SpectAcLE: An Improved Method for Modeling Light Echo Spectra

Roee Partoush; Armin Rest; Jacob E. Jencson; Dovi Poznanski; Ryan J. Foley; Charles D. Kilpatrick; Jennifer E. Andrews; Rodrigo Angulo; Carles Badenes; Federica B. Bianco; Alexei V. Filippenko; Ryan Ridden-Harper; Xiaolong Li; Steve Margheim; Thomas Matheson; Knut A. G. Olsen; Matthew R. Siebert; Nathan Smith; Douglas L. Welch; A. Zenteno

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad4886

The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2024)

SpectAcLE: An Improved Method for Modeling Light Echo Spectra

Roee Partoush,
Armin Rest,
Jacob E. Jencson,
Dovi Poznanski,
Ryan J. Foley,
Charles D. Kilpatrick,
Jennifer E. Andrews,
Rodrigo Angulo,
Carles Badenes,
Federica B. Bianco,
Alexei V. Filippenko,
Ryan Ridden-Harper,
Xiaolong Li,
Steve Margheim,
Thomas Matheson,
Knut A. G. Olsen,
Matthew R. Siebert,
Nathan Smith,
Douglas L. Welch,
A. Zenteno

Affiliations

Roee Partoush: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
Armin Rest: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Jacob E. Jencson: Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Dovi Poznanski: School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel; Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Ryan J. Foley: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
Charles D. Kilpatrick: ORCiD; Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston , IL 60208, USA
Jennifer E. Andrews: ORCiD; Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Rodrigo Angulo: Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Carles Badenes: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
Federica B. Bianco: ORCiD; University of Delaware , Department of Physics and Astronomy, 217 Sharp Lab, Newark, DE 19716, USA; University of Delaware , Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, 184 Academy Street, Newark, DE 19716, USA; University of Delaware , Data Science Institute, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Vera C. Rubin Observatory , Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Alexei V. Filippenko: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
Ryan Ridden-Harper: ORCiD; School of Physical and Chemical Sciences—Te Kura Mtu, University of Canterbury , Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa, New Zealand
Xiaolong Li: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Steve Margheim: Vera. C. Rubin Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
Thomas Matheson: ORCiD; NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
Knut A. G. Olsen: ORCiD; NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
Matthew R. Siebert: Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Nathan Smith: ORCiD; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Douglas L. Welch: Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
A. Zenteno: ORCiD; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory/NSFs NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad4886
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 970, no. 2
p. 119

Abstract

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Light echoes give us a unique perspective on the nature of supernovae and nonterminal stellar explosions. Spectroscopy of light echoes can reveal details on the kinematics of the ejecta, probe asymmetry, and reveal details of ejecta interaction with circumstellar matter, thus expanding our understanding of these transient events. However, the spectral features arise from a complex interplay between the source photons, the reflecting dust geometry, and the instrumental setup and observing conditions. In this work, we present an improved method for modeling these effects in light echo spectra, one that relaxes the simplifying assumption of a light-curve-weighted sum, and instead estimates the true relative contribution of each phase of a transient event to the observed spectrum. We discuss our logic, the gains we obtain over light echo analysis methods used in the past, and prospects for further improvements. Lastly, we show how the new method improves our analysis of echoes from Tycho’s supernova (SN 1572) as an example.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

ISSN: 1538-4357 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X

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