Modeling the light curve of the transient SCP06F6

TL;DR

This paper models the light curve of the transient SCP06F6 using supernova and circumstellar matter models, exploring different redshifts and physical scenarios to explain its observed features and decline.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of SCP06F6's light curve with models involving radioactive decay, dust formation, and circumstellar interaction, proposing a plausible scenario at redshift ~0.57.

Findings

Radioactive decay models estimate nickel mass and ejecta based on redshift.

Circumstellar matter diffusion models can fit the data with energetic buried supernova.

A redshift of ~0.57 with Ca and iron features is a promising explanation.

Abstract

We consider simple models based on core collapse or pair-formation supernovae to account for the light curve of the transient SCP06F6. A radioactive decay diffusion model provides estimates of the mass of the required radioactive nickel and the ejecta as functions of the unknown redshift. An opacity change such as by dust formation or a recombination front may account for the rapid decline from maximum. We particularly investigate two specific redshifts: $z=0.143$, for which Gaensicke et al. (2008) have proposed that the unidentified broad absorption features in the spectrum of SCP06F6 are C$_{2}$ Swan bands, and $z=0.57$ based on a crude agreement with the Ca H&K and UV iron-peak absorption features that are characteristic of supernovae of various types. The ejected masses and kinetic energies are smaller for a more tightly constrained model invoking envelope recombination. We also discuss the possibilities of circumstellar matter (CSM) shell diffusion and shock interaction models. In general, optically-thick CSM diffusion models can fit the data with the underlying energy coming from an energetic buried supernova. Models in which the CSM is of lower density so that the shock energy is both rapidly thermalized and radiated tend not to be self-consistent. We suggest that a model of SCP06F6 worth futher exploration is one in which the redshift is $\sim$ 0.57, the spectral features are Ca and iron peak elements, and the light curve is powered by the diffusive release of a substantial amount of energy from nickel decay or from an energetic supernova buried in the ejecta of an LBV-like event.