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At least 793 records · Page 44

Spatially resolved gas and stellar kinematics in compact starburst galaxies

The kinematics of galaxies provide valuable insights into their physics and assembly history. Kinematics are governed not only by the gravitational potential, but also by merger events and stellar feedback processes such as stellar winds and supernova explosions. We aim to identify what governs the kinematics in a sample of SDSS-selected nearby starburst galaxies, by obtaining spatially resolved measurements of the gas and stellar kinematics. We obtained near-infrared integral-field K-band spectroscopy with VLT/SINFONI for 15 compact starburst galaxies. We derived the integrated as well as spatially resolved stellar and gas kinematics. The stellar kinematics were derived from the CO absorption bands, and Paα and Brγ emission lines were used for the gas kinematics. Based on the integrated spectra, we find that the majority of galaxies have gas and stellar velocity dispersion that are comparable. A spatially resolved comparison shows that the six galaxies that deviate show evidence for a bulge or stellar feedback. Two galaxies are identified as mergers based on their double-peaked emission lines. In our sample, we find a negative correlation between the ratio of the rotational velocity over the velocity dispersion (v rot /σ) and the star formation rate surface density. We propose a scenario where the global kinematics of the galaxies are determined by gravitational instabilities that affect both the stars and gas. This process could be driven by mergers or accretion events. Effects of stellar feedback on the ionised gas are more localised and detected only in the spatially resolved analysis. The mass derived from the velocity dispersion provides a reliable mass even if the galaxy cannot be spatially resolved. The technique used in this paper is applicable to galaxies at low and high redshift with the next generation of infrared-focussed telescopes (JWST and ELT).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the physical size of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 7089 (M2)

ABSTRACT We study the outer regions of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 7089 based on new Dark Energy Camera observations. The resulting background-cleaned stellar density profile reveals the existence of an extended envelope. We confirm previous results that cluster stars are found out up to ∼1° from the cluster’s centre, which is nearly three times the value of the most robust tidal radii estimations. We also used results from direct N-body simulations in order to compare with the observations. We found a fairly good agreement between the observed and numerically generated stellar density profiles. Because of the existence of gaps and substructures along globular cluster tidal tails, we closely examined the structure of the outer cluster region beyond the Jacobi radius. We extended the analysis to a sample of 35 globular clusters, 20 of them with observed tidal tails. We found that if the stellar density profile follows a power law ∝ r−α, the α slope correlates with the globular cluster present mass, in the sense that, the more massive the globular cluster, the smaller the α value. This trend is not found in globular clusters without observed tidal tails. The origin of such a phenomenon could be related, among other reasons, to the proposed so-called potential escapers or to the formation of globular clusters within dark matter minihaloes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Two first-order phase transitions in hybrid compact stars: Higher-order multiplet stars, reaction modes, and intermediate conversion speeds

We study compact stars with hybrid equations of state consisting of a nuclear outer region and two nested quark phases, each separated from the lower density phase by a strong first-order phase transition. The stability of these models is determined by calculating their radial oscillation modes with different conversion rates between adjacent phases and hence junction conditions for the modes at the phase separation interface between them. In the case when the timescale of transition is faster than the period of oscillations, we recover the traditional stability criterion implying that ∂M/∂ρ c > 0 on the stable branch(es), where M is the mass and ρ c is the central density. In the opposite limit of slow conversion, we find stable stellar multiplets beyond triplets consisting of stars that are stable by the usual criterion plus slow-conversion (denoted by s) hybrid stars with ∂M/∂ρ c < 0 that are stabilized due to an alternative junction condition on the fluid displacement field at the interface reflecting the slow rate of conversion. We also study the properties of the reaction mode, the radial mode that only exists for stars with rapid (abbreviated by r) phase transitions, in stars with either two rapid phase transitions or alternating rapid and slow phase transitions for the first time. Here, the implications of alternative junction conditions are also examined, with these conditions generally being found to provide stability properties similar to those for a slow conversion rate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Primordial Black Hole Dark Matter Simulations Using PopSyCLE

