On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40 − 8 + 8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 M ⊙ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 Mpc ) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.

Gravitational waves were discovered with the detection of binary black-hole mergers and they should also be detectable from lower-mass neutron-star mergers. These are predicted to eject material rich in heavy radioactive isotopes that can power an electromagnetic signal. This signal is luminous at optical and infrared wavelengths and is called a kilonova. The gravitational-wave source GW170817 arose from a binary neutron-star merger in the nearby Universe with a relatively well confined sky position and distance estimate. Here we report observations and physical modelling of a rapidly fading electromagnetic transient in the galaxy NGC 4993, which is spatially coincident with GW170817 and with a weak, short γ-ray burst. The transient has physical parameters that broadly match the theoretical predictions of blue kilonovae from neutron-star mergers. The emitted electromagnetic radiation can be explained with an ejected mass of 0.04 ± 0.01 solar masses, with an opacity of less than 0.5 square centimetres per gram, at a velocity of 0.2 ± 0.1 times light speed. The power source is constrained to have a power-law slope of -1.2 ± 0.3, consistent with radioactive powering from r-process nuclides. (The r-process is a series of neutron capture reactions that synthesise many of the elements heavier than iron.) We identify line features in the spectra that are consistent with light r-process elements (atomic masses of 90-140). As it fades, the transient rapidly becomes red, and a higher-opacity, lanthanide-rich ejecta component may contribute to the emission. This indicates that neutron-star mergers produce gravitational waves and radioactively powered kilonovae, and are a nucleosynthetic source of the r-process elements.

We present an analysis of the diversity of V -band light-curves of hydrogen-rich type II supernovae. Analyzing a sample of 116 supernovae, several magnitude measurements are defined, together with decline rates at different epochs, and time durations of different phases. It is found that magnitudes measured at maximum light correlate more strongly with decline rates than those measured at other epochs: brighter supernovae at maximum generally have faster declining light-curves at all epochs. We find a relation between the decline rate during the 'plateau' phase and peak magnitudes, which has a dispersion of 0.56 magnitudes, offering the prospect of using type II supernovae as purely photometric distance indicators. Our analysis suggests that the type II population spans a continuum from low-luminosity events which have flat light-curves during the 'plateau' stage, through to the brightest events which decline much faster. A large range in optically thick phase durations is observed, implying a range in progenitor envelope masses at the epoch of explosion. During the radioactive tails, we find many supernovae with faster declining light-curves than expected from full trapping of radioactive emission, implying low mass ejecta. It is suggested that the main driver of light-curve diversity is the extent of hydrogen envelopes retained before explosion. Finally, a new classification scheme is introduced where hydrogen-rich events are typed as simply 'SN II' with an 's 2 ' value giving the decline rate during the 'plateau' phase, indicating its morphological type. Subject headings: (stars:) supernovae: general * Based on observations obtained with the du-Pont and Swope telescopes at LCO, and the Steward Observatory's CTIO60, SO90 and CTIO36 telescopes.

We investigate the early-time light-curves of a large sample of 223 type II supernovae (SNe) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Supernova Legacy Survey. Having a cadence of a few days and sufficient non-detections prior to explosion, we constrain rise-times, i.e. the durations from estimated first to maximum light, as a function of effective wavelength. At restframe g ′ -band (λ eff = 4722Å), we find a distribution of fast rise-times with median of (7.5 ± 0.3) days. Comparing these durations with analytical shock models of Rabinak & Waxman (2013);Nakar & Sari (2010) and hydrodynamical models of Tominaga et al. (2009), which are mostly sensitive to progenitor radius at these epochs, we find a median characteristic radius of less than 400 solar radii. The inferred radii are on average much smaller than the radii obtained for observed red supergiants (RSG). Investigating the post-maximum slopes as a function of effective wavelength in the light of theoretical models, we find that massive hydrogen envelopes are still needed to explain the plateaus of SNe II. We therefore argue that the SN II rise-times we observe are either a) the shock cooling resulting from the core collapse of RSG with small and dense envelopes, or b) the delayed and prolonged shock breakout of the collapse of a RSG with an extended atmosphere or embedded within pre-SN circumstellar material.

