of this material is controversial, but the simplest explanation is that it results from previous mass-loss in a system containing a white dwarf and a non-degenerate companion star. We present new single-epoch intermediate-resolution spectra of 17 low-redshift SNe Ia taken with XShooter on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. Combining this sample with events from the literature, we confirm an excess (similar to 20 per cent) of SNe Ia displaying blueshifted narrow Na I D absorption features compared to redshifted Na I D features. The host galaxies of SNe Ia displaying blueshifted absorption profiles are skewed towards later-type galaxies, compared to SNe Ia that show no Na I D absorption and SNe Ia displaying blueshifted narrow Na I D absorption features have broader light curves. The strength of the Na I D absorption is stronger in SNe Ia displaying blueshifted Na I D absorption features than those without blueshifted features, and the strength of the blueshifted Na I D is correlated with the B - V colour of the SN at maximum light. This strongly suggests the absorbing material is local to the SN. In the context of the progenitor systems of SNe Ia, we discuss the significance of these findings and other recent observational evidence on the nature of SN Ia progenitors. We present a summary that suggests that there are at least two distinct populations of normal, cosmologically useful SNe Ia.
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| 4. |
- Benetti, S., et al.
(författare)
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The supernova CSS121015:004244+132827 : a clue for understanding superluminous supernovae
- 2014
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 441:1, s. 289-303
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present optical photometry and spectra of the superluminous Type II/IIn supernova (SN) CSS121015: 004244+132827 (z = 0.2868) spanning epochs from -30 d (rest frame) to more than 200 d after maximum. CSS121015 is one of the more luminous SNe ever found and one of the best observed. The photometric evolution is characterized by a relatively fast rise to maximum (similar to 40 d in the SN rest frame), and by a linear post-maximum decline. The light curve shows no sign of a break to an exponential tail. A broad Ha is first detected at similar to+40 d (rest frame). Narrow, barely resolved Balmer and [O III] 5007 angstrom lines, with decreasing strength, are visible along the entire spectral evolution. The spectra are very similar to other superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) with hydrogen in their spectrum, and also to SN 2005gj, sometimes considered Type Ia interacting with H-rich circumstellar medium. The spectra are also similar to a subsample of H-deficient SLSNe. We propose that the properties of CSS121015 are consistent with the interaction of the ejecta with a massive, extended, opaque shell, lost by the progenitor decades before the final explosion, although a magnetar-powered model cannot be excluded. Based on the similarity of CSS121015 with other SLSNe (with and without H), we suggest that the shocked-shell scenario should be seriously considered as a plausible model for both types of SLSN.
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| 5. |
- Taubenberger, S., et al.
(författare)
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SN2012dn from early to late times : 09dc-like supernovae reassessed
- 2019
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 488:4, s. 5473-5488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a candidate super-Chandrasekhar' or 09dc-like TypeIa supernova (SNIa), SN 2012dn shares many characteristics with other members of this remarkable class of objects but lacks their extraordinary luminosity. Here, we present and discuss the most comprehensive optical data set of this SN to date, comprised of a densely sampled series of early-time spectra obtained within the Nearby Supernova Factory project, plus photometry and spectroscopy obtained at the Very Large Telescope about 1yr after the explosion. The light curves, colour curves, spectral time series, and ejecta velocities of SN 2012dn are compared with those of other 09dc-like and normal SNeIa, the overall variety within the class of 09dc-like SNeIa is discussed, and new criteria for 09dc-likeness are proposed. Particular attention is directed to additional insight that the late-phase data provide. The nebular spectra show forbidden lines of oxygen and calcium, elements that are usually not seen in late-time spectra of SNeIa, while the ionization state of the emitting iron plasma is low, pointing to low ejecta temperatures and high densities. The optical light curves are characterized by an enhanced fading starting similar to 60d after maximum and very low luminosities in the nebular phase, which is most readily explained by unusually early formation of clumpy dust in the ejecta. Taken together, these effects suggest a strongly perturbed ejecta density profile, which might lend support to the idea that 09dc-like characteristics arise from a brief episode of interaction with a hydrogen-deficient envelope during the first hours or days after the explosion.