Abstract Primordial black holes (PBHs), theorized to have originated in the early Universe, are speculated to be a viable form of dark matter. If they exist, they should be detectable through photometric and astrometric signals resulting from gravitational microlensing of stars in the Milky Way. Population Synthesis for Compact-object Lensing Events, or PopSyCLE , is a simulation code that enables users to simulate microlensing surveys, and is the first of its kind to include both photometric and astrometric microlensing effects, which are important for potential PBH detection and characterization. To estimate the number of observable PBH microlensing events, we modify PopSyCLE to include a dark matter halo consisting of PBHs. We detail our PBH population model, and demonstrate our PopSyCLE + PBH results through simulations of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment-IV (OGLE-IV) and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) microlensing surveys. We provide a proof-of-concept analysis for adding PBHs into PopSyCLE , and thus include many simplifying assumptions, such as f DM , the fraction of dark matter composed of PBHs, and m ¯ PBH , mean PBH mass. Assuming m ¯ PBH = 30 M ⊙ , we find ∼3.6 f DM times as many PBH microlensing events than stellar evolved black hole events, a PBH average peak Einstein crossing time of ∼91.5 days, estimate on order of 10 2 f DM PBH events within the 8 yr OGLE-IV results, and estimate Roman to detect ∼1000 f DM PBH microlensing events throughout its planned microlensing survey.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dynamics in a stellar convective layer and at its boundary: Comparison of five 3D hydrodynamics codes

Our ability to predict the structure and evolution of stars is in part limited by complex, 3D hydrodynamic processes such as convective boundary mixing. Hydrodynamic simulations help us understand the dynamics of stellar convection and convective boundaries. However, the codes used to compute such simulations are usually tested on extremely simple problems and the reliability and reproducibility of their predictions for turbulent flows is unclear. We define a test problem involving turbulent convection in a plane-parallel box, which leads to mass entrainment from, and internal-wave generation in, a stably stratified layer. We compare the outputs from the codes FLASH, MUSIC, PPMSTAR, PROMPI, and SLH, which have been widely employed to study hydrodynamic problems in stellar interiors. The convection is dominated by the largest scales that fit into the simulation box. All time-averaged profiles of velocity components, fluctuation amplitudes, and fluxes of enthalpy and kinetic energy are within ≲3σ of the mean of all simulations on a given grid (128 3 and 256 3 grid cells), where σ describes the statistical variation due to the flow’s time dependence. They also agree well with a 512 3 reference run. The 128 3 and 256 3 simulations agree within 9% and 4%, respectively, on the total mass entrained into the convective layer. The entrainment rate appears to be set by the amount of energy that can be converted to work in our setup and details of the small-scale flows in the boundary layer seem to be largely irrelevant. Our results lend credence to hydrodynamic simulations of flows in stellar interiors. We provide in electronic form all outputs of our simulations as well as all information needed to reproduce or extend our study.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Effects of charge exchange on the evaporative wind of HD 209458b

ABSTRACT The role of charge exchange in shaping exoplanet photoevaporation remains a topic of contention. Exchange of electrons between stellar wind protons from the exoplanet’s host star and neutral hydrogen from the planet’s wind has been proposed as a mechanism to create ‘energetic neutral atoms’ (ENAs), which could explain the high absorption line velocities observed in systems where mass-loss is occurring. In this paper, we present results from three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the mass-loss of a planet similar to HD 209458b. We self-consistently launch a planetary wind by calculating the ionization and heating resulting from incident high-energy radiation, inject a stellar wind into the simulation, and allow electron exchange between the stellar and planetary winds. We predict the potential production of ENAs by the wind–wind interaction analytically, and then present the results of our simulations, which confirm the analytic limits. Within the limits of our hydrodynamic simulation, we find that charge exchange with the stellar wind properties examined here is unable to explain the absorption observed at high Doppler velocities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Signature of a Massive Rotating Metal-poor Star Imprinted in the Phoenix Stellar Stream

