We study a sample of 16 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) having both spectroscopic and photometric observations within 2-3 days after the first light. The early B - V colors of such a sample tend to show a continuous distribution. For objects with normal ejecta velocity (NV), the C ii lambda 6580 feature is always visible in the early spectra, while it is absent or very weak in the high-velocity (HV) counterpart. Moreover, the velocities of the detached high-velocity features (HVFs) of the Ca II near-IR triplet (CaIR3) above the photosphere are found to be much higher in HV objects than in NV objects, with typical values exceeding 30,000 km s(-1) at 2-3 days. We further analyze the relation between the velocity shift of late-time [Fe II] lines (v([Fe II])) and host galaxy mass. We find that all HV objects have redshifted v([Fe II]), while NV objects have both blue- and redshifted v([Fe II]). It is interesting to point out that the objects with redshifted v([Fe II]) are all located in massive galaxies, implying that HV and a portion of NV objects may have similar progenitor metallicities and explosion mechanisms. We propose that, with a geometric/projected effect, the He-detonation model may account for the similarity in birthplace environment and the differences seen in some SNe Ia, including B - V colors, C II features, CaIR3 HVFs at early times, and v([Fe II]) in the nebular phase. Nevertheless, some features predicted by He-detonation simulation, such as the rapidly decreasing light curve, deviate from the observations, and some NV objects with blueshifted nebular v([Fe II]) may involve other explosion mechanisms.

Synoptic searches for the optical counterpart to a binary neutron star (BNS) or neutron star-black hole (NSBH) merger can pose significant challenges towards the discovery of kilonovae and performing multi-messenger science. In this work, we describe the advantage of a global multi-telescope network towards this end, with a particular focus on the key and complementary role the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) plays in multi-facility follow-up. We describe the Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH) Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) Marshal, a common web application we built to ingest events, plan observations, search for transient candidates, and retrieve performance summary statistics for all of the telescopes in our network. Our infrastructure enabled us to conduct observations of two events during O3a, S190426c and S190510g. Furthermore, our analysis of deep DECam observations of S190814bv conducted by the DESGW team, and access to a variety of global follow-up facilities allowed us to place meaningful constraints on the parameters of the kilonova and the merging binary. We emphasize the importance of a global telescope network in conjunction with a power telescope like DECam in performing searches for the counterparts to gravitational-wave sources. 

The detection of the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 and the associated electromagnetic (EM) counterpart, the 'kilonova' (kN) AT2017gfo, opened a new era in multimessenger astronomy. However, despite many efforts, it has been proven very difficult to find additional kNe, even though LIGO/Virgo has reported at least one BNS event during their latest run, O3. The focus of this work is the exploration of the sensitivity of the adopted optical surveys searching for kNe during O3. We propose ways to optimize the choices of filters and survey depth to boost the detection efficiency for these faint and fast-evolving transients in the future. In particular, we use kN models to explore the dependence on ejecta mass, geometry, viewing angle, wavelength coverage, and source distance. We find that the kN detection efficiency has a strong viewing-angle dependence, especially for filters blueward of i-band. This loss of sensitivity can be mitigated by early, deep, observations. Efficient gri counterpart searches for kNe at similar to 200 Mpc would require reaching a limiting magnitude m(lim) = 23 mag, to ensure good sensitivity over a wide range of the model phase-space. We conclude that kN searches during O3 were generally too shallow to detect BNS optical counterparts, even under optimistic assumptions.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the brightest and most energetic events in the Universe. The duration and hardness distribution of GRBs has two clusters1, now understood to reflect (at least) two different progenitors2. Short-hard GRBs (SGRBs; T90 < 2 s) arise from compact binary mergers, and long-soft GRBs (LGRBs; T90 > 2 s) have been attributed to the collapse of peculiar massive stars (collapsars)3. The discovery of SN 1998bw/GRB 980425 (ref. 4) marked the first association of an LGRB with a collapsar, and AT 2017gfo (ref. 5)/GRB 170817A/GW170817 (ref. 6) marked the first association of an SGRB with a binary neutron star merger, which also produced a gravitational wave. Here, we present the discovery of ZTF20abwysqy (AT2020scz), a fast-fading optical transient in the Fermi satellite and the Interplanetary Network localization regions of GRB 200826A; X-ray and radio emission further confirm that this is the afterglow. Follow-up imaging (at rest-frame 16.5 days) reveals excess emission above the afterglow that cannot be explained as an underlying kilonova, but which is consistent with being the supernova. Although the GRB duration is short (rest-frame T90 of 0.65 s), our panchromatic follow-up data confirm a collapsar origin. GRB 200826A is the shortest LGRB found with an associated collapsar; it appears to sit on the brink between a successful and a failed collapsar. Our discovery is consistent with the hypothesis that most collapsars fail to produce ultra-relativistic jets.

