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We present optical photometry and spectroscopy of the superluminous SN 2002gh from maximum light to $+204$ days, obtained as part of the Carnegie Type II Supernova (CATS) project. SN 2002gh is among the most luminous discovered supernovae ever, yet it remained unnoticed for nearly two decades. Using Dark Energy Camera archival images we identify the potential SN host galaxy as a faint dwarf galaxy, presumably having low metallicity, and in an apparent merging process with other nearby dwarf galaxies. We show that SN 2002gh is among the brightest hydrogen-poor SLSNe with $M_{V} = -22.40 \pm 0.02$, with an estimated peak bolometric luminosity of $2.6 \pm 0.1 \times 10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$. We discount the decay of radioactive nickel as the main SN power mechanism, and assuming that the SN is powered by the spin down of a magnetar we obtain two alternative solutions. The first case, is characterized by significant magnetar power leakage, and $M_{\mathrm{ej}}$ between 0.6 and 3.2 $M_{\odot}$, $P_{\mathrm{spin}} = 3.2$ ms, and $B = 5 \times 10^{13}$ G. The second case does not require power leakage, resulting in a huge ejecta mass of about 30 $M_{\odot}$, a fast spin period of $P_{\mathrm{spin}} \sim 1$ ms, and $B\sim 1.6 \times 10^{14}$ G. We estimate a zero-age main-sequence mass between 14 and 25 $M_{\odot}$ for the first case and of about 135 $M_{\odot}$ for the second case. The latter case would place the SN progenitor among the most massive stars observed to explode as a SN., 25 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully performed the first test of a kinetic impactor for asteroid deflection by impacting Dimorphos, the secondary of near-Earth binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, and changing the orbital period of Dimorphos. A change in orbital period of approximately 7 minutes was expected if the incident momentum from the DART spacecraft was directly transferred to the asteroid target in a perfectly inelastic collision, but studies of the probable impact conditions and asteroid properties indicated that a considerable momentum enhancement ($\beta$) was possible. In the years prior to impact, we used lightcurve observations to accurately determine the pre-impact orbit parameters of Dimorphos with respect to Didymos. Here we report the change in the orbital period of Dimorphos as a result of the DART kinetic impact to be -33.0 +/- 1.0 (3$\sigma$) minutes. Using new Earth-based lightcurve and radar observations, two independent approaches determined identical values for the change in the orbital period. This large orbit period change suggests that ejecta contributed a significant amount of momentum to the asteroid beyond what the DART spacecraft carried., Comment: Accepted by Nature

We present a comprehensive study of the massive binary system HM1~8, based on multi-epoch high resolution spectroscopy, $V$-band photometry and archival X-ray data. Spectra from the OWN Survey, a high resolution optical monitoring of Southern O and WN stars, are used to analyse the spectral morphology and perform quantitative spectroscopic analysis of both stellar components. The primary and secondary components are classified as O4.5~IV(f) and O9.7~V, respectively. From a radial-velocity (RV) study we derived a set of orbital parameters for the system. We found an eccentric orbit ($e=0.14 \pm 0.01$) with a period of $P = 5.87820 \pm 0.00008$~days. Through the simultaneous analysis of the RVs and the $V$-band light curve we derived an orbital inclination of $70.0^{\circ} \pm 2.0$ and stellar masses of $M_a=33.6^{+1.4}_{-1.2}~\text{M}_{\sun}$ for the primary, and $M_b=17.7^{+0.5}_{-0.7}~\text{M}_{\sun}$ for the secondary. The components show projected rotational velocities $v_1\sin{i}=105 \pm 14~\text{km~s}^{-1}$ and $v_2\sin{i}=82 \pm 15~\text{km~s}^{-1}$, respectively. A tidal evolution analysis is also performed and found to be in agreement with the orbital characteristics. Finally, the available X-ray observations show no evidence of a colliding winds region, therefore the X-ray emission is attributed to stellar winds., Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, to be published in MNRAS

The amount of cosmic dust contributed by stellar sources in galaxies at all cosmic epochs remains a controversial topic, particularly whether or not supernovae (SNe) have an important role to play given the dust-hostile environments provided by SNe. To date, freshly-formed dust has been observed in a handful of core collapse (CC) SNe, both in the ejecta in-situ and in the interactions between the ejecta and circumstellar medium (CSM). As yet, there exists no clear observational evidence for dust formation in Type Ia SNe despite predictions of $3×10^{-4}$- $0.2$ Msun of dust forming per Ia. Here we report evidence of dust formation in the ejecta-CSM interaction in the Type Ia (SNIa) SN2018evt just three years after the explosion, characterized by a staggering rise in the mid-infrared (MIR) flux accompanied by an accelerated decline in the optical. This hypothesis is strengthened by the concurrent evolution of the profiles of the Hα emission lines. A preexisting hydrogen-rich torus which itself may be dusty before the SN explosion, provides a natural explanation of the observed data. SN 2018evt is the first SNIa with clear evidence of both dust destruction and formation in its ejecta and surroundings. The amount of the newly formed dust follows a steep power law rise of index 4 with time after the explosion. This steep rise indicates that the newly formed dust is formed in the SN ejecta, which is compressed by the shock interaction with the CSM.

We present the largest and most homogeneous collection of near-infrared (NIR) spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia): 339 spectra of 98 individual SNe obtained as part of the Carnegie Supernova Project-II. These spectra, obtained with the FIRE spectrograph on the 6.5 m Magellan Baade telescope, have a spectral range of 0.8--2.5 $\mu$m. Using this sample, we explore the NIR spectral diversity of SNe Ia and construct a template of spectral time series as a function of the light-curve-shape parameter, color stretch $s_{BV}$. Principal component analysis is applied to characterize the diversity of the spectral features and reduce data dimensionality to a smaller subspace. Gaussian process regression is then used to model the subspace dependence on phase and light-curve shape and the associated uncertainty. Our template is able to predict spectral variations that are correlated with $s_{BV}$, such as the hallmark NIR features: Mg II at early times and the $H$-band break after peak. Using this template reduces the systematic uncertainties in K-corrections by ~90% compared to those from the Hsiao template. These uncertainties, defined as the mean K-correction differences computed with the color-matched template and observed spectra, are on the level of $4\times10^{-4}$ mag on average. This template can serve as the baseline spectral energy distribution for light-curve fitters and can identify peculiar spectral features that might point to compelling physics. The results presented here will substantially improve future SN~Ia cosmological experiments, for both nearby and distant samples., Comment: 38 pages, 21 figures, accepted to APJ

SN~2018aoz is a Type Ia SN with a $B$-band plateau and excess emission in the infant-phase light curves $\lesssim$ 1 day after first light, evidencing an over-density of surface iron-peak elements as shown in our previous study. Here, we advance the constraints on the nature and origin of SN~2018aoz based on its evolution until the nebular phase. Near-peak spectroscopic features show the SN is intermediate between two subtypes of normal Type Ia: Core-Normal and Broad-Line. The excess emission could have contributions from the radioactive decay of surface iron-peak elements as well as ejecta interaction with either the binary companion or a small torus of circumstellar material. Nebular-phase limits on H$\alpha$ and He~I favour a white dwarf companion, consistent with the small companion size constrained by the low early SN luminosity, while the absence of [O~I] and He~I disfavours a violent merger of the progenitor. Of the two main explosion mechanisms proposed to explain the distribution of surface iron-peak elements in SN~2018aoz, the asymmetric Chandrasekhar-mass explosion is less consistent with the progenitor constraints and the observed blueshifts of nebular-phase [Fe~II] and [Ni~II]. The helium-shell double-detonation explosion is compatible with the observed lack of C spectral features, but current 1-D models are incompatible with the infant-phase excess emission, $B_{\rm max}-V_{\rm max}$ color, and absence of nebular-phase [Ca~II]. Although the explosion processes of SN~2018aoz still need to be more precisely understood, the same processes could produce a significant fraction of Type Ia SNe that appear normal after $\sim$ 1 day., Comment: Submitted for publication in ApJ. 35 pages, 16 figures, 7 tables

The identification of bright quasars at z ≳ 6 enables detailed studies of supermassive black holes, massive galaxies, structure formation, and the state of the intergalactic medium within the first billion years after the Big Bang. We present the spectroscopic confirmation of 55 quasars at redshifts 5.6 < z < 6.5 and UV magnitudes −24.5 < M 1450 < −28.5 identified in the optical Pan-STARRS1 and near-IR VIKING surveys (48 and 7, respectively). Five of these quasars have independently been discovered in other studies. The quasar sample shows an extensive range of physical properties, including 17 objects with weak emission lines, 10 broad absorption line quasars, and 5 objects with strong radio emission (radio-loud quasars). There are also a few notable sources in the sample, including a blazar candidate at z = 6.23, a likely gravitationally lensed quasar at z = 6.41, and a z = 5.84 quasar in the outskirts of the nearby (D ∼ 3 Mpc) spiral galaxy M81. The blazar candidate remains undetected in NOEMA observations of the [C ii] and underlying emission, implying a star formation rate M ⊙ yr−1. A significant fraction of the quasars presented here lies at the foundation of the first measurement of the z ∼ 6 quasar luminosity function from Pan-STARRS1 (introduced in a companion paper). These quasars will enable further studies of the high-redshift quasar population with current and future facilities.

