Multiple Peaks and a Long Precursor in the Type IIn Supernova 2021qqp: An Energetic Explosion in a Complex Circumstellar Environment

We present optical photometry and spectroscopy of the Type IIn supernova (SN) 2021qqp. Its unusual light curve is marked by a long precursor for ≈300 days, a rapid increase in brightness for ≈60 days, and then a sharp increase of ≈1.6 mag in only a few days to a first peak of M _r ≈ −19.5 mag. The light curve then declines rapidly until it rebrightens to a second distinct peak of M _r ≈ −17.3 mag centered at ≈335 days after the first peak. The spectra are dominated by Balmer lines with a complex morphology, including a narrow component with a width of ≈1300 km s ^−1 (first peak) and ≈2500 km s ^−1 (second peak) that we associate with the circumstellar medium (CSM) and a P Cygni component with an absorption velocity of ≈8500 km s ^−1 (first peak) and ≈5600 km s ^−1 (second peak) that we associate with the SN–CSM interaction shell. Using the luminosity and velocity evolution, we construct a flexible analytical model, finding two significant mass-loss episodes with peak mass loss rates of ≈10 and ≈5 M _⊙ yr ^−1 about 0.8 and 2 yr before explosion, respectively, with a total CSM mass of ≈2–4 M _⊙ . We show that the most recent mass-loss episode could explain the precursor for the year preceding the explosion. The SN ejecta mass is constrained to be ≈5–30 M _⊙ for an explosion energy of ≈(3–10) × 10 ^51 erg. We discuss eruptive massive stars (luminous blue variable, pulsational pair instability) and an extreme stellar merger with a compact object as possible progenitor channels.