Coupled Shock Cooling and Radioactive Heating in the Type IIb Supernova SN 2024aecx: An Extended Envelope and Rapid Optical Decline

Abstract

SN~2024aecx is a nearby, rapidly evolving stripped-envelope supernova with a prominent double-peaked ultraviolet--optical light curve. We model its multiband evolution with an extended version of \texttt{TransFit}, in which the early shock-cooling emission and the subsequent radioactive heating are treated within a single time-dependent radiative diffusion calculation. To describe the stratified ejecta expected for a Type~IIb progenitor, we adopt a compact inner ejecta connected to a dilute extended outer envelope and fit the outer density slope directly from the early light curve. The model reproduces the short-lived first peak, the rise to the radioactive main peak, and the overall multiband evolution. We infer an effective outer radius of $R_0=109.6^{+6.6}_{-3.5}\,R_\odot$, an ejecta mass of $M_{\rm ej}=2.14^{+0.21}_{-0.19}\,M_\odot$, a nickel mass of $M_{\rm Ni}=0.050\pm0.002\,M_\odot$, and a steep outer density slope of $n_{\rm out}=13.33^{+0.11}_{-0.12}$. The steep outer profile favors a low-mass extended envelope, while the low ejecta mass explains the rapid evolution of the main peak. However, a control model with standard $\gamma$-ray leakage fades too slowly after maximum. We therefore introduce an effective optical-output factor to quantify the additional late-time suppression of the ultraviolet--optical luminosity. These results support the shock-cooling plus radioactive-heating interpretation of SN~2024aecx, but show that its rapid optical decline requires physics beyond the simplest radioactive-diffusion prescription.