The Type I Superluminous Supernova PS16aqv: Lightcurve Complexity and Deep Limits on Radioactive Ejecta in a Fast Event

TL;DR

This paper presents detailed UV/optical observations of the fast-evolving Type I superluminous supernova PS16aqv, revealing lightcurve complexities, constraints on radioactive nickel, and insights into its magnetar engine and host galaxy environment.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed lightcurve analysis of PS16aqv, demonstrating lightcurve undulations, modeling the supernova with a magnetar engine, and characterizing its host galaxy environment.

Findings

Lightcurve exhibits undulations similar to slower SLSNe-I.

Nickel mass constrained to less than 0.35 solar masses.

Magnetar model suggests rapid spin and high magnetic field.

Abstract

[Abridged] We present UV/optical observations of PS16aqv (SN 2016ard), a Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN-I) classified as part of our search for low-$z$ SLSNe. PS16aqv is a fast evolving SLSNe-I that reached a peak absolute magnitude of $M_{r} \approx -22.1$. The lightcurves exhibit a significant undulation at 30 rest-frame days after peak, with a behavior similar to undulations seen in the slowly fading SLSN-I SN 2015bn. This similarity strengthens the case that fast and slow SLSNe-I form a continuum with a common origin. At $\approx\!80$ days after peak, the lightcurves exhibit a transition to a slow decline, followed by significant subsequent steepening, indicative of a plateau phase or a second significant undulation. Deep limits at $\approx280$ days after peak imply a tight constraint on the nickel mass, $M_{\rm Ni} \lesssim 0.35$ M$_{\odot}$ (lower than for previous SLSNe-I), and indicate that some SLSNe-I do not produce significantly more nickel than normal Type Ic SNe. Using MOSFiT, we model the lightcurve with a magnetar central engine model and find $P_{\rm spin} \approx 0.9$ ms, $B \approx 1.5 \times 10^{14}$ G, and $M_{\rm ej} \approx 16$ M$_{\odot}$. The implied rapid spin-down time and large reservoir of available energy coupled with the high ejecta mass may account for the fast evolving lightcurve and slow spectroscopic evolution. We also study the location of PS16aqv in its host galaxy and find that it occurred at an offset of $2.46 \pm 0.21$ kpc from the central star-forming region. We find the host galaxy exhibits low metallicity and spatially varying extinction and star formation rate, with the explosion site exhibiting lower values than the central region. The complexity seen in the lightcurves of PS16aqv and other events highlights the importance of obtaining well-sampled lightcurves for exploring deviations from a uniform decline.