Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities

Anna Y. Q. Ho; Daniel A. Perley; Wen-Ping Chen; Steve Schulze; Vik Dhillon; Harsh Kumar; Aswin Suresh; Vishwajeet Swain; Michael Bremer; Stephen J. Smartt; Joseph P. Anderson; G. C. Anupama; Supachai Awiphan; Sudhanshu Barway; Eric C. Bellm; Sagi Ben-Ami; Varun Bhalerao; Thomas de Boer; Thomas G. Brink; Rick Burruss; Poonam Chandra; Ting-Wan Chen; Wen-Ping Chen; Jeff Cooke; Michael W. Coughlin; Kaustav K. Das; Andrew J. Drake; Alexei V. Filippenko; James Freeburn; Christoffer Fremling; Michael D. Fulton; Avishay Gal-Yam; Lluís Galbany; Hua Gao; Matthew J. Graham; Mariusz Gromadzki; Claudia P. Gutiérrez; K-Ryan Hinds; Cosimo Inserra; Nayana A J; Viraj Karambelkar; Mansi M. Kasliwal; Shri Kulkarni; Tomás E. Müller-Bravo; Eugene A. Magnier; Ashish A. Mahabal; Thomas Moore; Chow-Choong Ngeow; Matt Nicholl; Eran O. Ofek; Conor M. B. Omand; Francesca Onori; Yen-Chen Pan; Priscila J. Pessi; Glen Petitpas; David Polishook; Saran Poshyachinda; Miika Pursiainen; Reed Riddle; Antonio C. Rodriguez; Ben Rusholme; Enrico Segre; Yashvi Sharma; Ken W. Smith; Jesper Sollerman; Shubham Srivastav; Nora Linn Strotjohann; Mark Suhr; Dmitry Svinkin; Yanan Wang; Philip Wiseman; Avery Wold; Sheng Yang; Yi Yang; Yuhan Yao; David R. Young; WeiKang Zheng

doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6

Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities

Anna Y. Q. Ho^*, Daniel A. Perley, Wen-Ping Chen, Steve Schulze, Vik Dhillon, Harsh Kumar, Aswin Suresh, Vishwajeet Swain, Michael Bremer, Stephen J. Smartt, Joseph P. Anderson, G. C. Anupama, Supachai Awiphan, Sudhanshu Barway, Eric C. Bellm, Sagi Ben-Ami, Varun Bhalerao, Thomas de Boer, Thomas G. Brink, Rick BurrussPoonam Chandra, Ting-Wan Chen, Wen-Ping Chen, Jeff Cooke, Michael W. Coughlin, Kaustav K. Das, Andrew J. Drake, Alexei V. Filippenko, James Freeburn, Christoffer Fremling, Michael D. Fulton, Avishay Gal-Yam, Lluís Galbany, Hua Gao, Matthew J. Graham, Mariusz Gromadzki, Claudia P. Gutiérrez, K-Ryan Hinds, Cosimo Inserra, Nayana A J, Viraj Karambelkar, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Shri Kulkarni, Tomás E. Müller-Bravo, Eugene A. Magnier, Ashish A. Mahabal, Thomas Moore, Chow-Choong Ngeow, Matt Nicholl, Eran O. Ofek, Conor M. B. Omand, Francesca Onori, Yen-Chen Pan, Priscila J. Pessi, Glen Petitpas, David Polishook, Saran Poshyachinda, Miika Pursiainen, Reed Riddle, Antonio C. Rodriguez, Ben Rusholme, Enrico Segre, Yashvi Sharma, Ken W. Smith, Jesper Sollerman, Shubham Srivastav, Nora Linn Strotjohann, Mark Suhr, Dmitry Svinkin, Yanan Wang, Philip Wiseman, Avery Wold, Sheng Yang, Yi Yang, Yuhan Yao, David R. Young, WeiKang Zheng

