Identification of a Radio Counterpart to SN 2025ulz in the S250818k Localization Area

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of a radio counterpart to SN 2025ulz, a supernova possibly linked to a sub-threshold gravitational-wave event, providing insights into the nature of the explosion and its progenitor.

Contribution

First multi-band radio observations of SN 2025ulz, supporting a superkilonova scenario and suggesting the presence of fast ejecta or an off-axis jet.

Findings

Detected a faint radio counterpart consistent with non-thermal ejecta interaction

Radio data favor a compact progenitor with fast ejecta similar to Type cIIb SNe

Emission could also originate from an off-axis jet peaking 50-100 days post-GW trigger

Abstract

On 2025 August 18, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration reported S250818k, a sub-threshold gravitational-wave (GW) candidate consistent with a binary neutron star (NS) merger potentially involving a sub-solar-mass NS. Optical follow-up by the Zwicky Transient Facility identified AT2025ulz, a transient temporally coincident with the GW trigger that initially resembled a kilonova but was later classified as a young stripped-envelope Type IIb supernova (SN), dubbed SN 2025ulz. A key question is whether SN 2025ulz harbors fast, possibly collimated, non-thermal ejecta indicative of a central engine, as invoked in "superkilonova" scenarios linking sub-solar-mass NSs to accretion-disk fragmentation or core fission. We present early-to-late-time multi-band radio observations of SN 2025ulz obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array as part of the JAGWAR program, complemented by observations with the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and MeerKAT. We detect a faint but significant radio counterpart to SN 2025ulz at 6-10 GHz. The data are consistent with non-thermal emission from SN ejecta interacting with circumstellar material, favoring a compact progenitor and relatively fast ejecta akin to those of Type cIIb SNe. Our data are also consistent with emission from an off-axis jet peaking at about 50-100 days after the GW trigger. Overall, our radio detection is compatible with a superkilonova scenario and would motivate future systematic multi-wavelength follow-up of core-collapse events coincident with sub-solar NS GW candidates, should the association between S250818k and SN 2025ulz be supported by offline GW analyses.