We place statistical constraints on Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) progenitors using 227 nebular phase spectra of 111 SNe Ia. We find no evidence of stripped companion emission in any of the nebular phase spectra. Upper limits are placed on the amount of mass that could go undetected in each spectrum using recent hydrodynamic simulations. With these null detections, we place an observational $3\sigma$ upper limit on the fraction of SNe Ia that are produced through the classical H-rich non-degenerate companion scenario of < 5.5%. Additionally, we set a tentative $3\sigma$ upper limit on He star progenitor scenarios of < 6.4%, although further theoretical modelling is required. These limits refer to our most representative sample including normal, 91bg-like, 91T-like, and "Super Chandrasekhar" \sne but excluding SNe Iax and SNe Ia-CSM. As part of our analysis, we also derive a Nebular Phase Phillips Relation, which approximates the brightness of a SN Ia from $150-500$~days after maximum using the peak magnitude and decline rate parameter $\Delta m_{15} (B)$., Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, and 3 tables in main text, plus 3 pages of appendices with 1 figure and 7 tables. Accepted by MNRAS

As part of the 100IAS survey, a program aimed to obtain nebular-phase spectra for a volume-limited and homogeneous sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), we observed ASASSN-18tb (SN 2018fhw) at 139 days past maximum light. ASASSN-18tb was a fast-declining, sub-luminous event that fits well within the observed photometric and spectroscopic distributions of the SN Ia population. We detect a prominent H$\alpha$ emission line of $L_{{\rm H}\alpha}=2.2\pm0.2\times10^{38}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ with FWHM $\approx1100$ km s$^{-1}$ in the nebular-phase spectrum of this SN Ia. High luminosity H$\alpha$ emission ($L_{{\rm H}\alpha}\gtrsim 10^{40}$ ergs~s$^{-1}$) has previously been discovered in a rare class of SNe Ia-like objects showing CSM interactions (SNe Ia-CSM). They predominantly belong to over-luminous ($M_{\rm max}, Comment: Submitted to MNRAS

An analysis of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) WC4 star BAT99-9 (HD 32125, FD 4, Brey 7, WS 3) shows that the star still contains photospheric nitrogen. Three N emission features (N V $\lambda\lambda 1238,1242$, N IV $\lambda 1719$, N IV $\lambda\lambda 3479 - 3485$) are unambiguously identified in the spectrum. CMFGEN models of the star yield a N/C ratio of $0.004 \pm 0.002$ (by number) and a C/He ratio of $0.15_{-0.05}^{+0.10}$. Due to the similarity of BAT99-9 to other WC4 stars, and the good fit achieved by CMFGEN to both the classic WC4 spectrum, and the N lines, we argue that the N lines are intrinsic to BAT99-9. An examination of a limited set of rotating models for single star evolution at LMC and Galactic metallicities shows that a model with a Galactic metallicity ($z=0.014$) and a progenitor mass of around $50\,M_\odot$ can have a N/C ratio similar to, or larger than, what we observe for a significant fraction of its lifetime. However, the LMC models ($z=0.006$) are inconsistent with the observations. Both the single and binary BPASS models predict that many WC stars can have a N/C ratio similar to, or larger than, what we observe for a significant fraction of their lifetime. While the binary models cover a wider range of luminosities and provide a somewhat better match to BAT99-9, it is not currently possible to rule out BAT99-9 being formed through single star evolution, given the uncertainties in mass-loss rates, and the treatment of convection and mixing processes., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Lu, J., et al., We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of the 03fg-like Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) ASASSN-15hy from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (NIR). ASASSN-15hy shares many of the hallmark characteristics of 03fg-like SNe Ia, previously referred to as "super-Chandrasekhar"SNe Ia. It is bright in the UV and NIR, lacks a clear i-band secondary maximum, shows a strong and persistent C ii feature, and has a low Si ii λ6355 velocity. However, some of its properties are also extreme among the subgroup. ASASSN-15hy is underluminous (M B,peak = 19.14-0.16+0.11 mag), red ((B-V) {B\max }=0.18-0.03+0.01 mag), yet slowly declining (Δm 15(B) = 0.72 ± 0.04 mag). It has the most delayed onset of the i-band maximum of any 03fg-like SN. ASASSN-15hy lacks the prominent H-band break emission feature that is typically present during the first month past maximum in normal SNe Ia. Such events may be a potential problem for high-redshift SN Ia cosmology. ASASSN-15hy may be explained in the context of an explosion of a degenerate core inside a nondegenerate envelope. The explosion impacting the nondegenerate envelope with a large mass provides additional luminosity and low ejecta velocities. An initial deflagration burning phase is critical in reproducing the low 56Ni mass and luminosity, while the large core mass is essential in providing the large diffusion timescales required to produce the broad light curves. The model consists of a rapidly rotating 1.47 M o˙ degenerate core and a 0.8 M o˙ nondegenerate envelope. This "deflagration core-degenerate"scenario may result from the merger between a white dwarf and the degenerate core of an asymptotic giant branch star., The CSP-II has been supported by NSF grants AST-1008343, AST1613426, AST-1613455, AST-1613472, and the Danish Agency for Science and Technology and Innovation through a Sapere Aude Level 2 grant (PI: M.S.) C.A. is supported by the NSF grant AST #1908952. J.L., S.K., M.S., and E.Y.H acknowledge the support provided by the Florida Space Research Program. P.A.H. acknowledges the support by the National Science Foundation grant AST-1715133. L.G. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU) under the 2019 Ramón y Cajal program RYC2019-027683 and from the Spanish MICIU project PID2020-115253GA-I00. E.B. was supported in part by NASA grant 80NSSC20K0538. M.D.S. is supported by generous grants from Villum FONDEN (13261, 28021) and by a project grant (8021-00170B) from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. Support for T.W.-S.H. was provided by NASA through the NASA Hubble Fellowship grant HST-HF2-51458.001-A awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract NAS5-26555. H.K. was funded by the Academy of Finland projects 324504 and 328898. Support for J.L.P. is provided in part by ANID through the Fondecyt regular grant 1191038 and through the Millennium Science Initiative grant ICN12_009, awarded to The Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, MAS. Time-domain research by D.J.S. is supported by NSF grants AST-1821987, 1813466, & 1908972, and by the Heising-Simons Foundation under grant #2020-1864. This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, and is also based upon observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla or Paranal Observatories under program ID(s) 191. D-0935 and 099.D-0022(A). This work has been partially supported by the Spanish grant PGC2018-095317-B-C21 within the European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER). Finally, this paper also includes observations obtained at the international Gemini Observatory (GN2015A-Q-8, GS-2015A-Q-5), a program of NSFʼs NOIRLab, which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. on behalf of the Gemini Observatory partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), National Research Council (Canada), Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (Argentina), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações (Brazil), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Republic of Korea).