The Phoenix stellar stream has a low intrinsic dispersion in velocity and metallicity that implies the progenitor was probably a low-mass globular cluster. In this work we use Magellan/Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle (MIKE) high-dispersion spectroscopy of eight Phoenix stream red giants to confirm this scenario. In particular, we find negligible intrinsic scatter in metallicity ($σ$([FE II/H]) = ${0.04}_{-0.03}^{+0.11}$) and a large peak-to-peak range in [Na/Fe] and [Al/Fe] abundance ratios, consistent with the light element abundance patterns seen in the most metal-poor globular clusters. However, unlike any other globular cluster, we also find an intrinsic spread in [Sr II/Fe] spanning ~1 dex, while [Ba II/Fe] shows nearly no intrinsic spread ($σ$([Ba II/H]) = ${0.03}_{-0.02}^{+0.10}$). This abundance signature is best interpreted as slow-neutron-capture element production from a massive fast-rotating metal-poor star (15–20 $M$ ⊙ , $v$ ini /$v$ crit = 0.4, [Fe/H] = -3.8). The low inferred cluster mass suggests the system would have been unable to retain supernovae ejecta, implying that any massive fast-rotating metal-poor star that enriched the interstellar medium must have formed and evolved before the globular cluster formed. Furthermore, neutron-capture element production from asymptotic giant branch stars or magneto-rotational instabilities in core-collapse supernovae provide poor fits to the observations. We also report one Phoenix stream star to be a lithium-rich giant ($A$(Li) = 3.1 ± 0.1). At [Fe/H ] = -2.93; it is among the most metal-poor lithium-rich giants known.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Estimate of the Mass and Radial Profile of the Orphan–Chenab Stream's Dwarf-galaxy Progenitor Using MilkyWay@home

We fit the mass and radial profile of the Orphan–Chenab Stream's (OCS) dwarf-galaxy progenitor by using turnoff stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Dark Energy Camera to constrain N-body simulations of the OCS progenitor falling into the Milky Way on the 1.5 PetaFLOPS MilkyWay@home distributed supercomputer. We infer the internal structure of the OCS's progenitor under the assumption that it was a spherically symmetric dwarf galaxy composed of a stellar system embedded in an extended dark matter halo. We optimize the evolution time, the baryonic and dark matter scale radii, and the baryonic and dark matter masses of the progenitor using a differential evolution algorithm. The likelihood score for each set of parameters is determined by comparing the simulated tidal stream to the angular distribution of OCS stars observed in the sky. We fit the total mass of the OCS's progenitor to (2.0 ± 0.3) × 10 7 M ⊙ with a mass-to-light ratio of γ = 73.5 ± 10.6 and (1.1 ± 0.2) × 10 6 M ⊙ within 300 pc of its center. Within the progenitor's half-light radius, we estimate a total mass of (4.0 ± 1.0) × 10 5 M ⊙ . We also fit the current sky position of the progenitor's remnant to be (α, δ) = ((166.0 ± 0.9)°, (–11.1 ± 2.5)°) and show that it is gravitationally unbound at the present time. The measured progenitor mass is on the low end of previous measurements and, if confirmed, lowers the mass range of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies. Our optimization assumes a fixed Milky Way potential, OCS orbit, and radial profile for the progenitor, ignoring the impact of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dynamics of dark matter misalignment through the Higgs portal

A light singlet scalar field feebly coupled through the super-renormalizable Higgs portal provides a minimal and well-motivated realization of ultra-light bosonic dark matter. We study the cosmological production of dark matter in this model by elucidating the dynamics of two sources of scalar field misalignment generated during the radiation era. For large scalar masses (above $\mathcal{O}$ (10 −3 eV)), dark matter is produced through thermal misalignment, by which the scalar field is driven towards large field values as a result of the finite-temperature effective potential. The dominance of thermal misalignment in this mass range leads to a sharp relic abundance prediction which is, to a significant extent, insensitive to the initial conditions of the scalar field. On the other hand, for low mass scalars (below $\mathcal{O}$ (10 −5 eV)), dark matter is produced via VEV misalignment, which is caused by the induced scalar field vacuum expectation value triggered by the electroweak phase transition. We show that the relic abundance in this low mass range is sensitive to the scalar field initial conditions. In the intermediate mass range, the relic abundance is a consequence of a competition between thermal misalignment and VEV misalignment, which can potentially lead to novel forced resonance effects which cause a recurring enhancement and suppression in the late time oscillation amplitude as a function of the scalar mass. We compare our relic abundance predictions with constraints and projections from equivalence principle and inverse square law tests, stellar cooling, resonant molecular absorption, and observations of extra-galactic background light and diffuse X-ray backgrounds. New experimental ideas are needed to probe most of the cosmologically motivated regions of parameter space.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

