arXiv subjects

M. Karmen

Publications and source records attributed to M. Karmen.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Lazuli Space Observatory: Opportunities for time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy

Advancing time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy requires a multi-wavelength network of observatories capable of rapidly discovering, classifying, and characterizing transient phenomena. A critical gap in current capabilities is the inability to follow up faint, fast-evolving transients with sensitive, wide-band imaging and spectroscopic observations from space on timescales of minutes to hours. We discuss how the Lazuli Space Observatory will address this gap through a large collecting area, optical/NIR photometry and low-resolution integral field spectroscopy, and a rapid-response architecture with a mission requirement of $<$4 hours from trigger to first photon. Based on a latency analysis, we find a credible path to realizing response times well below this requirement, with best-case scenarios below 90 minutes under favorable conditions. We highlight extragalactic science opportunities in currently un(der)explored parts of parameter space, including gravitational wave follow-up, kilonova characterization, supernova progenitor physics, and a wide variety of fast-evolving transients and high redshift events. We further outline new observational capabilities for Galactic time-domain science, including high frequency variability in accreting systems, precision astrometry of compact objects, and the detection of compact and ultracompact binaries, enabled by high-frequency, diffraction-limited imaging and astrometry. Together, its capabilities - combining flagship sensitivity with response times one to two orders of magnitude faster than existing large space observatories - position Lazuli to make transformative contributions across time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Compact Accretion Disks in the Aftermath of Tidal Disruption Events: Parameter Inference from Joint X-ray Spectra and UV/Optical Photometry Fitting

We present a multi-wavelength analysis of 14 tidal disruption events (TDEs)-including an off-nuclear event associated with an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy-selected for having available thermal X-ray spectra during their late-time UV/optical plateau phase. We show that at these stages, the full spectral energy distribution - X-ray spectra and UV/optical photometry - is well described by a compact, yet standard accretion disk, the same disk which powers the X-rays at all times. By fitting up to three epochs per source with a fully relativistic disk model, we show that many system properties can be reliably recovered, including importantly the black hole mass ($M_{\bullet}$). These accretion-based $M_{\bullet}$ values, which in this sample span nearly three orders of magnitude, are consistent with galactic scaling relations but are significantly more precise (68\% credible interval $ < \pm 0.3$ dex) and physically motivated. Expected accretion scaling relations (e.g., $L_{Bol}^{ disk} / L_{Edd} \propto T_p^4 \propto M_{\bullet}^{-1}$), TDE-specific physics correlations ($L_{plat} \propto M_{\bullet}^{2/3}$ and $R_{out}/r_g \propto M_{\bullet}^{-2/3}$) and black hole-host galaxy correlations ($M_{\bullet}$-$M_{gal}$ and $M_{\bullet}$-$\sigma_{\star}$) naturally emerge from the data and, for the first time, are self-consistently extended into the intermediate-mass (IMBH, $M_{\bullet} < 10^{5}$) regime. We discuss the implications of these results for TDE physics and modeling. We also review and discuss different methods for $M_{\bullet}$ inference in TDEs, and find that approaches based on physical models of the early-time UV/optical emission are not able to recover (at a statistically significant level) black hole-host galaxy scalings.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Discovery of a likely Type II SN at $z$=3.6 with JWST

Transient astronomy in the early, high-redshift (z > 3) Universe is an unexplored regime that offers the possibility of probing the first stars and the Epoch of Reionization. During Cycles 1 and 2 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program enabled one of the first searches for transients in deep images (~30 AB mag) over a relatively wide area (25 arcmin^2). One transient, AT 2023adsv, was discovered with an F200W magnitude of 28.04 AB mag, and subsequent JWST observations revealed that the transient is a likely supernova (SN) in a host with z_spec = 3.613 +/- 0.001 and an inferred metallicity at the position of the SN of Z_* = 0.3 +/- 0.1 Z_{\odot}. At this redshift, the first detections in F115W and F150W show that AT 2023adsv had bright rest-frame ultraviolet flux at the time of discovery. The multi-band light curve of AT 2023adsv is best matched by a template of an SN IIP with a peak absolute magnitude of M_B ~ -18.3 AB mag. We find a good match to a 20 M_{\odot} red supergiant progenitor star with an explosion energy of 2.0x10^51 ergs, likely higher than normally observed in the local Universe, but consistent with SNe IIP drawn from local, lower metallicity environments. AT 2023adsv is the most distant photometrically classified SN IIP yet discovered with a spectroscopic redshift measurement, and may represent a global shift in SNe IIP properties as a function of redshift.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Testing for Intrinsic Type Ia Supernova Luminosity Evolution at z>2 with JWST