Davis, S., et al., We present a study of the optical and near-infrared (NIR) spectra of SN 2013ai along with its light curves. These data range from discovery until 380 days after explosion. SN 2013ai is a fast declining Type II supernova (SN II) with an unusually long rise time, 18.9 2.7 days in the V-band, and a bright V-band peak absolute magnitude of -18.7 0.06 mag. The spectra are dominated by hydrogen features in the optical and NIR. The spectral features of SN 2013ai are unique in their expansion velocities, which, when compared to large samples of SNe II, are more than 1,000 km s-1 faster at 50 days past explosion. In addition, the long rise time of the light curve more closely resembles SNe IIb rather than SNe II. If SN 2013ai is coeval with a nearby compact cluster, we infer a progenitor zero-age main-sequence mass of ∼17 M o˙. After performing light-curve modeling, we find that SN 2013ai could be the result of the explosion of a star with little hydrogen mass, a large amount of synthesized 56Ni, 0.3-0.4 M o˙, and an explosion energy of 2.5-3.0 1051 erg. The density structure and expansion velocities of SN 2013ai are similar to those of the prototypical SN IIb, SN 1993J. However, SN 2013ai shows no strong helium features in the optical, likely due to the presence of a dense core that prevents the majority of γ-rays from escaping to excite helium. Our analysis suggests that SN 2013ai could be a link between SNe II and stripped-envelope SNe., The work of the CSP-II has been generously supported by the National Science Foundation under grants AST-1008343, AST1613426, AST-1613455, and AST1613472. The CSP-II was also supported in part by the Danish Agency for Science and Technology and Innovation through a Sapere Aude Level 2 grant. M.F. is supported by a Royal Society—Science Foundation Ireland University Research Fellowship. P.H. acknowledges support by grants of the NSF AST-1008962 and NASA’s ATP1909476. L.G. was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 839090. This work has been partially supported by the Spanish grant PGC2018-095317- B-C21 within the European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER). T.W.C. acknowledges the EU Funding under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 842471. M.S. is supported by generous grants from Villum FONDEN (13261, 28021) and by a project grant (8021-00170B) awarded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are a class of active galactic nuclei (AGN) that, in some cases, can harbor powerful relativistic jets. One of them, PKS 2004-447, shows gamma-ray emission, and underwent its first recorded multifrequency flare in 2019. However, past studies revealed that in radio this source can be classified as a compact steep-spectrum source (CSS), suggesting that, unlike other gamma-ray sources, the relativistic jets of PKS 2004-447 have a large inclination with respect to the line of sight. We present here a set of spectroscopic observations of this object, aimed at carefully measuring its black hole mass and Eddington ratio, determining the properties of its emission lines, and characterizing its long term variability. We find that the black hole mass is $(1.5\pm0.2)\times10^7$ M$_\odot$, and the Eddington ratio is 0.08. Both values are within the typical range of NLS1s. The spectra also suggest that the 2019 flare was caused mainly by the relativistic jet, while the accretion disk played a minor role during the event. In conclusion, we confirm that PKS 2004-447 is one of the rare examples of gamma-ray emitting CSS/NLS1s hybrid, and that these two classes of objects are likely connected in the framework of AGN evolution., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, resubmitted to A&A after minor comments from the referee

The present study is the first of a series of three papers where we characterise the type II supernovae (SNe~II) from the Carnegie Supernova Project-I to understand their diversity in terms of progenitor and explosion properties. In this first paper, we present bolometric light curves of 74 SNe~II. We outline our methodology to calculate the bolometric luminosity, which consists of the integration of the observed fluxes in numerous photometric bands ($uBgVriYJH$) and black-body (BB) extrapolations to account for the unobserved flux at shorter and longer wavelengths. BB fits were performed using all available broadband data except when line blanketing effects appeared. Photometric bands bluer than $r$ that are affected by line blanketing were removed from the fit, which makes near-infrared (NIR) observations highly important to estimate reliable BB extrapolations to the infrared. BB fits without NIR data produce notably different bolometric light curves, and therefore different estimates of SN~II progenitor and explosion properties when data are modelled. We present two methods to address the absence of NIR observations: (a) colour-colour relationships from which NIR magnitudes can be estimated using optical colours, and (b) new prescriptions for bolometric corrections as a function of observed SN~II colours. Using our 74 SN~II bolometric light curves, we provide a full characterisation of their properties based on several observed parameters. We measured magnitudes at different epochs, as well as durations and decline rates of different phases of the evolution. An analysis of the light-curve parameter distributions was performed, finding a wide range and a continuous sequence of observed parameters which is consistent with previous analyses using optical light curves., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

This paper describes the rapidly evolving and unusual supernova LSQ13ddu, discovered by the La Silla-QUEST survey. LSQ13ddu displayed a rapid rise of just 4.8$\pm$0.9 d to reach a peak brightness of $-$19.70$\pm$0.02 mag in the $\mathit{LSQgr}$ band. Early spectra of LSQ13ddu showed the presence of weak and narrow He I features arising from interaction with circumstellar material (CSM). These interaction signatures weakened quickly, with broad features consistent with those seen in stripped-envelope SNe becoming dominant around two weeks after maximum. The narrow He I velocities are consistent with the wind velocities of luminous blue variables but its spectra lack the typically seen hydrogen features. The fast and bright early light curve is inconsistent with radioactive $^{56}$Ni powering but can be explained through a combination of CSM interaction and an underlying $^{56}$Ni decay component that dominates the later time behaviour of LSQ13ddu. Based on the strength of the underlying broad features, LSQ13ddu appears deficient in He compared to standard SNe Ib., Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present a narrow-band imaging survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud, designed to isolate the C II $\lambda\lambda$7231, 7236 emission lines in objects as faint as $m_{\lambda7400}\sim18$. The work is motivated by the recent serendipitous discovery in the LMC of the first confirmed extragalactic [WC11] star, whose spectrum is dominated by C II emission, and the realization that the number of such objects is currently largely unconstrained. The survey, which imaged $\sim$50$~$deg$^2$ using on-band and off-band filters, will significantly increase the total census of these rare stars. In addition, each new LMC [WC] star has a known luminosity, a quantity quite uncertain in the Galactic sample. Multiple known C II emitters were easily recovered, validating the survey design. We find 38 new C II emission candidates; spectroscopy of the complete sample will be needed to ascertain their nature. In a preliminary spectroscopic reconnaissance, we observed three candidates, finding C II emission in each. One is a new [WC11]. Another shows both the narrow C II emission lines characteristic of a [WC11], but also broad emission of C IV, O V, and He II characteristic of a much hotter [WC4] star; we speculate that this is a binary [WC]. The third object shows weak C II emission, but the spectrum is dominated by a dense thicket of strong absorption lines, including numerous O II transitions. We conclude it is likely an unusual hot, hydrogen-poor post-AGB star, possibly in transition from [WC] to white dwarf. Even lacking a complete spectroscopic program, we can infer that late [WC] stars do not dominate the central stars of LMC planetary nebulae, and that the detected C II emitters are largely of an old population., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 2020

We present nearly 500 days of observations of the tidal disruption event ASASSN-18pg, spanning from 54 days before peak light to 441 days after peak light. Our dataset includes X-ray, UV, and optical photometry, optical spectroscopy, radio observations, and the first published spectropolarimetric observations of a TDE. ASASSN-18pg was discovered on 2018 July 11 by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) at a distance of $d=78.6$ Mpc, and with a peak UV magnitude of $m\simeq14$ it is both one of the nearest and brightest TDEs discovered to-date. The photometric data allow us to track both the rise to peak and the long-term evolution of the TDE. ASASSN-18pg peaked at a luminosity of $L\simeq2.2\times10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and its late-time evolution is shallower than a flux $\propto t^{-5/3}$ power-law model, similar to what has been seen in other TDEs. ASASSN-18pg exhibited Balmer lines and spectroscopic features consistent with Bowen fluorescence prior to peak which remained detectable for roughly 225 days after peak. Analysis of the two-component H$\alpha$ profile indicates that, if they are the result of reprocessing of emission from the accretion disk, the different spectroscopic lines may be coming from regions between $\sim10$ and $\sim60$ light-days from the black hole. No X-ray emission is detected from the TDE and there is no evidence of a jet or strong outflow detected in the radio. Our spectropolarimetric observations give no strong evidence for significant asphericity in the emission region, with the emission region having an axis ratio of at least $\sim0.65$., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to ApJ. A machine-readable table containing the host-subtracted photometry presented in this manuscript is included as an ancillary file

