Linking Extragalactic Transients and their Host Galaxy Properties: Transient Sample, Multi-Wavelength Host Identification, and Database Construction

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive database linking extragalactic transients with their host galaxy properties, enabling better understanding of transient origins and aiding classification efforts in the era of large surveys like LSST.

Contribution

It introduces a large, multi-wavelength database of over 36,000 transients and their host galaxies, with cross-identifications and physical properties, facilitating studies of transient-host connections.

Findings

Cross-identified 13,753 host galaxies using host names.

Identified 4,480 host candidates based on coordinates.

Compiled photometric and spectroscopic properties for hosts.

Abstract

Understanding the preferences of transient types for host galaxies with certain characteristics is key to studies of transient physics and galaxy evolution, as well as to transient identification and classification in the LSST era. Here we describe a value-added database of extragalactic transients--supernovae, tidal disruption events, gamma-ray bursts, and other rare events--and their host galaxy properties. Based on reported coordinates, redshifts, and host galaxies (if known) of events, we cross-identify their host galaxies or most likely host candidates in various value-added or survey catalogs, and compile the existing photometric, spectroscopic, and derived physical properties of host galaxies in these catalogs. This new database covers photometric measurements from the far-ultraviolet to mid-infrared. Spectroscopic measurements and derived physical properties are also available for a smaller subset of hosts. For our 36333 unique events, we have cross-identified 13753 host galaxies using host names, plus 4480 using host coordinates. Besides those with known hosts, there are 18100 transients with newly identified host candidates. This large database will allow explorations of the connections of transients to their hosts, including a path toward transient alert filtering and probabilistic classification based on host properties.