^*Corresponding author for this work

University of California at Berkeley

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Abstract

In recent years, certain luminous extragalactic optical transients have been observed to last only a few days ¹. Their short observed duration implies a different powering mechanism from the most common luminous extragalactic transients (supernovae), whose timescale is weeks ². Some short-duration transients, most notably AT2018cow (ref. ³), show blue optical colours and bright radio and X-ray emission ⁴. Several AT2018cow-like transients have shown hints of a long-lived embedded energy source ⁵, such as X-ray variability ^6,7, prolonged ultraviolet emission ⁸, a tentative X-ray quasiperiodic oscillation ^9,10and large energies coupled to fast (but subrelativistic) radio-emitting ejecta ^11,12.Here we report observations of minutes-duration optical flares in the aftermath of an AT2018cow-like transient, AT2022tsd (the ‘Tasmanian Devil’). The flares occur over a period of months, are highly energetic and are probably nonthermal, implying that they arise from a near-relativistic outflow or jet. Our observations confirm that, in some AT2018cow-like transients, the embedded energy source is a compact object, either a magnetar or an accreting black hole.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature
Volume	623
Pages (from-to)	927–931
ISSN	1476-4687
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6
Publication status	Published - 2023

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Ho, A. Y. Q., Perley, D. A., Chen, W.-P., Schulze, S., Dhillon, V., Kumar, H., Suresh, A., Swain, V., Bremer, M., Smartt, S. J., Anderson, J. P., Anupama, G. C., Awiphan, S., Barway, S., Bellm, E. C., Ben-Ami, S., Bhalerao, V., de Boer, T., Brink, T. G., ... Zheng, W. (2023). Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities. Nature, 623, 927–931. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6

@article{13fa140b1b3c40858d768b40a6e8aab0,

title = "Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities",

abstract = "In recent years, certain luminous extragalactic optical transients have been observed to last only a few days 1. Their short observed duration implies a different powering mechanism from the most common luminous extragalactic transients (supernovae), whose timescale is weeks 2. Some short-duration transients, most notably AT2018cow (ref. 3), show blue optical colours and bright radio and X-ray emission 4. Several AT2018cow-like transients have shown hints of a long-lived embedded energy source 5, such as X-ray variability 6,7, prolonged ultraviolet emission 8, a tentative X-ray quasiperiodic oscillation 9,10 and large energies coupled to fast (but subrelativistic) radio-emitting ejecta 11,12. Here we report observations of minutes-duration optical flares in the aftermath of an AT2018cow-like transient, AT2022tsd (the {\textquoteleft}Tasmanian Devil{\textquoteright}). The flares occur over a period of months, are highly energetic and are probably nonthermal, implying that they arise from a near-relativistic outflow or jet. Our observations confirm that, in some AT2018cow-like transients, the embedded energy source is a compact object, either a magnetar or an accreting black hole.",