Identifications of a large fraction of previously unidentified lines in the complex spectrum of the low mass, late-type LMC [WC11] star J060819.93-715737.4 have been made utilizing electronic databases. There are an exceptionally large number of C II emission lines originating from autoionizing (ai) levels. Resonance fluorescence between the C II ground state and excited ai levels is shown to be a important photoabsorption process that is competitive with dielectronic recombination in exciting ai emission lines in stellar winds, and has broad application to many types of emission-line stars. In addition, numerous C II quartet multiplets appear in emission that are not excited directly by recombination or resonance fluorescence, signifying high wind densities in the emission region that enhance collisional transfer between doublet and quartet states., Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Supernova (SN) 2017cbv in NGC 5643 is one of a handful of type Ia supernovae (SNe~Ia) reported to have excess blue emission at early times. This paper presents extensive $BVRIYJHK_s$-band light curves of SN 2017cbv, covering the phase from $-16$ to $+125$ days relative to $B$-band maximum light. SN 2017cbv reached a $B$-band maximum of 11.710$\pm$0.006~mag, with a post-maximum magnitude decline $\Delta m_{15}(B)$=0.990$\pm$0.013 mag. The supernova suffered no host reddening based on Phillips intrinsic color, Lira-Phillips relation, and the CMAGIC diagram. By employing the CMAGIC distance modulus $\mu=30.58\pm0.05$~mag and assuming $H_0$=72~$\rm km \ s^{-1} \ Mpc^{-1}$, we found that 0.73~\msun $^{56}$Ni was synthesized during the explosion of SN 2017cbv, which is consistent with estimates using reddening-free and distance-free methods via the phases of the secondary maximum of the NIR-band light curves. We also present 14 near-infrared spectra from $-18$ to $+49$~days relative to the $B$-band maximum light, providing constraints on the amount of swept-up hydrogen from the companion star in the context of the single degenerate progenitor scenario. No $Pa{\beta}$ emission feature was detected from our post-maximum NIR spectra, placing a hydrogen mass upper limit of 0.1 $M_{\odot}$. The overall optical/NIR photometric and NIR spectral evolution of SN 2017cbv is similar to that of a normal SN~Ia, even though its early evolution is marked by a flux excess no seen in most other well-observed normal SNe~Ia. We also compare the exquisite light curves of SN 2017cbv with some $M_{ch}$ DDT models and sub-$M_{ch}$ double detonation models.

We present a comprehensive review of all observations of the eclipsing recurrent Nova LMC 1968 in the Large Magellanic Cloud which was previously observed in eruption in 1968, 1990, 2002, 2010, and most recently in 2016. We derive a probable recurrence time of 6.2 ± 1.2 yr and provide the ephemerides of the eclipse. In the ultraviolet-optical-IR photometry the light curve shows high variability right from the first observation around 2 d after eruption. Therefore no colour changes can be substantiated. Outburst spectra from 2016 and 1990 are very similar and are dominated by H and He lines longward of 2000 Å. Interstellar reddening is found to be E(B − V) = 0.07 ± 0.01. The super soft X-ray luminosity is lower than the Eddington luminosity and the X-ray spectra suggest the mass of the white dwarf (WD) is larger than 1.3 M☉. Eclipses in the light curve suggest that the system is at high orbital inclination. On day 4 after the eruption a recombination wave was observed in Fe II ultraviolet absorption lines. Narrow-line components are seen after day 6 and explained as being due to reionization of ejecta from a previous eruption. The UV spectrum varies with orbital phase, in particular a component of the He II 1640 Å emission line, which leads us to propose that early-on the inner WD Roche lobe might be filled with a bound opaque medium prior to the re-formation of an accretion disc. Both this medium and the ejecta can cause the delay in the appearance of the soft X-ray source., The OGLE project received funding by the National Science Center, Poland, under grant MAESTRO 2014/14/A/ST9/00121 to AU. PM acknowledges support from the Foundation for Polish Science (Program START). NPMK, KLP, AAB, APB, and JPO acknowledge support from the U.K. Space Agency. MH acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the grant FDPI-2013-16933. SS acknowledges partial support from NASA, HST, and NSF grants to ASU. Research in Novae at Stony Brook University is supported in part by NSF grant AST 1614113, with additional research support provided by the Stony Brook University. RDG was supported by NASA and the United States Air Force. VARMR acknowledges financial support from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) in the form of an exploratory project of reference IF/00498/2015, from the Center for Research & Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA) strategic project UID/MAT/04106/2019, and supported by Enabling Green E-science for the Square Kilometre Array Research Infrastructure (ENGAGE-SKA), POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022217, and PHOBOS, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029932, funded by Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (COMPETE 2020) and FCT, Portugal. RA acknowledges financial support from DIDULS Regular PR#17142 by Universidad de La Serena.

We use photometric and spectroscopic observations of the eclipsing binary E32 in the globular cluster 47 Tuc to derive the masses, radii, and luminosities of the component stars. The system has an orbital period of 40.9 d, a markedly eccentric orbit with e = 0.24, and is shown to be a member of or a recent escaper from the cluster. We obtain Mp = 0.862 ± 0.005 M, Rp = 1.183 ± 0.003 R, Lp = 1.65 ± 0.05 L for the primary and Ms = 0.827 ± 0.005 M, Rs = 1.004 ± 0.004 R, Ls = 1.14 ± 0.04 L for the secondary. Based on these data and on an earlier analysis of the binary V69 in 47 Tuc, we measure the distance to the cluster from the distance moduli of the component stars, and, independently, from a colour – surface brightness calibration. We obtain 4.55 ± 0.03 and 4.50 ± 0.07 kpc, respectively – values compatible within 1 σ with recent estimates based on Gaia DR2 parallaxes. By comparing the M–R diagram of the two binaries and the colour–magnitude diagram of 47 Tuc to Dartmouth model isochrones we estimate the age of the cluster to be 12.0 ± 0.5 Gyr, and the helium abundance of the cluster to be Y ≈ 0.25., Erratum published in volume 494, issue 1, pages 846-9, May 2020. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa686

We present optical and near-infrared ($ugriYJH$) photometry of host galaxies of Type Ia supernovae (SN~Ia) observed by the \textit{Carnegie Supernova Project-I}. We determine host galaxy stellar masses and, for the first time, study their correlation with SN~Ia standardized luminosity across optical and near-infrared ($uBgVriYJH$) bands. In the individual bands, we find that SNe~Ia are more luminous in more massive hosts with luminosity offsets ranging between $-0.07 \pm0.03$ mag to $-0.15\pm0.04$ mag after light-curve standardization. The slope of the SN~Ia Hubble residual-host mass relation is negative across all $uBgVriYJH$ bands with values ranging between $-0.036\pm 0.025$ mag/dex to $-0.097\pm 0.027$ mag/dex -- implying that SNe~Ia in more massive galaxies are brighter than expected. The near-constant observed correlations across optical and near-infrared bands indicate that dust may not play a significant role in the observed luminosity offset--host mass correlation. We measure projected separations between SNe~Ia and their host centers, and find that SNe~Ia that explode beyond a projected 10 kpc have a $\rm 30\% \ to \ 50\%$ reduction of the dispersion in Hubble residuals across all bands -- making them a more uniform subset of SNe~Ia. Dust in host galaxies, peculiar velocities of nearby SN~Ia, or a combination of both may drive this result as the color excesses of SNe~Ia beyond 10 kpc are found to be generally lower than those interior, but there is also a diminishing trend of the dispersion as we exclude nearby events. We do not find that SN~Ia average luminosity varies significantly when they are grouped in various host morphological types. Host galaxy data from this work will be useful, in conjunction with future high-redshift samples, in constraining cosmological parameters., Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal

The binary fraction of unevolved massive stars is thought to be 70-100% but there are few observational constraints on the binary fraction of the evolved version of a subset of these stars, the red supergiants (RSGs). Here we identify a complete sample of RSGs in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using new spectroscopic observations and archival UV, IR and broadband optical photometry. We find 4090 RSGs with log L/Lo > 3.5 with 1820 of them having log L/Lo > 4, which we believe is our completeness limit. We additionally spectroscopically confirmed 38 new RSG+B star binaries in the LMC, bringing the total known up to 55. We then estimated the binary fraction using a k-nearest neighbors algorithm that classifies stars as single or binary based on photometry with a spectroscopic sample as a training set. We take into account observational biases such as line-of-sight stars and binaries in eclipse while also calculating model-dependent corrections for RSGs with companions that our observations were not designed to detect. Based on our data, we find an initial result of 13.5 +7.56/-6.67% for RSGs with O or B-type companions. Using the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) models to correct for unobserved systems, this corresponds to a total RSG binary fraction of 19.5 +7.6/-6.7%. This number is in broad agreement with what we would expect given an initial OB binary distribution of 70%, a predicted merger fraction of 20-30% and a binary interaction fraction of 40-50%., ApJ, accepted

