Related papers: A flash of polarized optical light points to an as…

We present the first extensive radio to gamma-ray observations of a fast-rising blue optical transient (FBOT), AT2018cow, over its first ~100 days. AT2018cow rose over a few days to a peak luminosity $L_{pk}\sim4\times 10^{44}$ erg/s…

We report the discovery of a luminous late-time source at the position of the fast blue optical transient (FBOT) AT2018cow on images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at 714 d and 1136 d after its explosion. This source is detected…

The brightest Fast Blue Optical Transients (FBOTs) are mysterious extragalactic explosions that may represent a new class of astrophysical phenomena. Their fast time to maximum brightness of less than a week and decline over several months…

We report on VLBI observations of the fast and blue optical transient (FBOT), AT 2018cow. At ~62 Mpc, AT 2018cow is the first relatively nearby FBOT. The nature of AT 2018cow is not clear, although various hypotheses from a tidal disruption…

The bright, blue, rapidly evolving AT2018cow is a well-studied peculiar extragalactic transient. Despite an abundance of multi-wavelength data, there still is no consensus on the nature of the event. We present our analysis of three epochs…

The fast-rising blue optical transient AT2018cow indicated unusual early phase characteristics unlike relatively better studied explosive transients. Its afterglow may be produced by either a relativistically beamed (jetted) or…

We suggest that fast-rising blue optical transients (FBOTs) and the brightest event of the class AT2018cow result from an electron-capture collapse to a \NS\ following a merger of a massive ONeMg white dwarf (WD) with another WD. Two…

Wide-field optical surveys have begun to uncover large samples of fast (t_rise < 5d), luminous (M_peak < -18), blue transients. While commonly attributed to the breakout of a supernova shock into a dense wind, the great distances to the…

We present the analysis of optical data of a bright and extremely-rapidly evolving transient, AT2024wpp, whose properties are similar to the enigmatic AT2018cow (aka the Cow). AT2024wpp rose to a peak brightness of c=-21.9mag in 4.3d and…

The exact nature of the luminous fast blue optical transient AT 2018cow is still debated. In this first of a two-paper series, we present a detailed analysis of three Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of AT 2018cow covering…

We present the first radio polarimetric observations of a fast-rising blue optical transient, AT2018cow. Two epochs of polarimetry with additional coincident photometry were performed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array…

The nature of the newly discovered fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) is still puzzling astronomers. In this paper we carry out a comprehensive analysis of the molecular gas, ionized gas and stellar populations in the environment of the…

The Fast Blue Optical Transient (FBOT) ATLAS18qqn (AT2018cow) has a light curve as bright as superluminous supernovae but rises and falls much faster. We model this light curve by circumstellar interaction of a pulsational pair-instability…

The Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient (LFBOT) AT 2018cow is the prototype of its class with an extensive set of multi-wavelength observations. Despite a rich data set there is, still, no consensus about the physical nature and origin of…

We present AT2020mrf (SRGe J154754.2$+$443907), an extra-galactic ($z=0.1353$) fast blue optical transient (FBOT) with a rise time of $t_{g,\rm rise}=3.7$ days and a peak luminosity of $M_{g,\rm peak}=-20.0$. Its optical spectrum around…

The AT 2018cow-like fast blue optical transient AT2022tsd showed a large number of few-minute-duration, high-luminosity (~10^43 erg/s) flares. We present an intensive search for such flares from another 18cow-like event, AT2024wpp. We have…

The fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) are a new population of extragalactic transients of unclear physical origin. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed including failed supernova explosion, shock interaction with a dense medium,…

We present a quantitative model for the luminous fast blue optical transient AT2018cow in which a shock propagating through an aspherical circumstellar medium (CSM) produces the X-ray and UV/optical/NIR emission. X-rays are emitted from hot…

We present a search for extragalactic fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) during Phase I of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). We identify 38 candidates with durations above half-maximum light 1 d < t1/2 < 12 d, of which 28 have blue…

AT2018cow is a unique transient that stands out due to its relatively fast light-curve, high peak bolometric luminosity, and blue color. These properties distinguish it from typical radioactively powered core-collapse supernovae (SNe).…