author = "Ho, {Anna Y. Q.} and Perley, {Daniel A.} and Wen-Ping Chen and Steve Schulze and Vik Dhillon and Harsh Kumar and Aswin Suresh and Vishwajeet Swain and Michael Bremer and Smartt, {Stephen J.} and Anderson, {Joseph P.} and Anupama, {G. C.} and Supachai Awiphan and Sudhanshu Barway and Bellm, {Eric C.} and Sagi Ben-Ami and Varun Bhalerao and {de Boer}, Thomas and Brink, {Thomas G.} and Rick Burruss and Poonam Chandra and Ting-Wan Chen and Wen-Ping Chen and Jeff Cooke and Coughlin, {Michael W.} and Das, {Kaustav K.} and Drake, {Andrew J.} and Filippenko, {Alexei V.} and James Freeburn and Christoffer Fremling and Fulton, {Michael D.} and Avishay Gal-Yam and Llu{\'i}s Galbany and Hua Gao and Graham, {Matthew J.} and Mariusz Gromadzki and Guti{\'e}rrez, {Claudia P.} and K-Ryan Hinds and Cosimo Inserra and {A J}, Nayana and Viraj Karambelkar and Kasliwal, {Mansi M.} and Shri Kulkarni and M{\"u}ller-Bravo, {Tom{\'a}s E.} and Magnier, {Eugene A.} and Mahabal, {Ashish A.} and Thomas Moore and Chow-Choong Ngeow and Matt Nicholl and Ofek, {Eran O.} and Omand, {Conor M. B.} and Francesca Onori and Yen-Chen Pan and Pessi, {Priscila J.} and Glen Petitpas and David Polishook and Saran Poshyachinda and Miika Pursiainen and Reed Riddle and Rodriguez, {Antonio C.} and Ben Rusholme and Enrico Segre and Yashvi Sharma and Smith, {Ken W.} and Jesper Sollerman and Shubham Srivastav and Strotjohann, {Nora Linn} and Mark Suhr and Dmitry Svinkin and Yanan Wang and Philip Wiseman and Avery Wold and Sheng Yang and Yi Yang and Yuhan Yao and Young, {David R.} and WeiKang Zheng",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6",

language = "English",

volume = "623",

pages = "927–931",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "1476-4687",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

}

Ho, AYQ, Perley, DA, Chen, W-P, Schulze, S, Dhillon, V, Kumar, H, Suresh, A, Swain, V, Bremer, M, Smartt, SJ, Anderson, JP, Anupama, GC, Awiphan, S, Barway, S, Bellm, EC, Ben-Ami, S, Bhalerao, V, de Boer, T, Brink, TG, Burruss, R, Chandra, P, Chen, T-W, Chen, W-P, Cooke, J, Coughlin, MW, Das, KK, Drake, AJ, Filippenko, AV, Freeburn, J, Fremling, C, Fulton, MD, Gal-Yam, A, Galbany, L, Gao, H, Graham, MJ, Gromadzki, M, Gutiérrez, CP, Hinds, K-R, Inserra, C, A J, N, Karambelkar, V, Kasliwal, MM, Kulkarni, S, Müller-Bravo, TE, Magnier, EA, Mahabal, AA, Moore, T, Ngeow, C-C, Nicholl, M, Ofek, EO, Omand, CMB, Onori, F, Pan, Y-C, Pessi, PJ, Petitpas, G, Polishook, D, Poshyachinda, S, Pursiainen, M, Riddle, R, Rodriguez, AC, Rusholme, B, Segre, E, Sharma, Y, Smith, KW, Sollerman, J, Srivastav, S, Strotjohann, NL, Suhr, M, Svinkin, D, Wang, Y, Wiseman, P, Wold, A, Yang, S, Yang, Y, Yao, Y, Young, DR & Zheng, W 2023, 'Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities', Nature, vol. 623, pp. 927–931. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6

TY - JOUR

T1 - Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities

AU - Ho, Anna Y. Q.

AU - Perley, Daniel A.

AU - Chen, Wen-Ping

AU - Schulze, Steve

AU - Dhillon, Vik

AU - Kumar, Harsh

AU - Suresh, Aswin

AU - Swain, Vishwajeet

AU - Bremer, Michael

AU - Smartt, Stephen J.

AU - Anderson, Joseph P.

AU - Anupama, G. C.

AU - Awiphan, Supachai

AU - Barway, Sudhanshu

AU - Bellm, Eric C.

AU - Ben-Ami, Sagi

AU - Bhalerao, Varun

AU - de Boer, Thomas

AU - Brink, Thomas G.

AU - Burruss, Rick

AU - Chandra, Poonam

AU - Chen, Ting-Wan

AU - Chen, Wen-Ping

AU - Cooke, Jeff

AU - Coughlin, Michael W.

AU - Das, Kaustav K.

AU - Drake, Andrew J.

AU - Filippenko, Alexei V.