Chen, P. et al., The CNIa0.02 project aims to collect a complete, nearby sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) light curves, and the SNe are volume-limited with host-galaxy redshifts z host < 0.02. The main scientific goal is to infer the distributions of key properties (e.g., the luminosity function) of local SNe Ia in a complete and unbiased fashion in order to study SN explosion physics. We spectroscopically classify any SN candidate detected by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) that reaches a peak brightness, We acknowledge SUPA2019A (PI: M.D. Stritzinger) via OPTICON. C.S.K., K.Z.S., and B.J.S. are supported by NSF grants AST-1515927, AST-1814440, and AST-1908570. M.D.S. acknowledges funding from the Villum Fonden (project numbers 13261 and 28021). M.D.S. is supported by a project grant (8021-00170B) from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. A.V.F.'s supernova group is grateful for financial assistance from the Christopher R. Redlich Fund, the TABASGO Foundation, and the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science (U.C. Berkeley). A major upgrade of the Kast spectrograph on the Shane 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory was made possible through generous gifts from William and Marina Kast as well as the Heising-Simons Foundation. Research at Lick Observatory is partially supported by a generous gift from Google. We thank the staffs of the various observatories at which data were obtained for their excellent assistance. J.L.P. is provided in part by FONDECYT through the grant 1191038 and by the Ministry of Economy, Development, and Tourism's Millennium Science Initiative through grant IC120009, awarded to The Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, MAS. M.F. acknowledges the support of a Royal Society—Science Foundation Ireland University Research Fellowship. B.J.S. is also supported by NSF grants AST-1920392 and AST-1911074. M.G. is supported by the Polish NCN MAESTRO grant 2014/14/A/ST9/00121. Polish participation in SALT is funded by grant no. MNiSW DIR/WK/2016/07. S.M.H. is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong province (No. JQ201702), and the Young Scholars Program of Shandong University (No. 20820162003). Support for T.W.-S.H. was provided by NASA through the NASA Hubble Fellowship grant No. HST-HF2-51458.001-A awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract NAS5-26555. We thank the Swift PI Brad Cenko, the Observation Duty Scientists, and the science planners for approving and executing our Swift/UVOT SNe Ia campaign.

We present a spectral analysis of four Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) WC-type Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars (BAT99-8, BAT99-9, BAT99-11, and BAT99-52) to shed light on two evolutionary questions surrounding massive stars. The first is: are WO-type WR stars more oxygen enriched than WC-type stars, indicating further chemical evolution, or are the strong high-excitation oxygen lines in WO-type stars an indication of higher temperatures. This study will act as a baseline for answering the question of where WO-type stars fall in WR evolution. Each star’s spectrum, extending from 1100 to 25000 Å, was modeled using cmfgen to determine the star’s physical properties such as luminosity, mass-loss rate, and chemical abundances. The oxygen abundance is a key evolutionary diagnostic, and with higher resolution data and an improved stellar atmosphere code, we found the oxygen abundance to be up to a factor of 5 lower than that of previous studies. The second evolutionary question revolves around the formation of WR stars: do they evolve by themselves or is a close companion star necessary for their formation? Using our derived physical parameters, we compared our results to the Geneva single-star evolutionary models and the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) binary evolutionary models. We found that both the Geneva solar-metallicity models and BPASS LMC-metallicity models are in agreement with the four WC-type stars, while the Geneva LMC-metallicity models are not. Therefore, these four WC4 stars could have been formed either via binary or single-star evolution.

We report new spectroscopic observations of the magnetic Of?p star HD 148937 obtained since 2015 that differ qualitatively from its extensive historical record of weak, periodic spectral variations. This remarkable behaviour represents clear evidence for an unprecedented change in the character of variability of the star. In this paper we describe the new spectral properties and compare them to the previous line profiles. Based on measurements of the radial velocities of the C iii/N iii} emission lines near 4640 \AA\ and the C iv absorption lines near 5800 \AA, we infer that HD 148937 is likely a high-mass, double-lined spectroscopic binary. Combining the spectroscopic orbit with an archival interferometric measurement of the apparent separation of the equal-brightness components, we tentatively conclude that HD 148937 consists of two O-type stars with masses of approximately 34 and $49~M_\odot$, orbiting in an eccentric ($e=0.75$), long-period ($P_{\rm orb}\sim 26$ y) orbit. We discuss the potential relationship of the binary system to the peculiar properties of HD 148937, and propose future observations to refine the orbital and stellar properties., Comment: 12 pages, accepted by MNRAS

Radiative transfer models of two transitional type Ia supernova (SNe Ia) have been produced using the abundance stratification technique. These two objects --designated SN 2007on and SN 2011iv-- both exploded in the same galaxy, NGC 1404, which allows for a direct comparison. SN 2007on synthesised 0.25 $M_{\odot}$ of $^{56}$Ni and was less luminous than SN 2011iv, which produced 0.31 $M_{\odot}$ of $^{56}$Ni. SN 2007on had a lower central density ($\rho_{c}$) and higher explosion energy ($E_{\rm kin}$ $\sim 1.3\pm$0.3$\times10^{51}$erg) than SN 2011iv, and it produced less nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) elements (0.06 $M_{\odot}$). Whereas, SN 2011iv had a larger $\rho_{c}$, which increased the electron capture rate in the lowest velocity regions, and produced 0.35 $M_{\odot}$ of stable NSE elements. SN 2011iv had an explosion energy of $E_{\rm kin}$ $\sim 0.9 \pm$0.2$\times10^{51}$erg. Both objects had an ejecta mass consistent with the Chandrasekhar mass (Ch-mass), and their observational properties are well described by predictions from delayed-detonation explosion models. Within this framework, comparison to the sub-luminous SN 1986G indicates SN 2011iv and SN 1986G have different transition densities ($\rho_{tr}$) but similar $\rho_{c}$. Whereas, SN 1986G and SN 2007on had a similar $\rho_{tr}$ but different $\rho_{c}$. Finally, we examine the colour-stretch parameter $s_{BV}$ vs. $L_{max}$ relation and determine that the bulk of SNe Ia (including the sub-luminous ones) are consistent with Ch-mass delayed-detonation explosions, where the main parameter driving the diversity is $\rho_{tr}$. We also find $\rho_{c}$ to be driving the second order scatter observed at the faint end of the luminosity-width relationship., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present a study of observed Type II supernova (SN II) colours using optical/near-infrared photometric data from the Carnegie Supernovae Project-I. We analyse four colours (B−V, u−g, g−r, and g−Y) and find that SN II colour curves can be described by two linear regimes during the photospheric phase. The first (s1,colour) is steeper and has a median duration of ∼ 40 days. The second, shallower slope (s2,colour) lasts until the end of the “plateau” (∼ 80 days). The two slopes correlate in the sense that steeper initial colour curves also imply steeper colour curves at later phases. As suggested by recent studies, SNe II form a continuous population of objects from the colour point of view as well. We investigate correlations between the observed colours and a range of photometric and spectroscopic parameters including the absolute magnitude, the V-band light-curve slopes, and metal-line strengths. We find that less luminous SNe II appear redder, a trend that we argue is not driven by uncorrected host-galaxy reddening. While there is significant dispersion, we find evidence that redder SNe II (mainly at early epochs) display stronger metal-line equivalent widths. Host-galaxy reddening does not appear to be a dominant parameter, neither driving observed trends nor dominating the dispersion in observed colours. Intrinsic SN II colours are most probably dominated by photospheric temperature differences, with progenitor metallicity possibly playing a minor role. Such temperature differences could be related to differences in progenitor radius, together with the presence or absence of circumstellar material close to the progenitor stars., Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata

11 hours after the detection of gravitational wave source GW170817 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and Virgo Interferometers, an associated optical transient SSS17a was discovered in the galaxy NGC 4993. While the gravitational wave data indicate GW170817 is consistent with the merger of two compact objects, the electromagnetic observations provide independent constraints of the nature of that system. Here we synthesize all optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SSS17a collected by the One-Meter Two-Hemisphere collaboration. We find that SSS17a is unlike other known transients. The source is best described by theoretical models of a kilonova consisting of radioactive elements produced by rapid neutron capture (the r-process). We find that SSS17a was the result of a binary neutron star merger, reinforcing the gravitational wave result., Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, accepted to Science

