The Unexpected, Long-Lasting, UV Rebrightening of the Super-Luminous Supernova ASASSN-15lh

TL;DR

This paper reports a UV rebrightening in the super-luminous supernova ASASSN-15lh, with detailed observations showing a long-lasting plateau and temperature increase, challenging previous classifications and interpretations.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed UV rebrightening observation of ASASSN-15lh, providing new insights into its evolution and physical properties.

Findings

UV rebrightening occurred 90 days after peak

Rebrightening lasted about 120 days in bolometric luminosity

Photospheric temperature increased from 11000 K to 18000 K during rebrightening

Abstract

Given its peak luminosity and early-time spectra, ASASSN-15lh was classified as the most luminous supernova (SN) ever discovered (Dong et al. 2016). Here we report a UV rebrightening of ASASSN-15lh observed with Swift during our follow-up campaign. The rebrightening began at $t \simeq$ 90 days (observer frame) after the primary peak and was followed by a $\sim 120$-day long plateau in the bolometric luminosity, before starting to fade again at $t\simeq 210$ days. ASASSN-15lh rebrightened in the Swift UV bands by $\Delta m_{UVW2} \simeq -1.75$ mag, $\Delta m_{UVM2} \simeq -1.25$ mag, and $\Delta m_{UVW1} \simeq -0.8$ mag, but did not rebrighten in the optical bands. Throughout its initial decline, subsequent rebrightening, and renewed decline, the spectra did not show evidence of interactions between the ejecta and circumstellar medium (CSM) such as narrow emission lines. There are hints of weak H$\alpha$ emission at late-times, but Margutti et al. (2016) have shown that it is narrow line emission consistent with star formation in the host nucleus. By fitting a blackbody we find that during the rebrightening the effective photospheric temperature increased from $T_{BB} \simeq 11000$ K to $T_{BB} \simeq 18000$ K. Over the $\sim$ 550 days since its detection, ASASSN-15lh has radiated $\sim 1.7 - 1.9 \times 10^{52}$ ergs. Although its physical nature remains uncertain, the evolution of ASASSN-15lh's photospheric radius, its radiated energy, and the implied event rate, are all more similar to those of H-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) than to tidal disruption events (TDEs).