Superluminous supernovae from the Dark Energy Survey. Issue 2 (21st May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Angus, C R; Smith, M; Sullivan, M; Inserra, C; Wiseman, P; D'Andrea, C B; Thomas, B P; Nichol, R C; Galbany, L; Childress, M; Asorey, J; Brown, P J; Casas, R; Castander, F J; Curtin, C; Frohmaier, C; Glazebrook, K; Gruen, D; Gutierrez, C; Kessler, R; Kim, A G; Lidman, C; Macaulay, E; Nugent, P; Pursiainen, M; Sako, M; Soares-Santos, M; Thomas, R C; Abbott, T M C; Avila, S; Bertin, E; Brooks, D; Buckley-Geer, E; Burke, D L; Carnero Rosell, A; Carretero, J; da Costa, L N; De Vicente, J; Desai, S; Diehl, H T; Doel, P; Eifler, T F; Flaugher, B; Fosalba, P; Frieman, J; García-Bellido, J; Gruendl, R A; Gschwend, J; Hartley, W G; Hollowood, D L; Honscheid, K; Hoyle, B; James, D J; Kuehn, K; Kuropatkin, N; Lahav, O; Lima, M; Maia, M A G; March, M; Marshall, J L; Menanteau, F; Miller, C J; Miquel, R; Ogando, R L C; Plazas, A A; Romer, A K; Sanchez, E; Schindler, R; Schubnell, M; Sobreira, F; Suchyta, E; Swanson, M E C; Tarle, G; Thomas, D; Tucker, D L;
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 487:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 2215
• Page End: 2241
• Publication Date: 2019-05-21
• Subjects: supernovae: general; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz1321
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We present a sample of 21 hydrogen-free superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) and one hydrogen-rich SLSN (SLSN-II) detected during the five-year Dark Energy Survey (DES). These SNe, located in the redshift range 0.220 < z < 1.998, represent the largest homogeneously selected sample of SLSN events at high redshift. We present the observed g, r, i, z light curves for these SNe, which we interpolate using Gaussian processes. The resulting light curves are analysed to determine the luminosity function of SLSNe-I, and their evolutionary time-scales. The DES SLSN-I sample significantly broadens the distribution of SLSN-I light-curve properties when combined with existing samples from the literature. We fit a magnetar model to our SLSNe, and find that this model alone is unable to replicate the behaviour of many of the bolometric light curves. We search the DES SLSN-I light curves for the presence of initial peaks prior to the main light-curve peak. Using a shock breakout model, our Monte Carlo search finds that 3 of our 14 events with pre-max data display such initial peaks. However, 10 events show no evidence for such peaks, in some cases down to an absolute magnitude of <−16, suggesting that such features are not ubiquitous to all SLSN-I events. We also identify a red pre-peak feature within the light curve of one SLSN, which is comparable to that observed within SN2018bsz.