We report the serendipitous discovery of an object, UVQS J060819.93-715737.4, with a spectrum dominated by extremely intense, narrow C II emission lines. The spectrum is similar to those of the very rare, late-type [WC11] low-mass Wolf-Rayet stars. Despite the recognition of these stars as a distinct class decades ago, there remains barely a handful of Galactic members, all of which are also planetary-nebula central stars. Although no obvious surrounding nebulosity is present in J0608, [O II], [N II], and [S II] emission suggest the presence of an inconspicuous, low-excitation nebula. There is low-amplitude incoherent photometric variability on timescales of days to years, as well as numerous prominent P Cygni profiles, implying mass loss. There are indications of a binary companion. The star is located on the outskirts of the LMC, and the observed radial velocity (~250 km/s) and proper motion strongly suggest membership. If indeed an LMC member, this is the first extragalactic late [WC] star, and the first with an accurately determined luminosity, as the Galactic examples are too distant for precise parallax determinations. A high-quality, broad-coverage spectrum of the prototype of the late [WC] class, CPD -56 8032, is also presented. We discuss different excitation mechanisms capable of producing the great strength of the C II emission. Numerous autoionizing levels of C II are definitely populated by processes other than dielectronic recombination. Despite the spectacular emission spectra, observational selection makes objects such as these difficult to discover. Members of the [WC11] class may in fact be considerably more common than the handful of previously known late [WC] stars., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Research by D.J.S. is supported by NSF grants AST-1821967, AST-1821987, AST-1813708, AST-1813466, and AST-1908972, as well as by the Heising-Simons Foundation under grant #20201864. The CSP-II has been supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants AST-1008343, AST-1613426, AST-1613455, and AST-1613472, as well as by the Danish Agency for Science and Technology and Innovation through a Sapere Aude Level 2 grant. E.Y.H. and J.L. also acknowledge the support of the Florida Space Grant Consortium. This work was partially performed at the Aspen Center for Physics, which is supported by NSF grant PHY-1607611. Research by S.V. is supported by NSF grants AST1813176 and AST-2008108. L.G. was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 839090. This work has been partially supported by the Spanish grant PGC2018-095317-B-C21 within the European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER). M.S. is supported by generous grants from Villum FONDEN (13261, 28021) and by a project grant (8021-00170B) from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. A.V.F. is grateful for financial assistance from the TABASGO Foundation, the Christopher R. Redlich Fund, and the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science (U.C. Berkeley). Based on observations obtained at the international Gemini Observatory (GN-2015A-Q-8, GS-2015A-Q-5), a program of NSF's NOIRLab, which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. on behalf of the Gemini Observatory partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), National Research Council (Canada), Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion (Argentina), Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia, Inovacoes e Comunicacoes (Brazil), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Republic of Korea). This paper includes data gathered with the Nordic Optical Telescope (PI Stritzinger) at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. This work is based in part on observations from the Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph at the Keck II telescope. We are grateful to the staff at the Keck Observatory for their assistance, and we extend special thanks to those of Hawaiian ancestry on whose sacred mountain we are privileged to be guests. The W. M. Keck Observatory is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and NASA; it was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. We thank S. Bradley Cenko for assistance with the Keck spectral reductions, as well as Patrick Kelly, WeiKang Zheng, and John Mauerhan for their assistance with the observations. D.J.S. is a visiting Astronomer at the Infrared Telescope Facility, which is operated by the University of Hawaii under contract 80HQTR19D0030 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Based on data products from observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under programmes 188.D-3003 and 191.D-0935: PESSTO (the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects)., Unburned carbon is potentially a powerful probe of Type Ia supernova (SN) explosion mechanisms. We present comprehensive optical and near-infrared (NIR) data on the "transitional" Type Ia SN 2015bp. An early NIR spectrum (t=−9.9 days with respect to B-band maximum) displays a striking C I λ1.0693μm line at 11.9×103~km s−1, distinct from the prominent Mg II λ1.0927μm feature, which weakens toward maximum light. SN 2015bp also displays a clear C II λ6580A notch early (t=−10.9 days) at 13.2×103~km s−1, consistent with our NIR carbon detection. At MB=−18.46, SN 2015bp is less luminous than a normal SN Ia and, along with iPTF13ebh, is the second member of the transitional subclass to display prominent early-time NIR carbon absorption. We find it unlikely that the C I feature is misidentified He I λ1.0830μm because this feature grows weaker toward maximum light, while the helium line produced in some double-detonation models grows stronger at these times. Intrigued by these strong NIR carbon detections, but lacking NIR data for other SNe Ia, we investigated the incidence of optical carbon in the sample of nine transitional SNe Ia with early-time data (t≲−4 days). We find that four display C II λ6580A, while two others show tentative detections, in line with the SN Ia population as a whole. We conclude that at least ∼50% of transitional SNe Ia in our sample do not come from sub-Chandrasekhar mass explosions due to the clear presence of carbon in their NIR and optical spectra., National Science Foundation (NSF) AST-1821967 AST-1821987 AST-1813708 AST-1813466 AST-1908972 PHY-1607611 AST1813176 AST-2008108, Heising-Simons Foundation 20201864, National Science Foundation (NSF) AST-1008343 AST-1613426 AST-1613455 AST-1613472, Danish Agency for Science and Technology and Innovation, Florida Space Grant Consortium, European Commission 839090, Spanish grant within the European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER) PGC2018-095317-B-C21, Villum Foundation 13261 28021, Independent Research Fund Denmark 8021-00170B, TABASGO Foundation, Christopher R. Redlich Fund, Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science (U.C. Berkeley), International Gemini Observatory GN-2015A-Q-8 GS-2015A-Q-5, W.M. Keck Foundation, University of Hawaii 80HQTR19D0030, National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory 188.D-3003 191.D-0935: PESSTO

Context. The OWN Survey has detected several O-type stars with composite spectra whose individual components show very different line broadening. Some of these stars have been revealed as binary systems whose components are asynchronous. This fact may be related to the processes acting in these systems (e.g., angular-momentum transfer, tidal forces, etc.) or to the origin of the binaries themselves. Aims. We aim to determine the orbital and physical parameters of the massive star HD 96264A in order to confirm its binary nature and to constrain the evolutionary status of its stellar components. Methods. We computed the spectroscopic orbit of the system based on the radial velocity analysis of 37 high-resolution, high-S/N, multi-epoch optical spectra. We disentangled the composite spectrum and determined the physical properties of the individual stellar components using FASTWIND models incorporated to the IACOB-GBAT tool. We also computed a set of evolutionary models to estimate the age of the system and explore its tidal evolution. Results. HD 96264A is a binary system composed of an O9.2 IV primary and a B0 V(n) secondary, with minimum masses of 15.0 ± 0.5 M⊙ and 9.9 ± 0.4 M⊙, respectively, in a wide and eccentric orbit (P = 124.336 ± 0.008 d; e = 0.265 ± 0.005). The primary and secondary components have different projected rotational velocities (∼40 and ∼215 km s−1 respectively), and the physical properties derived through quantitative spectroscopic analyses include masses of ∼20.5 M⊙ and 16.8 M⊙, respectively. The evolutionary models indicate an approximate age of 4.5 Myr for both stars in the pair, corresponding to current masses and radii of 26.0 M⊙ and 10.8 R⊙ for the primary, and 17.9 M⊙ and 7.0 R⊙ for the secondary. Conclusions. The youth and wide orbit of the system indicate that the non-synchronous rotational nature of its components is a consequence of the stellar formation process rather than tidal evolution. This circumstance should be accounted for in theories of binary star formation.

We summarize the status and results of the OWN Survey, a high-resolution monitoring program of Southern Galactic O-and WN-Type stars, after twelve years of observing campaign., Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas

Despite their rarity, massive stars dominate the ecology of galaxies via their strong, radiatively-driven winds throughout their lives and as supernovae in their deaths. However, their evolution and subsequent impact on their environment can be significantly affected by the presence of a magnetic field. While recent studies indicate that about 7% of OB stars in the Milky Way host strong, stable, organised (fossil) magnetic fields at their surfaces, little is known about the fields of very massive stars, nor the magnetic properties of stars outside our Galaxy. We aim to continue searching for strong magnetic fields in a diverse set of massive and very massive stars (VMS) in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), and we evaluate the overall capability of FORS2 to usefully search for and detect stellar magnetic fields in extra-galactic environments. We have obtained FORS2 spectropolarimetry of a sample of 41 stars, which principally consist of spectral types B, O, Of/WN, WNh, and classical WR stars in the LMC and SMC. Four of our targets are Of?p stars; one of them was just recently discovered. Each spectrum was analysed to infer the longitudinal magnetic field. No magnetic fields were formally detected in our study, although Bayesian statistical considerations suggest that the Of?p star SMC159-2 is magnetic with a dipolar field of the order of 2.4 to 4.4kG. In addition, our first constraints of magnetic fields in VMS provide interesting insights into the formation of the most massive stars in the Universe., Comment: Accepted by A&A