On the Chemical Abundance of HR 8799 and the Planet c

Comparing chemical abundances of a planet and the host star reveals the origin and formation pathway of the planet. Stellar abundance is measured with high-resolution spectroscopy. Planet abundance, on the other hand, is usually inferred from low-resolution data. For directly imaged exoplanets, the data are available from a slew of high-contrast imaging/spectroscopy instruments. Here, we study the chemical abundance of HR 8799 and its planet c. We measure stellar abundance using LBT/PEPSI (R = 120,000) and archival HARPS data: stellar [C/H], [O/H], and C/O are 0.11 ± 0.12, 0.12 ± 0.14, and 0.54{sub −0.09}{sup +0.12}, all consistent with solar values. We conduct atmospheric retrieval using newly obtained Subaru/CHARIS data together with archival Gemini/GPI and Keck/OSIRIS data. We model the planet spectrum with petitRADTRANS and conduct retrieval using PyMultiNest. Retrieved planetary abundance can vary by ∼0.5 dex, from sub-stellar to stellar C and O abundances. The variation depends on whether strong priors are chosen to ensure a reasonable planet mass. Moreover, comparison with previous works also reveals inconsistency in abundance measurements. We discuss potential issues that can cause the inconsistency, e.g., systematics in individual data sets and different assumptions in the physics and chemistry in retrieval. We conclude that no robust retrieval can be obtained unless the issues are fully resolved.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Stellar Outbursts and Chondrite Composition

Abstract The temperatures of observed protoplanetary disks are not sufficiently high to produce the accretion rate needed to form stars, nor are they sufficient to explain the volatile depletion patterns in CM, CO, and CV chondrites and terrestrial planets. We revisit the role that stellar outbursts, caused by high-accretion episodes, play in resolving these two issues. These outbursts provide the necessary mass to form the star during the disk lifetime and provide enough heat to vaporize planet-forming materials. We show that these outbursts can reproduce the observed chondrite abundances at distances near 1 au. These outbursts would also affect the growth of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions and the isotopic compositions of carbonaceous and noncarbonaceous chondrites.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Evidence from Disrupted Halo Dwarfs that r-process Enrichment via Neutron Star Mergers is Delayed by ≳500 Myr

The astrophysical origins of r-process elements remain elusive. Neutron star mergers (NSMs) and special classes of core-collapse supernovae (rCCSNe) are leading candidates. Due to these channels' distinct characteristic timescales (rCCSNe: prompt, NSMs: delayed), measuring r-process enrichment in galaxies of similar mass but differing star formation durations might prove informative. Two recently discovered disrupted dwarfs in the Milky Way's stellar halo, Kraken and Gaia-Sausage Enceladus (GSE), afford precisely this opportunity: Both have M * ≈ 10 8 M ⊙ but differing star formation durations of ≈2 Gyr and ≈3.6 Gyr. Here we present R ≈ 50,000 Magellan/MIKE spectroscopy for 31 stars from these systems, detecting the r-process element Eu in all stars. Stars from both systems have similar [Mg/H] ≈ -1, but Kraken has a median [Eu/Mg] ≈ -0.1 while GSE has an elevated [Eu/Mg] ≈ 0.2. With simple models, we argue NSM enrichment must be delayed by 500–1000 Myr to produce this difference. rCCSNe must also contribute, especially at early epochs, otherwise stars formed during the delay period would be Eu free. In this picture, rCCSNe account for ≈50% of the Eu in Kraken, ≈25% in GSE, and ≈15% in dwarfs with extended star formation durations like Sagittarius. The inferred delay time for NSM enrichment is 10×–100× longer than merger delay times from stellar population synthesis—this is not necessarily surprising because the enrichment delay includes time taken for NSM ejecta to be incorporated into subsequent generations of stars. For example, this may be due to natal kicks that result in r-enriched material deposited far from star-forming gas, which then takes ≈10 8 –10 9 yr to cool in these galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Simulating Atomic Dark Matter in Milky Way Analogs

