Maund, J.R. orcid.org/0000-0003-0733-7215, Leloudas, G., Malesani, D.B. et al. (3 more authors) (2020) Polarimetry of the superluminous transient ASASSN-15lh. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 498 (3). pp. 3730-3735. ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
ASASSN-15lh is the intrinsically brightest transient observed to date. Despite being the subject of concerted photometric and spectroscopic observing campaigns, there is still significant debate about the true nature of this transient and the mechanism responsible for its great luminosity. Here we report five epochs of imaging polarimetry and two epochs of spectropolarimetry conducted with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS) polarimeter, spanning +28–91 d (rest frame) with respect to the light-curve maximum. The overall level of polarization across this period is seen to be low ∼0.5−0.8 per cent, however at +51.6 d, approximately corresponding to a dip in the ultraviolet (UV) photometric light curve, the polarization is seen to briefly rise to 1.2 per cent in the observed V band. We discuss this behaviour in the context of previous polarimetric observations of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and tidal disruption events (TDEs). Although the level of polarization could be consistent with polarization observed for SLSNe, the behaviour around the UV light-curve dip could also be consistent with a TDE observed almost edge on.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | techniques: polarimetric; stars: black holes; supernovae: general |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Jan 2021 16:36 |
Last Modified: | 08 Jan 2021 16:36 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/mnras/staa2517 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:169661 |