We recently discovered a yellow supergiant (YSG) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with a heliocentric radial velocity of ~300 km/s which is much larger than expected for a star in its location in the SMC. This is the first runaway YSG ever discovered and only the second evolved runaway star discovered in a different galaxy than the Milky Way. We classify the star as G5-8I, and use de-reddened broad-band colors with model atmospheres to determine an effective temperature of 4700+/-250K, consistent with what is expected from its spectral type. The star's luminosity is then L/Lo ~ 4.2+/-0.1, consistent with it being a ~30Myr 9Mo star according to the Geneva evolution models. The star is currently located in the outer portion of the SMC's body, but if the star's transverse peculiar velocity is similar to its peculiar radial velocity, in 10Myr the star would have moved 1.6 degrees across the disk of the SMC, and could easily have been born in one of the SMC's star-forming regions. Based on its large radial velocity, we suggest it originated in a binary system where the primary exploded as a supernovae thus flinging the runaway star out into space. Such stars may provide an important mechanism for the dispersal of heavier elements in galaxies given the large percentage of massive stars that are runaways. In the future we hope to look into additional evolved runaway stars that were discovered as part of our other past surveys., Comment: accepted by AJ

Motivated by the advantages of observing at near-IR wavelengths, we investigate Type II supernovae (SNe II) as distance indicators at those wavelengths through the Photospheric Magnitude Method (PMM). For the analysis, we use $BVIJH$ photometry and optical spectroscopy of 24 SNe II during the photospheric phase. To correct photometry for extinction and redshift effects, we compute total-to-selective broadband extinction ratios and $K$-corrections up to $z=0.032$. To estimate host galaxy colour excesses, we use the colour-colour curve method with the $V\!-\!I$ versus $B\!-\!V$ as colour combination. We calibrate the PMM using four SNe II in galaxies having Tip of the Red Giant Branch distances. Among our 24 SNe II, nine are at $cz>2000$ km s$^{-1}$, which we use to construct Hubble diagrams (HDs). To further explore the PMM distance precision, we include into HDs the four SNe used for calibration and other two in galaxies with Cepheid and SN Ia distances. With a set of 15 SNe II we obtain a HD rms of 0.13 mag for the $J$-band, which compares to the rms of 0.15-0.26 mag for optical bands. This reflects the benefits of measuring PMM distances with near-IR instead of optical photometry. With the evidence we have, we can set the PMM distance precision with $J$-band below 10 per cent with a confidence level of 99 per cent., 24 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication to MNRAS

We have used deep Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-IV) images ($V \lesssim 23$ mag, $I \lesssim 23$ mag at $3\sigma$) of the Magellanic System, encompassing an area of $\sim$670 deg$^2$, to perform a search for high-$z$ quasar candidates. We combined the optical OGLE data with the mid-IR Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) 3.4/4.6/12 $\mu$m data, and devised a multi-color selection procedure. We have identified 33 promising sources and then spectroscopically observed the two most variable ones. We report the discovery of two high-$z$ quasars, OGLE J015531-752807 at a redshift $z=5.09$ and OGLE J005907-645016 at a redshift of $z=4.98$. The variability amplitude of both quasars at the rest-frame wavelength $\sim$1300\AA\ is much larger ($\sim$0.4 mag) than other quasars ($, Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, submitted to AAS Journals, comments welcome

The SUperluminous Supernova Host galaxIES survey aims to provide strong new constraints on the progenitors of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) by understanding the relationship to their host galaxies. We present the photometric properties of 53 H-poor and 16 H-rich SLSN host galaxies out to z ~ 4. We model their spectral energy distributions to derive physical properties, which we compare with other galaxy populations. At low redshift, H-poor SLSNe are preferentially found in very blue, low-mass galaxies with high average specific star formation rates. As redshift increases, the host population follows the general evolution of star-forming galaxies towards more luminous galaxies. After accounting for secular evolution, we find evidence for differential evolution in galaxy mass, but not in the B band and the farultraviolet luminosity (3σ confidence). Most remarkable is the scarcity of hosts with stellar masses above 10M for both classes of SLSNe. In case of H-poor SLSNe, we attribute this to a stifled production efficiency above ~0.4 solar metallicity. However, we argue that, in addition to lowmetallicity, a short-lived stellar population is also required to regulate the SLSN production. H-rich SLSNe are found in a very diverse population of star-forming galaxies. Still, the scarcity of massive hosts suggests a stifled production efficiency above ~0.8 solar metallicity. The large dispersion of the H-rich SLSNe host properties is in stark contrast to those of gamma-ray burst, regular core-collapse SN, and H-poor SLSNe host galaxies. We propose that multiple progenitor channels give rise to this subclass.© 2017 The Authors., SS acknowledges support from the CONICYT-Chile FONDECYT Postdoctorado fellowship 3140534 and the Feinberg Graduate School. SS and FEB acknowledge support from Basal-CATA PFB-06/2007, and Project IC120009 'Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS)' of Iniciativa Cientifica Milenio del Ministerio de Economia, Fomento y Turismo. TK acknowledges support through the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award to P. Schady from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. AdUP and CT acknowledge support from the Ramon y Cajal fellowships and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through project AyA2014-58381-P. RA acknowledges support from the European Research Council Advanced Grant c 'QUENCH'.r This paper is based partly on observations made with: ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory; the 6.5-m Magellan Telescopes located at the Las Campanas Observatory, Chile; the GTC), installed in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, in the island of La Palma; the CAHA at Calar Alto, Spain, operated jointly by the Max-Planck Institut fur Astronomie and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC); the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated by the Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain, of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias; and Karl G. JVLA, New Mexico, United States of America. This research draws upon data provided by Cypriano as distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observato (NOAO) Science Archive. NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. This publication makes use of data products from the WISE, which is a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) is a NASA Small Explorer, launched in 2003 April. We gratefully acknowledge NASA's support for construction, operation, and science analysis for the GALEX mission, developed in cooperation with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales of France and the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. Based in part on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, Hawaii, United States of America, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The NRAO) is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. Part of the funding for GROND was generously granted from the Leibniz-Prize to Prof G. Hasinger (DFG grant HA 1850/28-1).r Funding for SDSS-III has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The SDSS-III web site is http://www.sdss3.org/. SDSS-III is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the Participating Institutions of the SDSS-III Collaboration, including the University of Arizona, the Brazilian Participation Group, Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Florida, the French Participation Group, the German Participation Group, Harvard University, the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, the Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group, Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, New Mexico State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Portsmouth, Princeton University, the Spanish Participation Group, University of Tokyo, University of Utah, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, University of Washington, and Yale University. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/IRFU, at CFHT, which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Science de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France and the University of Hawaii. This work is partly based on data products produced at Terapix available at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the CFHTLS, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS.r This project used public archival data obtained withthe Dark Energy Camera by the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the DOE and NSF (USA), MISE (Spain), STFC (UK), HEFCE (UK), NCSA (UIUC), KICP (U. Chicago), CCAPP (Ohio State), MIFPA (Texas A&M), CNPQ, FAPERJ, FINEP (Brazil), MINECO (Spain), DFG (Germany), and the collaborating institutions in the DES, which are Argonne Lab, UC Santa Cruz, University of Cambridge, CIEMAT-Madrid, University of Chicago, University College London, DES-Brazil Consortium, University of Edinburgh, ETH Zurich, Fermilab, University of Illinois, ICE (IEEC-CSIC), IFAE Barcelona, Lawrence Berkeley Lab, LMU Munchen and the associated Excellence Cluster Universe, University of Michigan, NOAO, University of Nottingham, Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Portsmouth, SLAC National Lab, Stanford University, University of Sussex, and Texas A&M University.r This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

