English

SN 2023xgo: Helium-rich Type Icn or Carbon-Flash Type Ibn supernova?

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2025-09-10 v2

Abstract

We present observations of SN~2023xgo, a transitional Type Ibn/Icn supernova, from 5.6-5.6 to +63+63~days relative to the rr-band peak. Early spectra show C~III λ5696\lambda 5696 emission reminiscent of Type~Icn SNe, which later gives way to Type~Ibn features. The He~I velocities (18001800--10,00010{,}000~km~s1^{-1}) and pseudo-equivalent widths are among the highest in the Ibn/Icn class. The light curve declines at 0.140.14~mag~d1^{-1} until +30+30~days, consistent with SNe~Ibn/Icn and slower than fast transients. SN~2023xgo is the faintest in our SN~Ibn sample (Mr=17.65±0.04M_r=-17.65\pm0.04) but shows typical color and host properties. Semi-analytical modeling of the light curve suggests a compact CSM shell (1012\sim 10^{12}--101310^{13}~cm) and a mass-loss rate of 10410^{-4}--10310^{-3}~MM_{\odot}~yr1^{-1}, with CSM and ejecta masses of 0.22\sim 0.22 and 0.120.12~MM_{\odot}, respectively. Post-maximum light-curve and spectral modeling favor a 3\sim 3~MM_{\odot} helium-star progenitor with extended (1015\sim 10^{15}~cm), stratified CSM (density exponent n=2.9n=2.9) and a mass-loss rate of 0.10.1--2.72.7~MM_{\odot}~yr1^{-1}. These two mass-loss regimes imply a radially varying CSM, shaped by asymmetry or temporal changes in the progenitor's mass loss. This behavior is compatible with both binary and single-star evolution. We argue that the early Icn-like features arise from hot carbon ionization and fade to Ibn-like signatures as the ejecta and CSM cool, making SN~2023xgo a rare probe of the connection between SNe~Icn, SNe~Ibn, and Ibn events with ejecta signatures.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2506.10700,
  title  = {SN 2023xgo: Helium-rich Type Icn or Carbon-Flash Type Ibn supernova?},
  author = {Anjasha Gangopadhyay and Jesper Sollerman and Konstantinos Tsalapatas and Keiichi Maeda and Naveen Dukiya and Steve Schulze and Claes Fransson and Nikhil Sarin and Priscila J. Pessi and Mridweeka Singh and Jacob Wise and Tatsuya Nakaoka and Avinash Singh and Raya Dastidar and Miho Kawabata and Yu-Jing Qing and Kaustav K. Das and Daniel Perley and Christoffer Fremling and Kenta Taguchi and K-Ryan Hinds and Ragnhild Lunnan and Rishabh Singh Teja and Monalisa Dubey and Bhavya Ailawadhi and Smaranika Banerjee and Koji S Kawabata and Kuntal Misra and Devendra K Sahu and Sean J. Brennan and Mansi M. Kasliwal and Anna Y. C. Q Ho and Aleksandra Bochenek and Ben Rusholme and Russ R. Laher and Roger Smith and Josiah Purdum and Niharika Sravan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.10700},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

24 figures and 6 table including appendix, Accepted for publication in MNRAS