We present an analysis of observed trends and correlations between a large range of spectral and photometric parameters of more than 100 type II supernovae (SNe II), during the photospheric phase. We define a common epoch for all SNe of 50 days post-explosion where the majority of the sample is likely to be under similar physical conditions. Several correlation matrices are produced to search for interesting trends between more than 30 distinct light-curve and spectral properties that characterize the diversity of SNe II. Overall, SNe with higher expansion velocities are brighter, have more rapidly declining light-curves, shorter plateau durations, and higher 56 Ni masses. Using a larger sample than previous studies, we argue that 'P d' -the plateau duration from the transition of the initial to 'plateau' decline rates to the end of the 'plateau' -is a better indicator of the hydrogen envelope mass than the traditionally used optically thick phase duration (OP T d: explosion epoch to end of plateau). This argument is supported by the fact that P d also correlates with s 3 , the light-curve decline rate at late times: lower P d values correlate with larger s 3 decline rates. Large s 3 decline rates are likely related to lower envelope masses that enables gamma-ray escape. We also find a significant anticorrelation between P d and s 2 (the plateau decline rate), confirming the long standing hypothesis that faster declining SNe II (SNe IIL) are the result of explosions with lower hydrogen envelope masses and therefore have shorter P d values.

We present a spectroscopic analysis of the H α profiles of hydrogen-rich type II supernovae. A total of 52 type II supernovae having well sampled optical light curves and spectral sequences were analyzed. Concentrating on the H α P-Cygni profile we measure its velocity from the FWHM of emission and the ratio of absorption to emission (a/e) at a common epoch at the start of the recombination phase, and search for correlations between these spectral parameters and photometric properties of the V -band light curves. Testing the strength of various correlations we find that a/e appears to be the dominant spectral parameter in terms of describing the diversity in our measured supernova properties. It is found that supernovae with smaller a/e have higher H α velocities, more rapidly declining light curves from maximum, during the plateau and radioactive tail phase, are brighter at maximum light and have shorter optically thick phase durations. We discuss possible explanations of these results in terms of physical properties of type II supernovae, speculating that the most likely parameters which influence the morphologies of H α profiles are the mass and density profile of the hydrogen envelope, together with additional emission components due to circumstellar interaction.

In classical P-Cygni profiles, theory predicts emission to peak at zero rest velocity. However, supernova spectra exhibit emission that is generally blue shifted. While this characteristic has been reported in many supernovae, it is rarely discussed in any detail. Here we present an analysis of Hα emission-peaks using a dataset of 95 type II supernovae, quantifying their strength and time evolution. Using a post-explosion time of 30 d, we observe a systematic blueshift of Hα emission, with a mean value of -2000 km s −1 . This offset is greatest at early times but vanishes as supernovae become nebular. Simulations of Dessart et al. (2013) match the observed behaviour, reproducing both its strength and evolution in time. Such blueshifts are a fundamental feature of supernova spectra as they are intimately tied to the density distribution of ejecta, which falls more rapidly than in stellar winds. This steeper density structure causes line emission/absorption to be much more confined; it also exacerbates the occultation of the receding part of the ejecta, biasing line emission to the blue for a distant observer. We conclude that blue-shifted emission-peak offsets of several thousand km s −1 are a generic property of observations, confirmed by models, of photospheric-phase type II supernovae.

We present a compilation of UBVRIz light curves of 51 type II supernovae discovered during the course of four different surveys during 1986-2003: the Cerro Tololo Supernova Survey, the Calán/Tololo Supernova Program (C&T), the Supernova Optical and Infrared Survey (SOIRS), and the Carnegie Type II Supernova Survey (CATS). The photometry is based on template-subtracted images to eliminate any potential host galaxy light contamination, and calibrated from foreground stars. This work presents these photometric data, studies the color evolution using different bands, and explores the relation between the magnitude at maximum brightness and the brightness decline parameter (s) from maximum light through the end of the recombination phase. This parameter is found to be shallower for redder bands and appears to have the best correlation in the B band. In addition, it also correlates with the plateau duration, being shorter (longer) for larger (smaller) s values.