We present a detailed spectroscopic study of Herschel 36 A (H36A), the main stellar component of the massive multiple system Herschel 36 in the Hourglass Nebula, based on high-resolution optical spectra obtained along an 11 years span. The three stellar components present in the spectrum of H36A are separated by means of a spectral disentangling technique. Individual spectral classifications are improved, and high precision orbital solutions for the inner and the outer orbits are calculated. H36A is confirmed to be a hierarchical triple system composed of a close massive binary (Ab1+Ab2, O9.5 V+B0.7 V) in wide orbit around a third O-type star (Aa, O7.5 Vz). The inner-pair orbit is characterized by a period of 1.54157 +/- 0.00006 days, and semi-amplitudes of 181.2 +/- 0.7 and 295.4 +/- 1.7 km/s. The outer orbit has a period of 492.81 +/- 0.69 days, and semi-amplitudes of 62.0 +/- 0.6 and 42.4 +/- 0.8 km/s. Inner and outer orbits are not coplanar, having a relative inclination of at least 20 degrees. Dynamical minimum masses of 20.6 +/- 0.8 Msun, 18.7 +/- 1.1 Msun, and 11.5 +/- 1.1 Msun are derived for the Aa, Ab1, and Ab2 components, respectively, in reasonable agreement with the theoretical calibrations., Comment: Paper accepted in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We examine the early phase intrinsic $(B-V)_{0}$ color evolution of a dozen Type~Ia supernovae discovered within three days of the inferred time of first light ($t_{first}$) and have $(B-V)_0$ color information beginning within 5 days of $t_{first}$. The sample indicates there are two distinct early populations. The first is a population exhibiting blue colors that slowlybevolve, and the second population exhibits red colors and evolves more rapidly. We find that the early-blue events are all 1991T/1999aa-like with more luminous slower declining light curves than those exhibiting early-red colors. Placing the first sample on the Branch diagram (i.e., ratio of \ion{Si}{2} $\lambda\lambda$5972, 6355 pseudo-Equivalent widths) indicates all blue objects are of the Branch Shallow Silicon (SS) spectral type, while all early-red events except for the 2000cx-like SN~2012fr are of the Branch Core-Normal (CN) or CooL (CL) type. A number of potential processes contributing to the early emission are explored, and we find that, in general, the viewing-angle dependance inherent in the companion collision model is inconsistent with all SS objects with early-time observations being blue and exhibiting an excess. We caution that great care must be taken when interpreting early-phase light curves as there may be a variety of physical processes that are possibly at play and significant theoretical work remains to be done., Comment: Accepted to ApJ Letters. Replaced with updated manuscript including responses to referee's comments

We discovered Swope Supernova Survey 2017a (SSS17a) in the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) localization volume of GW170817, the first detected binary neutron star (BNS) merger, only 10.9 hours after the trigger. No object was present at the location of SSS17a only a few days earlier, providing a qualitative spatial and temporal association with GW170817. Here we quantify this association, finding that SSS17a is almost certainly the counterpart of GW170817, with the chance of a coincidence being < 9 x 10^-6 (90% confidence). We arrive at this conclusion by comparing the optical properties of SSS17a to other known astrophysical transients, finding that SSS17a fades and cools faster than any other observed transient. For instance, SSS17a fades >5 mag in g within 7 days of our first data point while all other known transients of similar luminosity fade by, 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ Letters

Massive O-type stars play a dominant role in our Universe, but many of their properties remain poorly constrained. In the last decade magnetic fields have been detected in all Galactic members of the distinctive Of?p class, opening the door to a better knowledge of all O-type stars. With the aim of extending the study of magnetic massive stars to nearby galaxies, to better understand the role of metallicity in the formation of their magnetic fields and magnetospheres, and to broaden our knowledge of the role of magnetic fields in massive star evolution, we have carried out spectropolarimetry of five extra-Galactic Of?p stars, as well as a couple of dozen neighbouring stars. We have been able to measure magnetic fields with typical error bars from 0.2 to 1.0 kG, depending on the apparent magnitude and on weather conditions. No magnetic field has been firmly detected in any of our measurements, but we have been able to estimate upper limits to the field values of our target stars. One of our targets, 2dFS 936, exhibited an unexpected strengthening of emission lines. We confirm the unusual behaviour of BI 57, which exhibits a 787 d period with two photometric peaks and one spectroscopic maximum. The observed strengthening of the emission lines of 2dFS 936, and the lack of detection of a strong magnetic field in a star with such strong emission lines is at odd with expectations. Together with the unusual periodic behaviour of BI 57, it represents a challenge for the current models of Of?p stars. The limited precision that we obtained in our field measurements (in most cases as a consequence of poor weather) has led to field-strength upper limits that are substantially larger than those typically measured in Galactic magnetic O stars. Further higher precision observations and monitoring are clearly required., Comment: Accepted by A&A

We study optical light curve(LC) relations of type Ia supernovae(SNe~Ia) for their use in cosmology using high-quality photometry published by the Carnegie-Supernovae-Project (CSP-I). We revisit the classical luminosity-decline-rate ($\Delta m_{15}$) relation and the Lira-relation, as well as investigate the time evolution of the ($B-V$) color and $B(B-V)$, which serves as the basis of the color-stretch relation and Color-MAGnitude-Intercept-Calibrations(CMAGIC). Our analysis is based on explosion and radiation transport simulations for spherically-symmetric delayed-detonation models(DDT) producing normal-bright and subluminous SNe~Ia. Empirical LC-relations can be understood as having the same physical underpinnings: i.e. the opacities, ionization balances in the photosphere, and radioactive energy deposition changing with time from below to above the photosphere. Some 3-4 weeks past maximum, the photosphere recedes to ${}^{56}$Ni-rich layers of similar density structure, leading to a similar color evolution. An important secondary parameter is the central density $\rho_c$ of the WD because at higher densities more electron capture elements are produced at the expense of ${}^{56}$Ni production. This results in a $\Delta m_{15}$ spread of 0.1 mag for normal-bright and 0.7 mag in sub-luminous SNe~Ia and $\approx0.2$ mag in the Lira-relation. We show why color-magnitude diagrams emphasize the transition between physical regimes, and allow to construct templates depend mostly on $\Delta m_{15}$ with little dispersion in both the CSP-I sample and our DDT-models. This allows to separate intrinsic SN~Ia variations from the interstellar reddening characterized by $E(B-V)$ and $R_{B}$. Mixing of different explosion scenarios causes a wide spread in empirical relations which may suggest one dominant scenario., Comment: 49 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables accepted (Original Version: 03/29/2017; revised: 6/30/2017; accepted: 8/4/2017)

We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS—SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between −11 and −14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]–[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from 7 mag yr−1. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.

A detailed study of the rare nearby quadruple system with a 3-tier hierarchy is presented, contributing to the still scarce data on such multiples. We c ompute the first combined spec- troscopic and interferometric orbit of HD 12889 with a period of 2.58 yr and eccentricity 0.77. This refers to the inner pair Aa,Ab in the quadruple system ADS 1652 which also con- tains the visual binary A,B with a known orbit of »200 yr period and another companion, C (HD 12873), at a projected distance of 2500 AU from A. Photometry of all components is provided. The multiple system is located at a distance of 44 pc and it is composed of main- sequence dwarfs with estimated masses of 0.74, 0.72, 0.57, and 0.78 solar masses for Aa, Ab, B and C, respectively. The orbits of Aa,Ab and A,B are likely co-planar.

Thorne-Zytkow objects (TZOs) are a theoretical class of star in which a compact neutron star is surrounded by a large, diffuse envelope. Supergiant TZOs are predicted to be almost identical in appearance to red supergiants (RSGs). The best features that can be used at present to distinguish TZOs from the general RSG population are the unusually strong heavy-element and Li lines present in their spectra, products of the star's fully convective envelope linking the photosphere with the extraordinarily hot burning region in the vicinity of the neutron star core. Here we present our discovery of a TZO candidate in the Small Magellanic Cloud. It is the first star to display the distinctive chemical profile of anomalous element enhancements thought to be unique to TZOs. The positive detection of a TZO will provide the first direct evidence for a completely new model of stellar interiors, a theoretically predicted fate for massive binary systems, and never-before-seen nucleosynthesis processes that would offer a new channel for Li and heavy-element production in our universe., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

Our new survey for Wolf-Rayet stars in the Magellanic Clouds is only 15% complete but has already found 9 new WRs in the LMC. This suggests that the total WR population in the LMC may be underestimated by 10-40%. Eight of the nine are WNs, demonstrating that the "observed" WC to WN ratio is too large, and is biased towards WC stars. The ninth is another rare WO star, the second we have found in the LMC in the past two years. Five (and possibly six) of the 8 WNs are of a new class of WRs, which pose a significant challenge to our understanding. Naively we would classify these stars as "WN3+O3V," but there are several reasons why such a pairing is unlikely, not the least of which is that the absolute visual magnitudes of these stars are faint, with M_V~ -2.3 to -3.1. We have performed a preliminary analysis with CMFGEN, and we find that (despite the faint visual magnitudes) the bolometric luminosities of these stars are normal for early-type WNs. Our fitting suggests that these stars are evolved, with significantly enriched N and He. Their effective temperatures are also normal for early-type WNs. What is unusual about these stars is that they have a surprisingly small mass-loss rate compared to other early-type WNs. How these stars got to be the way they are (single star evolution? binary evolution?) remains an open question. For now, we are designating this class as WN3/O3, in analogy to the late-type WN "slash" stars., To appear in IAU Symposium 307, New Windows on Massive Stars: Asteroseismology, Interferometry, and Spectropolarimetry, ed. G. Meynet, C. Georgy, J. H. Groh, & Ph. Stee