2017/03/21 by A. A. Miller, M. M. Kasliwal, Y. Cao +15 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Brightness #CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors #Ejecta #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Luminosity #Luminosity function #Measure (data warehouse) #Object (grammar) #Supernova #astro-ph.HE #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa8c7e
13 pages, 8 figures, 3 table - submitted to ApJ
arxiv created 2017/03/21 · openalex created_date 2017/05/12 · openalex publication_date 2017/10/10 · arxiv updated 2017/10/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Modern wide-field, optical time-domain surveys must solve a basic optimization problem: maximize the number of transient discoveries or minimize the follow-up needed for the new discoveries. Here, we describe the Color Me Intrigued experiment, the first from the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) to search for transients simultaneously in the g PTF and R PTF bands. During the course of this experiment, we discovered iPTF 16fnm, a new member of the 02cx-like subclass of Type Ia supernovae (SNe). iPTF 16fnm peaked at , making it the second-least-luminous known SN Ia. iPTF 16fnm exhibits all the hallmarks of the 02cx-like class: (i) low luminosity at peak, (ii) low ejecta velocities, and (iii) a non-nebular spectrum several months after peak. Spectroscopically, iPTF 16fnm exhibits a striking resemblance to two other low-luminosity 02cx-like SNe: SN 2007qd and SN 2010ae. iPTF 16fnm and SN 2005hk decline at nearly the same rate, despite a 3 mag difference in brightness at peak. When considering the full subclass of 02cx-like SNe, we do not find evidence for a tight correlation between peak luminosity and decline rate in either the g ′ or r ′ band. We measure the relative rate of 02cx-like SNe to normal SNe Ia and find . We further examine the g ′ − r ′ evolution of 02cx-like SNe and find that their unique color evolution can be used to separate them from 91bg-like and normal SNe Ia. This selection function will be especially important in the spectroscopically incomplete Zwicky Transient Facility/Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) era. Finally, we close by recommending that LSST periodically evaluate, and possibly update, its observing cadence to maximize transient science.