The lowest of the low: discovery of SN 2019gsc and the nature of faint Iax supernovae


الملخص بالإنكليزية

We present the discovery and optical follow-up of the faintest supernova-like transient known. The event (SN 2019gsc) was discovered in a star-forming host at 53,Mpc by ATLAS. A detailed multi-colour light curve was gathered with Pan-STARRS1 and follow-up spectroscopy was obtained with the NOT and Gemini-North. The spectra near maximum light show narrow features at low velocities of 3000 to 4000 km s$^{-1}$, similar to the extremely low luminosity SNe 2010ae and 2008ha, and the light curve displays a similar fast decline (dmr $0.91 pm 0.10$ mag). SNe 2010ae and 2008ha have been classified as type Iax supernovae, and together the three either make up a distinct physical class of their own or are at the extreme low luminosity end of this diverse supernova population. The bolometric light curve is consistent with a low kinetic energy of explosion ($E_{rm k} sim 10^{49}$ erg s$^{-1}$), a modest ejected mass ($M_{rm ej} sim 0.2$ msol) and radioactive powering by $^{56}$Ni ($M_{rm Ni} sim 2 times 10^{-3}$ msol). The spectra are quite well reproduced with radiative transfer models (TARDIS) and a composition dominated by carbon, oxygen, magnesium, silicon and sulphur. Remarkably, all three of these extreme Iax events are in similar low-metallicity star-forming environments. The combination of the observational constraints for all three may be best explained by deflagrations of near $M_{rm Ch}$ hybrid carbon-oxygen-neon white dwarfs which have short evolutionary pathways to formation.

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