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| 6. |
- Taubenberger, S., et al.
(författare)
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High luminosity, slow ejecta and persistent carbon lines : SN 2009dc challenges thermonuclear explosion scenarios
- 2011
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 412:4, s. 2735-2762
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Extended optical and near-IR observations reveal that SN 2009dc shares a number of similarities with normal Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), but is clearly overluminous, with a (pseudo-bolometric) peak luminosity of log (L) = 43.47 (erg s-1). Its light curves decline slowly over half a year after maximum light [delta m(15)(B)(true) = 0.71], and the early-time near-IR light curves show secondary maxima, although the minima between the first and the second peaks are not very pronounced. The bluer bands exhibit an enhanced fading after similar to 200 d, which might be caused by dust formation or an unexpectedly early IR catastrophe. The spectra of SN 2009dc are dominated by intermediate-mass elements and unburned material at early times, and by iron-group elements at late phases. Strong C ii lines are present until similar to 2 weeks past maximum, which is unprecedented in thermonuclear SNe. The ejecta velocities are significantly lower than in normal and even subluminous SNe Ia. No signatures of interaction with a circumstellar medium (CSM) are found in the spectra. Assuming that the light curves are powered by radioactive decay, analytic modelling suggests that SN 2009dc produced similar to 1.8 M(circle dot) of 56Ni assuming the smallest possible rise time of 22 d. Together with a derived total ejecta mass of similar to 2.8 M(circle dot), this confirms that SN 2009dc is a member of the class of possible super-Chandrasekhar-mass SNe Ia similar to SNe 2003fg, 2006gz and 2007if. A study of the hosts of SN 2009dc and other superluminous SNe Ia reveals a tendency of these SNe to explode in low-mass galaxies. A low metallicity of the progenitor may therefore be an important prerequisite for producing superluminous SNe Ia. We discuss a number of possible explosion scenarios, ranging from super-Chandrasekhar-mass white-dwarf progenitors over dynamical white-dwarf mergers and Type I SNe to a core-collapse origin of the explosion. None of the models seems capable of explaining all properties of SN 2009dc, so that the true nature of this SN and its peers remains nebulous.
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| 7. |
- Hachinger, S., et al.
(författare)
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Type Ia supernovae with and without blueshifted narrow Na I D lines - how different is their structure?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 471:1, s. 491-506
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In studies on intermediate-and high-resolution spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), some objects exhibit narrow Na I D absorptions often blueshifted with respect to the rest wavelength within the host galaxy. The absence of these in other SNe Ia may reflect that the explosions have different progenitors: blueshifted Na I D features might be explained by the outflows of 'single-degenerate' systems (binaries of a white dwarf with a non-degenerate companion). In this work, we search for systematic differences among SNe Ia for which the Na I D characteristics have been clearly established in previous studies. We perform an analysis of the chemical abundances in the outer ejecta of 13 'spectroscopically normal' SNe Ia (five of which show blueshifted Na lines), modelling time series of photospheric spectra with a radiative-transfer code. We find only moderate differences between 'blueshifted-Na', 'redshifted-Na' and 'no-Na' SNe Ia, so that we can neither conclusively confirm a 'one-scenario' nor a 'two-scenario' theory for normal SNe Ia. Yet, some of the trends we see should be further studied using larger observed samples: models for blueshifted-Na SNe tend to show higher photospheric velocities than no-Na SNe, corresponding to a higher opacity of the envelope. Consistently, blueshifted-Na SNe show hints of a somewhat larger iron-group content in the outer layers with respect to the no-Na subsample (and also to the redshifted-Na subsample). This agrees with earlier work where it was found that the light curves of no-Na SNe - often appearing in elliptical galaxies - are narrower, that is, decline more rapidly.
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| 8. |
- Maurer, I., et al.