Massive stars die an explosive death as a core-collapse supernova (CCSN). The exact physical processes that cause the collapsing star to rebound into an explosion are not well understood1–3, and the key to resolving this issue may lie in the measurement of the shape of CCSNe ejecta. Spectropolarimetry is the only way to perform this measurement for CCSNe outside the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. We present the infrared spectropolarimetric detection of a CCSN enabled by the new highly sensitive WIRC+Pol instrument at Palomar Observatory, which can observe CCSNe (magnitude M = −17 mag) out to 20 Mpc at ~0.1% polarimetric precision. Infrared spectropolarimetry is less affected than optical spectropolarimetry by dust scattering in the circumstellar and interstellar media, thereby providing a less biased probe of the intrinsic geometry of the supernova ejecta. SN 2018hna, a SN 1987A-like explosion, shows 2.0 ± 0.3% continuum polarization in the J band oriented at ~160° on sky 182 days after the explosion. Assuming a prolate geometry as in SN 1987A, we infer an ejecta axis ratio of <0.48 with the axis of symmetry pointing at a 70° position angle. The axis ratio is similar to that of SN 1987A, suggesting that the two CCSNe may share intrinsic geometry and inclination angles. Our data do not rule out oblate ejecta. We also observe one other CCSN and two thermonuclear supernovae in the J band. Supernova 2020oi, a stripped-envelope type Ic SN in Messier 100 has broadband p = 0.37 ± 0.09% at peak light, indicative of either a 10% asymmetry or host interstellar polarization. The type Ia SNe 2019ein and 2020ue have <0.33% and <1.08% polarization near peak light, indicative of asymmetries of less than 10% and 20%, respectively.

The observation of a compact object with a mass of 2.50-2.67M<sub on 2019 August 14, by the LIGO Scientific and Virgo collaborations (LVC) has the potential to improve our understanding of the supranuclear equation of state. While the gravitational-wave analysis of the LVC suggests that GW190814 likely was a binary black hole system, the secondary component could also have been the heaviest neutron star observed to date. We use our previously derived nuclear-physics-multimessenger astrophysics framework to address the nature of this object. Based on our findings, we determine GW190814 to be a binary black hole merger with a probability of >99.9%. Even if we weaken previously employed constraints on the maximum mass of neutron stars, the probability of a binary black hole origin is still similar to 81%. Furthermore, we study the impact that this observation has on our understanding of the nuclear equation of state by analyzing the allowed region in the mass-radius diagram of neutron stars for both a binary black hole or neutron star-black hole scenario. We find that the unlikely scenario in which the secondary object was a neutron star requires rather stiff equations of state with a maximum speed of sound c(x) >= root 0.6 times the speed of light, while the binary black hole scenario does not offer any new insight.

LIGO and Virgo’s third observing run revealed the first neutron star–black hole (NSBH) merger candidates in gravitational waves. These events are predicted to synthesize r-process elements1,2 creating optical/near-infrared ‘kilonova’ emission. The joint gravitational wave and electromagnetic detection of an NSBH merger could be used to constrain the equation of state of dense nuclear matter3, and independently measure the local expansion rate of the Universe4. Here, we present the optical follow-up and analysis of two of the only three high-significance NSBH merger candidates detected to date, S200105ae and S200115j, with the Zwicky Transient Facility5. The Zwicky Transient Facility observed ~48% of S200105ae and ~22% of S200115j’s localization probabilities, with observations sensitive to kilonovae brighter than −17.5 mag fading at 0.5 mag d−1 in the g- and r-bands; extensive searches and systematic follow-up of candidates did not yield a viable counterpart. We present state-of-the-art kilonova models tailored to NSBH systems that place constraints on the ejecta properties of these NSBH mergers. We show that with observed depths of apparent magnitude ~22 mag, attainable in metre-class, wide-field-of-view survey instruments, strong constraints on ejecta mass are possible, with the potential to rule out low mass ratios, high black hole spins and large neutron star radii.