Dark sector theories naturally lead to multicomponent scenarios for dark matter where a subcomponent can dissipate energy through self-interactions, allowing it to efficiently cool inside galaxies. We present the first cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way analogs where the majority of dark matter is collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) but a subcomponent (6%) is strongly dissipative minimal atomic dark matter (ADM). The simulations, implemented in GIZMO and utilizing FIRE-2 galaxy formation physics to model the standard baryonic sector, demonstrate that the addition of even a small fraction of dissipative dark matter can significantly impact galactic evolution despite being consistent with current cosmological constraints. We show that ADM gas with roughly standard model–like masses and couplings can cool to form a rotating “dark disk” with angular momentum closely aligned with the visible stellar disk. The morphology of the disk depends sensitively on the parameters of the ADM model, which affect the cooling rates in the dark sector. The majority of the ADM gas gravitationally collapses into dark “clumps” (regions of black hole or mirror star formation), which form a prominent bulge and a rotating thick disk in the central galaxy. These clumps form early and quickly sink to the inner ∼kiloparsec of the galaxy, affecting the galaxy’s star formation history and present-day baryonic and CDM distributions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The possible disappearance of a massive star in the low-metallicity galaxy PHL 293B

ABSTRACT We investigate a suspected very massive star in one of the most metal-poor dwarf galaxies, PHL 293B. Excitingly, we find the sudden disappearance of the stellar signatures from our 2019 spectra, in particular the broad H lines with P Cygni profiles that have been associated with a massive luminous blue variable (LBV) star. Such features are absent from our spectra obtained in 2019 with the Echelle Spectrograph for Rocky Exoplanet- and Stable Spectroscopic Observation and X-shooter instruments of the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. We compute radiative transfer models using cmfgen, which fit the observed spectrum of the LBV and are consistent with ground-based and archival Hubble Space Telescope photometry. Our models show that during 2001–2011, the LBV had a luminosity L* = 2.5–3.5 × 106 L⊙, a mass-loss rate $\dot{M} = 0.005{-}0.020 ~{\rm M}_{\odot }$ yr−1, a wind velocity of 1000 km s−1, and effective and stellar temperatures of Teff = 6000–6800 and T* = 9500–15 000 K. These stellar properties indicate an eruptive state. We consider two main hypotheses for the absence of the broad emission components from the spectra obtained since 2011. One possibility is that we are seeing the end of an LBV eruption of a surviving star, with a mild drop in luminosity, a shift to hotter effective temperatures, and some dust obscuration. Alternatively, the LBV could have collapsed to a massive black hole without the production of a bright supernova.

Allan, Andrew P.↗

The shape of convection in 2D and 3D global simulations of stellar interiors

Context. Theoretical descriptions of convective overshooting in stellar interiors often rely on a basic one-dimensional parameterization of the flow called the filling factor for convection. Several different definitions of the filling factor have been developed for this purpose, based on: (1) the percentage of the volume, (2) the mass flux, and (3) the convective flux that moves through the boundary. Aims. We examine these definitions of the filling factor with the goal of establishing their ability to explain differences between 2D and 3D global simulations of stellar interiors that include fully compressible hydrodynamics and realistic microphysics for stars. Methods. We study convection and overshooting in pairs of identical two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) global simulations of stars produced with MUSIC , a fully compressible, time-implicit hydrodynamics code. We examine pairs of simulations for (1) a 3 M ⊙ red giant star near the first dredge-up point, (2) a 1 M ⊙ pre-main-sequence star with a large convection zone, (3) the current sun, and (4) a 20 M ⊙ main-sequence star with a large convective core. Results. Our calculations of the filling factor based on the volume percentage and the mass flux indicate asymmetrical convection near the surface for each star with an outer convection zone. However, near the convective boundary, convective flows achieve inward-outward symmetry for each star that we study; for 2D and 3D simulations, these filling factors are indistinguishable. A filling factor based on the convective flux is contaminated by boundary-layer-like flows, making a theoretical interpretation difficult. We present two possible new alternatives to these frequently used definitions of a filling factor, which instead compare flows at two different radial points. The first alternative is the penetration parameter of Anders et al. (2022, ApJ, 926, 169). The second alternative is a new statistic that we call the plume interaction parameter. We demonstrate that both of these parameters captures systematic differences between 2D and 3D simulations around the convective boundary.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Scheduling strategies for the ESPRESSO follow-up of TESS targets