(författare)
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nero- a post-maximum supernova radiation transport code
- 2011
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 418:3, s. 1517-1525
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interpretation of supernova (SN) spectra is essential for deriving SN ejecta properties such as density and composition, which in turn can tell us about their progenitors and the explosion mechanism. A very large number of atomic processes are important for spectrum formation. Several tools for calculating SN spectra exist, but they mainly focus on the very early or late epochs. The intermediate phase, which requires a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) treatment of radiation transport has rarely been studied. In this paper, we present a new SN radiation transport code, NERO, which can look at those epochs. All the atomic processes are treated in full NLTE, under a steady-state assumption. This is a valid approach between roughly 50 and 500 days after the explosion depending on SN type. This covers the post-maximum photospheric and the early and the intermediate nebular phase. As a test, we compare NERO to the radiation transport code of Jerkstrand, Fransson & Kozma and to the nebular code of Mazzali et al. All three codes have been developed independently and a comparison provides a valuable opportunity to investigate their reliability. Currently, NERO is one-dimensional and can be used for predicting spectra of synthetic explosion models or for deriving SN properties by spectral modelling. To demonstrate this, we study the spectra of the ;normal' Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2005cf between 50 and 350 days after the explosion and identify most of the common SN Ia line features at post-maximum epochs.
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| 9. |
- Mazzali, Paolo A., et al.
(författare)
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The nebular spectrum of the Type Ia supernova 2003hv : evidence for a non-standard event
- 2011
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 416:2, s. 881-892
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The optical and near-infrared (near-IR) late-time spectra of the under-luminous Type Ia supernova 2003hv are analysed with a code that computes the nebular emission from a supernova nebula. Synthetic spectra based on the classical explosion model W7 are unable to reproduce the large FeIII/FeII ratio and the low IR flux at similar to 1 year after the explosion, although the optical spectrum of SN 2003hv is reproduced reasonably well for a supernova of luminosity intermediate between normal and subluminous (SN 1991bg-like) ones. A possible solution is that the inner layers of the supernova ejecta (v less than or similar to 8000 km s(-1)) contain less mass than predicted by classical explosion models like W7. If this inner region contains similar to 0.5 M(circle dot) of material, as opposed to similar to 0.9 M(circle dot) in Chandrasekhar-mass models developed within the single-degenerate scenario, the low density inhibits recombination, favouring the large Fe III/Fe II ratio observed in the optical, and decreases the flux in the [Fe II] lines which dominate the IR spectrum. The most likely scenario may be an explosion of a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf. Alternatively, the violent/dynamical merger of two white dwarfs with the combined mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit also shows a reduced inner density.
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| 10. |
- Taubenberger, S., et al.
(författare)
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Spectroscopy of the Type Ia supernova 2011fe past 1000 d
- 2015
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966 .- 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933. ; 448:1, s. L48-L52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this Letter we present an optical spectrum of SN 2011fe taken 1034 d after the explosion, several hundred days later than any other spectrum of a Type Ia supernova (disregarding light-echo spectra and Local Group remnants). The spectrum is still dominated by broad emission features, with no trace of a light echo or interaction of the supernova ejecta with surrounding interstellar material. Comparing this extremely late spectrum to an earlier one taken 331 d after the explosion, we find that the most prominent feature at 331 d - [Fe III] emission around 4700 angstrom - has entirely faded away, suggesting a significant change in the ionization state. Instead, [Fe II] lines are probably responsible for most of the emission at 1034 d. An emission feature at 6300-6400 angstrom has newly developed at 1034 d, which we tentatively identify with Fe I lambda 6359, [Fe I] lambda lambda 6231, 6394 or [O I] lambda lambda 6300, 6364. Interestingly, the features in the 1034 d spectrum seem to be collectively redshifted, a phenomenon that we currently have no convincing explanation for. We discuss the implications of our findings for explosion models, but conclude that sophisticated spectral modelling is required for any firm statement.
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