The rise of multimessenger astronomy has brought with it the need to exploit all available data streams and learn more about the astrophysical objects that fall within its breadth. One possible avenue is the search for serendipitous optical/near-infrared counterparts of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and gravitational-wave (GW) signals, known as kilonovae. With surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which observes the sky with a cadence of similar to 3 d, the existing counterpart locations are likely to be observed; however, due to the significant amount of sky to explore, it is difficult to search for these fast-evolving candidates. Thus, it is beneficial to optimize the survey cadence for realtime kilonova identification and enable further photometric and spectroscopic observations. We explore how the cadence of wide field-of-view surveys like ZTF can be improved to facilitate such identifications. We show that with improved observational choices, e.g. the adoption of three epochs per night on a similar to nightly basis, and the prioritization of redder photometric bands, detection efficiencies improve by about a factor of two relative to the nominal cadence. We also provide realistic hypothetical constraints on the kilonova rate as a form of comparison between strategies, assuming that no kilonovae are detected throughout the long-term execution of the respective observing plan. These results demonstrate how an optimal use of ZTF increases the likelihood of kilonova discovery independent of GWs or GRBs, thereby allowing for a sensitive search with less interruption of its nominal cadence through Target of Opportunity programs.

We predict linear polarization for a radioactively powered kilonova following the merger of a black hole and a neutron star. Specifically, we perform 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations for two different models, both featuring a lanthanide-rich dynamical ejecta component from numerical-relativity simulations while only one including an additional lanthanide-free disc-wind component. We calculate polarization spectra for nine different orientations at 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 d after the merger and in the 0.1-2 mu m wavelength range. We find that both models are polarized at a detectable level 1.5 d after the merger while show negligible levels thereafter. The polarization spectra of the two models are significantly different. The model lacking a disc wind shows no polarization in the optical, while a signal increasing at longer wavelengths and reaching similar to 1-6 per cent at 2 mu m depending on the orientation. The model with a disc-wind component, instead, features a characteristic 'double-peak' polarization spectrum with one peak in the optical and the other in the infrared. Polarimetric observations of future events will shed light on the debated neutron richness of the disc-wind component. The detection of optical polarization would unambiguously reveal the presence of a lanthanide-free disc-wind component, while polarization increasing from zero in the optical to a peak in the infrared would suggest a lanthanide-rich composition for the whole ejecta. Future polarimetric campaigns should prioritize observations in the first similar to 48 h and in the 0.5-2 mu m range, where polarization is strongest, but also explore shorter wavelengths/later times where no signal is expected from the kilonova and the interstellar polarization can be safely estimated.

The first binary neutron star merger, GW170817, was accompanied by a radioactivity-powered optical/infrared transient called a kilonova. To date, no compelling kilonova has been found in all-sky optical surveys, independently of short gamma-ray burst and gravitational-wave triggers. In this work, we searched the first 23 months of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) data stream for candidate kilonovae in the form of rapidly evolving transients. We combined ZTF alert queries with forced point-spread-function photometry and nightly flux stacking to increase our sensitivity to faint and fast transients. Automatic queries yielded >11,200 candidates, 24 of which passed quality checks and selection criteria based on a grid of kilonova models tailored for both binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole mergers. None of the candidates in our sample was deemed a possible kilonova after thorough vetting. The sources that passed our selection criteria are dominated by Galactic cataclysmic variables. We identified two fast transients at high Galactic latitude, one of which is the confirmed afterglow of long-duration GRB.190106A, the other is a possible cosmological afterglow. Using a survey simulation code, we constrained the kilonova rate for a range of models including top-hat, linearly decaying light curves, and synthetic light curves obtained with radiative transfer simulations. For prototypical GW170817-like kilonovae, we constrain the rate to be R < 1775 Gpc(-3) yr(-1) (95% confidence). By assuming a population of kilonovae with the same geometry and composition of GW170817 observed under a uniform viewing angle distribution, we obtained a constraint on the rate of R.<.4029 Gpc(-3) yr(-1).