arXiv subjects

K. Tsalapatas

Publications and source records attributed to K. Tsalapatas.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

SN 2024afyu interpreted as a Pair Instability Supernova

Pair-instability supernovae (PISNe) are the predicted explosions of very massive stars triggered by electron-positron pair production. Numerous transients have been proposed as PISN candidates, yet none has provided unambiguous confirmation of this explosion mechanism. The predicted strengths of nebular emission lines offer a powerful means of testing the PISN scenario. We investigate the nature of SN 2024afyu, a nearby (z = 0.0085), long-lived (trise = 85 +- 11.7 days) SN with peculiar spectral evolution, with the aim of identifying its powering mechanism. We analyse multi-band photometry and optical and near-infrared spectroscopy from shortly after explosion to the nebular phase (around 500 days past peak). Besides early appearance of [Ca II] features, we identify a number of sulfur and silicon emission lines, for which we estimate electron temperatures and elemental masses. SN 2024afyu has an inferred 56Ni mass of around 0.4 to 1.0 solar masses and an inferred sulfur mass of the order of 3 solar masses, substantially larger than expected for conventional core-collapse explosions. SN 2024afyu is photometrically similar (although fainter, M_Peak(r) = -18.9 +- 0.04 mag) but spectroscopically distinct to other proposed PISNe. Yet, existing PISN models broadly reproduce several key characteristics, including the overall spectral appearance and broad photometric evolution. SN 2024afyu is a strong PISN candidate, since alternative scenarios would struggle to explain the combination of broad light curve, large intermediate-mass-element abundance, and general spectroscopic evolution. The discrepancies between the observations and currently available theoretical models highlight the need for new PISN calculations spanning a wider range of progenitor masses, metallicities, mixing prescriptions, and circumstellar environments.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

GRB 241105A: A test case for GRB classification and rapid r-process nucleosynthesis channels

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) offer a powerful window to probe the progenitor systems responsible for the formation of heavy elements through the rapid neutron capture (r-) process, thanks to their exceptional luminosity, which allows them to be observed across vast cosmic distances. GRB 241105A, observed at a redshift of z = 2.681, features a short initial spike (1.5 s) and a prolonged weak emission lasting about 64 s, positioning it as a candidate for a compact binary merger and potentially marking it as the most distant merger-driven GRB observed to date. However, the emerging ambiguity in GRB classification necessitates further investigation into the burst's true nature. Prompt emission analyses, such as hardness ratio, spectral lag, and minimum variability timescales, yield mixed classifications, while machine learning-based clustering places GRB 241105A near both long-duration mergers and collapsar GRBs. We conducted observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to search for a potential supernova counterpart. Although no conclusive evidence was found for a supernova, the host galaxy's properties derived from the JWST observations suggest active star formation with low metallicity, and a sub-kpc offset of the afterglow from the host, which appears broadly consistent with a collapsar origin. Nevertheless, a compact binary merger origin cannot be ruled out, as the burst may plausibly arise from a fast progenitor channel. This would have important implications for heavy element enrichment in the early Universe.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

A thermonuclear supernova interacting with hydrogen- and helium-deficient circumstellar material. SN 2020aeuh as a SN Ia-CSM-C/O?

Identifying the progenitors of thermonuclear supernovae (Type Ia supernovae; SNe Ia) remains a key objective in contemporary astronomy. The rare subclass of SNe Ia that interacts with circumstellar material (Type Ia-CSM) allows for studies of the progenitor's environment before explosion, and generally favours single-degenerate progenitor channels. The case of SN Ia-CSM PTF11kx clearly connected thermonuclear explosions with hydrogen-rich CSM-interacting events, and the more recent SN 2020eyj connected SNe Ia with helum-rich companion progenitors. Here we present a study of SN 2020aeuh, a Type Ia-CSM with delayed interaction. We analyse photometric and spectroscopic data that monitor the evolution of SN 2020aeuh and compare its properties with those of peculiar SNe Ia and core-collapse SNe. At early times, the evolution of SN 2020aeuh resembles a slightly overluminous SN Ia. Later, the interaction-dominated spectra develop the same pseudocontinuum seen in Type Ia-CSM PTF11kx and SN 2020eyj. However, the later-time spectra of SN 2020aeuh lack hydrogen and helium narrow lines. Instead, a few narrow lines could be attributed to carbon and oxygen. We fit the pseudobolometric light curve with a CSM-interaction mode, yielding a CSM mass of 1-2 M$_{\odot}$. We propose that SN 2020aeuh was a Type Ia supernova that eventually interacted with a dense medium which was deficient in both hydrogen and helium. Whereas previous SNe Ia-CSM constitute our best evidence for nondegenerate companion progenitors, the CSM around SN 2020aeuh is more difficult to understand. We include a hydrodynamical simulation for a double-degenerate system to showcase how the dynamical evolution of such a progenitor scenario could produce the CSM observed around SN 2020aeuh. It is clear that SN 2020aeuh challenges current models for stellar evolution leading up to a SN Ia explosion.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

New supernova remnant candidates in the LOFAR Two Metre Sky Survey

In spite of their key role in galaxy evolution and several decades of observational efforts, the census of supernova remnants (SNRs) in our Galaxy remains incomplete. Theoretical predictions based on the local supernova rate estimate the expected number of SNRs in the Galaxy to be $\gtrsim$ 1000. By contrast, the number of detected SNRs amounts to about 300. High-resolution, wide-area radio surveys at low frequencies are ideal tools with which to find missing SNRs, given the prominence of these sources at low radio frequencies. We aim to find missing SNRs using proprietary data from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) at 144~MHz. We used LoTSS total intensity maps of two Galactic regions, one with $39^\mathrm{o} < l < 66^\mathrm{o}$ and $|b|< 2.5^\mathrm{o}$, and the other with $145^\mathrm{o} < l < 150^\mathrm{o}$ and $|b| < 3^\mathrm{o}$, in addition to mid-infrared (MIR) data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) all-sky survey to search for SNR candidates. We report the discovery of 14 new SNR candidates selected on the basis of their morphology at 144 MHz and a lack of MIR emission. We also follow up on 24 previously reported SNR candidates, inferring their spectral index between the LoTSS frequency (144 MHz) and the frequency at which they were reported. The high resolution and sensitivity of LoTSS observations has resulted in the detection of 14 new SNR candidates. In order to unambiguously confirm the SNR nature of these candidates, follow-up X-ray observations are required with facilities such as eROSITA.

astro-ph.HE↗