AU - Freeburn, James

AU - Fremling, Christoffer

AU - Fulton, Michael D.

AU - Gal-Yam, Avishay

AU - Galbany, Lluís

AU - Gao, Hua

AU - Graham, Matthew J.

AU - Gromadzki, Mariusz

AU - Gutiérrez, Claudia P.

AU - Hinds, K-Ryan

AU - Inserra, Cosimo

AU - A J, Nayana

AU - Karambelkar, Viraj

AU - Kasliwal, Mansi M.

AU - Kulkarni, Shri

AU - Müller-Bravo, Tomás E.

AU - Magnier, Eugene A.

AU - Mahabal, Ashish A.

AU - Moore, Thomas

AU - Ngeow, Chow-Choong

AU - Nicholl, Matt

AU - Ofek, Eran O.

AU - Omand, Conor M. B.

AU - Onori, Francesca

AU - Pan, Yen-Chen

AU - Pessi, Priscila J.

AU - Petitpas, Glen

AU - Polishook, David

AU - Poshyachinda, Saran

AU - Pursiainen, Miika

AU - Riddle, Reed

AU - Rodriguez, Antonio C.

AU - Rusholme, Ben

AU - Segre, Enrico

AU - Sharma, Yashvi

AU - Smith, Ken W.

AU - Sollerman, Jesper

AU - Srivastav, Shubham

AU - Strotjohann, Nora Linn

AU - Suhr, Mark

AU - Svinkin, Dmitry

AU - Wang, Yanan

AU - Wiseman, Philip

AU - Wold, Avery

AU - Yang, Sheng

AU - Yang, Yi

AU - Yao, Yuhan

AU - Young, David R.

AU - Zheng, WeiKang

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - In recent years, certain luminous extragalactic optical transients have been observed to last only a few days 1. Their short observed duration implies a different powering mechanism from the most common luminous extragalactic transients (supernovae), whose timescale is weeks 2. Some short-duration transients, most notably AT2018cow (ref. 3), show blue optical colours and bright radio and X-ray emission 4. Several AT2018cow-like transients have shown hints of a long-lived embedded energy source 5, such as X-ray variability 6,7, prolonged ultraviolet emission 8, a tentative X-ray quasiperiodic oscillation 9,10 and large energies coupled to fast (but subrelativistic) radio-emitting ejecta 11,12. Here we report observations of minutes-duration optical flares in the aftermath of an AT2018cow-like transient, AT2022tsd (the ‘Tasmanian Devil’). The flares occur over a period of months, are highly energetic and are probably nonthermal, implying that they arise from a near-relativistic outflow or jet. Our observations confirm that, in some AT2018cow-like transients, the embedded energy source is a compact object, either a magnetar or an accreting black hole.

AB - In recent years, certain luminous extragalactic optical transients have been observed to last only a few days 1. Their short observed duration implies a different powering mechanism from the most common luminous extragalactic transients (supernovae), whose timescale is weeks 2. Some short-duration transients, most notably AT2018cow (ref. 3), show blue optical colours and bright radio and X-ray emission 4. Several AT2018cow-like transients have shown hints of a long-lived embedded energy source 5, such as X-ray variability 6,7, prolonged ultraviolet emission 8, a tentative X-ray quasiperiodic oscillation 9,10 and large energies coupled to fast (but subrelativistic) radio-emitting ejecta 11,12. Here we report observations of minutes-duration optical flares in the aftermath of an AT2018cow-like transient, AT2022tsd (the ‘Tasmanian Devil’). The flares occur over a period of months, are highly energetic and are probably nonthermal, implying that they arise from a near-relativistic outflow or jet. Our observations confirm that, in some AT2018cow-like transients, the embedded energy source is a compact object, either a magnetar or an accreting black hole.

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6

DO - 10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37968403

SN - 1476-4687

VL - 623

SP - 927

EP - 931

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

ER -

Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities

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