The James Webb Space Telescope} (JWST) is opening new frontiers of transient discovery and follow-up at high-redshift. Here we present the discovery of a spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernova (SN Ia; SN $2023$aeax) at $z=2.15$ with JWST, including a NIRCam multi-band light curve. SN $2023$aeax lands at the edge of traditional low-$z$ cosmology cuts because of its blue color (peak rest-frame $B-V\sim-0.3$) but with a normal decline rate ($\Delta m_{15}(B)\sim1.25$), and applying a fiducial standardization with the BayeSN model we find the SN $2023$aeax luminosity distance is in $\sim0.1\sigma$ agreement with $\Lambda$CDM. SN $2023$aeax is only the second spectroscopically confirmed SN Ia in the dark matter-dominated Universe at $z>2$ (the other is SN $2023$adsy), giving it rare leverage to constrain any potential evolution in SN Ia standardized luminosities. Similar to SN $2023$adsy ($B-V\sim0.8)$, SN $2023$aeax has a fairly extreme (but opposite) color, which may be due to the small sample size or a secondary factor, such as host galaxy properties. Nevertheless, the SN $2023$aeax spectrum is well-represented by normal low-$z$ SN Ia spectra and we find no definitive evolution in SN Ia standardization with redshift. Still, the first two spectroscopically confirmed $z>2$ SNe Ia have peculiar colors and combine for a $\sim1\sigma$ distance slope relative to $\Lambda$CDM, though in agreement with recent SN Ia cosmological measurements.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Discovery of a Relativistic Stripped Envelope Type Ic-BL Supernova at z = 2.83 with JWST

We present JWST NIRCam and NIRSpec observations of a Type Ic supernova (SN Ic) and its host galaxy (JADES-GS+53.13533-27.81457) at $z = 2.83$. This SN (named SN 2023adta) was identified in deep James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRCam imaging from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) Program. Follow-up observations with JWST/NIRSpec provided a spectroscopic redshift of $z = 2.83$ and the classification as a SN Ic-BL. The light curve of SN 2023adta matches well with other stripped envelope supernovae and we find a high peak luminosity, $M_V = -19.0 \pm 0.2$ mag, based on the distribution of best-fit SNe. The broad absorption features in its spectrum are consistent with other SNe Ic-BL 1-3 weeks after peak brightness. We measure a Ca II NIR triplet expansion velocity of $29{,}000 \pm 2{,}000$ km s$^{-1}$. The host galaxy of SN 2023adta is irregular, and modeling of its spectral energy distribution (SED) indicates a metallicity of $Z = 0.35^{+0.16}_{-0.08} Z_{\odot}$. This environment is consistent with the population of low-$z$ SNe Ic-BL which prefer lower metallicities relative to other stripped envelope supernovae, and track long duration $\gamma$-ray burst (LGRB) environments. We do not identify any GRBs that are coincident with SN 2023adta. Given the rarity of SNe Ic-BL in the local universe, the detection of a SN Ic-BL at $z = 2.83$ could indicate that their rates are enhanced at high redshift.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Discovery of An Apparent Red, High-Velocity Type Ia Supernova at z = 2.9 with JWST

We present the JWST discovery of SN 2023adsy, a transient object located in a host galaxy JADES-GS$+53.13485$$-$$27.82088$ with a host spectroscopic redshift of $2.903\pm0.007$. The transient was identified in deep James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRCam imaging from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program. Photometric and spectroscopic followup with NIRCam and NIRSpec, respectively, confirm the redshift and yield UV-NIR light-curve, NIR color, and spectroscopic information all consistent with a Type Ia classification. Despite its classification as a likely SN Ia, SN 2023adsy is both fairly red (E(B-V)$\sim0.9$) despite a host galaxy with low-extinction and has a high Ca II velocity ($19,000\pm2,000$km/s) compared to the general population of SNe Ia. While these characteristics are consistent with some Ca-rich SNe Ia, particularly SN 2016hnk, SN 2023adsy is intrinsically brighter than the low-z Ca-rich population. Although such an object is too red for any low-z cosmological sample, we apply a fiducial standardization approach to SN 2023adsy and find that the SN 2023adsy luminosity distance measurement is in excellent agreement ($\lesssim1\sigma$) with $\Lambda$CDM. Therefore unlike low-z Ca-rich SNe Ia, SN 2023adsy is standardizable and gives no indication that SN Ia standardized luminosities change significantly with redshift. A larger sample of distant SNe Ia is required to determine if SN Ia population characteristics at high-z truly diverge from their low-z counterparts, and to confirm that standardized luminosities nevertheless remain constant with redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

A Probabilistic Autoencoder for Type Ia Supernovae Spectral Time Series

We construct a physically-parameterized probabilistic autoencoder (PAE) to learn the intrinsic diversity of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from a sparse set of spectral time series. The PAE is a two-stage generative model, composed of an Auto-Encoder (AE) which is interpreted probabilistically after training using a Normalizing Flow (NF). We demonstrate that the PAE learns a low-dimensional latent space that captures the nonlinear range of features that exists within the population, and can accurately model the spectral evolution of SNe Ia across the full range of wavelength and observation times directly from the data. By introducing a correlation penalty term and multi-stage training setup alongside our physically-parameterized network we show that intrinsic and extrinsic modes of variability can be separated during training, removing the need for the additional models to perform magnitude standardization. We then use our PAE in a number of downstream tasks on SNe Ia for increasingly precise cosmological analyses, including automatic detection of SN outliers, the generation of samples consistent with the data distribution, and solving the inverse problem in the presence of noisy and incomplete data to constrain cosmological distance measurements. We find that the optimal number of intrinsic model parameters appears to be three, in line with previous studies, and show that we can standardize our test sample of SNe Ia with an RMS of $0.091 \pm 0.010$ mag, which corresponds to $0.074 \pm 0.010$ mag if peculiar velocity contributions are removed. Trained models and codes are released at \href{https://github.com/georgestein/suPAErnova}{github.com/georgestein/suPAErnova}

astro-ph.CO↗