A hot and luminous source at the site of the fast transient AT2018cow at 2-3 years after its explosion

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a luminous, hot, and stable late-time source at the position of the transient AT2018cow, observed 2-3 years post-explosion, challenging existing explanations for its origin.

Contribution

It presents the first detection of a persistent, luminous source at the site of AT2018cow years after explosion, suggesting a new aspect of the transient's aftermath.

Findings

Detected a stable, luminous UV/optical source with Hα emission at 2-3 years post-explosion.

The source has a high temperature consistent with a hot blackbody, unlikely to be a chance alignment or light echo.

Various scenarios such as companion star, star cluster, or TDE are considered but remain inconclusive.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a luminous late-time source at the position of the fast blue optical transient (FBOT) AT2018cow on images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at 714 d and 1136 d after its explosion. This source is detected at both UV and optical wavelengths and has prominent H$\alpha$ emission. It has a very stable brightness between the two epochs and a very blue spectral energy distribution (SED) consistent with $f_\lambda$ $\propto$ $\lambda^{-4.1 \pm 0.1}$, i.e. the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of a hot blackbody with a very high temperature of log($T$/K) $>$ 4.6 and luminosity of log($L$/$L_\odot$) $>$ 7.0. This late-time source is unlikely to be an unrelated object in chance alignment, or due to a light echo of AT2018cow. Other possible scenarios also have some difficulties in explaining this late-time source, including companion star(s), star cluster, the survived progenitor star, interaction with circumstellar medium (CSM), magnetar, or delayed accretion in a tidal disruption event (TDE). Long-term and multi-wavelength monitoring will help to resolve its nature and finally reveal the origin of the "Cow".