ABSTRACT Radial-velocity follow-up of stars harbouring transiting planets detected by TESS is expected to require very large amounts of expensive telescope time in the next few years. Therefore, scheduling strategies should be implemented to maximize the amount of information gathered about the target planetary systems. We consider myopic and non-myopic versions of a novel uniform-in-phase scheduler, as well as a random scheduler, and compare these scheduling strategies with respect to the bias, accuracy and precision achieved in recovering the mass and orbital parameters of transiting and non-transiting planets. This comparison is carried out based on realistic simulations of radial-velocity follow-up with ESPRESSO of a sample of 50 TESS target stars, with simulated planetary systems containing at least one transiting planet with a radius below 4R⊕. Radial-velocity data sets were generated under reasonable assumptions about their noise component, including that resulting from stellar activity, and analysed using a fully Bayesian methodology. We find the random scheduler leads to a more biased, less accurate, and less precise, estimation of the mass of the transiting exoplanets. No significant differences are found between the results of the myopic and non-myopic implementations of the uniform-in-phase scheduler. With only about 22 radial velocity measurements per data set, our novel uniform-in-phase scheduler enables an unbiased (at the level of 1 per cent) measurement of the masses of the transiting planets, while keeping the average relative accuracy and precision around 16 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively. The number of non-transiting planets detected is similar for all the scheduling strategies considered, as well as the bias, accuracy and precision with which their masses and orbital parameters are recovered.

Cabona, L.↗

A prescription for the asteroseismic surface correction

In asteroseismology, the surface effect refers to a disparity between the observed and the modelled frequencies in stars with solar-like oscillations. It originates from improper modelling of the surface layers. Correcting the surface effect usually requires using functions with free parameters, which are conventionally fitted to the observed frequencies. On the basis that the correction should vary smoothly across the H–R diagram, we parameterize it as a simple function of surface gravity, effective temperature, and metallicity. We determine this function by fitting a wide range of stars. The absolute amount of the surface correction decreases with luminosity, but the ratio between it and νmax increases, suggesting the surface effect is more important for red giants than dwarfs. Applying the prescription can eliminate unrealistic surface correction, which improves parameter estimations with stellar modelling. Using two open clusters, we found a reduction of scatter in the model-derived ages for each star in the same cluster. As an important application, we provide a new revision for the Δν scaling relation that, for the first time, accounts for the surface correction. The values of the correction factor, f Δν , are up to 2 percent smaller than those determined without the surface effect considered, suggesting decreases of up to 4 percent in radii and up to 8 percent in masses when using the asteroseismic scaling relations. This revision brings the asteroseismic properties into an agreement with those determined from eclipsing binaries. The new correction factor and the stellar models with the corrected frequencies are available at https://www.github.com/parallelpro/surface.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Nothing to see here: failed supernovae are faint or rare

ABSTRACT The absence of Type IIP core-collapse supernovae arising from progenitors above 17 solar masses suggests the existence of another evolutionary path by which massive stars end their lives. The direct collapse of a stellar core to a black hole without the production of a bright, explosive transient is expected to produce a long-lived, dim, red transient known as a failed supernova. Despite the detection of a number of candidates for disappearing massive stars in recent years, conclusive observational evidence for failed supernovae remains elusive. A custom-built pipeline designed for the detection of faint transients is used to re-analyse 10 yr of observations of 231 nearby galaxies from the PTF/ZTF surveys. This analysis recovers known supernovae, and yields a number of interesting transients. However, none of these are consistent with a failed supernova. Through Monte Carlo tests the recovery efficiency of our pipeline is quantified. By assuming failed supernovae occur as a Poissonian process with zero detections in the data set, 95 per cent upper limits to the rate of failed supernovae are calculated as a function of failed supernova absolute magnitude. We estimate failed supernovae to be less than 0.61, 0.33, 0.26, or 0.23 of the core-collapse SN rate for absolute magnitudes of −11, −12, −13, and −14, respectively. Finally, we show that if they exist, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will find 1.7–3.7 failed SNe per year for an absolute bolometric luminosity of ∼6 × 1039 erg s−1 out to distances of 33–43 Mpc, depending on their assumed spectral energy distribution.

Byrne, R. A. (ORCID:0000000177661737)↗