Wiseman, P;
Pursiainen, M;
Childress, M;
Swann, E;
Smith, M;
Galbany, L;
Lidman, C;
... Walker, AR; + view all
(2020)
The host galaxies of 106 rapidly evolving transients discovered by the Dark Energy Survey.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
, 498
(2)
pp. 2575-2593.
10.1093/mnras/staa2474.
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Abstract
Rapidly evolving transients (RETs), also termed fast blue optical transients, are a recently discovered group of astrophysical events that display rapid luminosity evolution. RETs typically rise to peak in less than 10 d and fade within 30, a time-scale unlikely to be compatible with the decay of Nickel-56 that drives conventional supernovae (SNe). Their peak luminosity spans a range of −15 < Mg < −22.5, with some events observed at redshifts greater than 1. Their evolution on fast time-scales has hindered high-quality follow-up observations, and thus their origin and explosion/emission mechanism remains unexplained. In this paper, we present the largest sample of RETs to date, comprising 106 objects discovered by the Dark Energy Survey, and perform the most comprehensive analysis of RET host galaxies. Using deep-stacked photometry and emission lines from OzDES spectroscopy, we derive stellar masses and star formation rates (SFRs) for 49 host galaxies, and metallicities ([O/H]) for 37. We find that RETs explode exclusively in star-forming galaxies and are thus likely associated with massive stars. Comparing RET hosts to samples of host galaxies of other explosive transients as well as field galaxies, we find that RETs prefer galaxies with high specific SFRs (〈log (sSFR)〉 ∼ −9.6), indicating a link to young stellar populations, similar to stripped-envelope SNe. RET hosts appear to show a lack of chemical enrichment, their metallicities akin to long-duration gamma-ray bursts and superluminous SN host galaxies (〈12 + log (O/H)〉 ∼ 9.4). There are no clear relationships between mass or SFR of the host galaxies and the peak magnitudes or decline rates of the transients themselves.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The host galaxies of 106 rapidly evolving transients discovered by the Dark Energy Survey |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/mnras/staa2474 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa2474 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10115227 |
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