Related papers: Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients in the 2040s
A small group of the newly discovered superluminous supernovae show broad and slowly evolving light curves. Here we present extensive observational data for the slow-evolving superluminous supernova LSQ14an, which brings this group of…
Optical quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with periodicity around hundreds to thousands of days have been accepted as an efficient indicator for sub-pc binary black hole systems (BBHs) in broad line active galactic nuclei (BLAGN). However,…
The formation of relativistic jets by an accreting compact object is one of the fundamental mysteries of astrophysics. While the theory is poorly understood, observations of relativistic jets from systems known as microquasars have led to a…
The hot massive luminous blue variables (LBVs) represent an important evolutionary phase of massive stars. Here, we report the discovery of a new LBV -- LAMOST J0037+4016 in the distant outskirt of the Andromeda galaxy. It is located in the…
Fast radio burst (FRBs) are an exciting class of bright, extragalactic, millisecond radio transients. The recent development of large field-of-view (FOV) radio telescopes has caused a rapid rise in the number of identified single burst and…
The photon spectral energy distribution of the powerful transient Sw J1644+57 resembles those of the brightest Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources (ULXs). The transient nature of Sw J1644+57 is likely the result of a tidal disruption of a star by…
The Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS) carried out a public survey for optical transients between 2007 and 2019, discovering more than 16,000 transient candidates. Here we present the spectra and highlight the results of the…
Stars that pass close to the supermassive black holes located in the center of galaxies can be violently disrupted by tidal forces, leading to flares that are observed as bright transient events in sky surveys. The rate for these events to…
The next generation of observatories will facilitate the discovery of new types of astrophysical transients. The detection of such phenomena, whose characteristics are presently poorly constrained, will hinge on the ability to perform blind…
For over 25 years, the origin of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs) has been linked to the collapse of rotating massive stars. However, we have yet to pinpoint the stellar progenitor powering these transients. Moreover, the dominant…
Stellar-mass and supermassive black holes abound in the Universe, whereas intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) of ~10^2-10^5 solar masses in between are largely missing observationally, with few cases found only. Here we report the…
Transient quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are extremely interesting observational phenomena. However, the precise physical mechanisms leading to their generation are still hotly debated. We performed a systematic search for transient QPO…
If very low mass primordial black holes (PBH) within the asteroid/moon-mass range indeed reside in galactic dark matter halos, they must necessarily collide with galactic neutron stars (NSs). These collisions must, again necessarily, form…
Fast variability of optical objects is an interesting though poorly explored subject in modern astronomy. Real-time data processing and identification of transient celestial events in the images is very important for such study as it allows…
Low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (LFQPOs) are commonly found in black hole X-ray binaries, and their origin is still under debate. The properties of LFQPOs at high energies (above 30 keV) are closely related to the nature of the…
The launch of the Einstein Probe (EP) mission has revolutionized the detection and follow-up observations of fast X-ray transients (FXTs) by providing prompt and timely access to their precise localizations. In the first year of its…
With the proliferation of online Zoom meetings as a means of doing science in the 2020s, astronomers have made new and unexpected Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations. Chief among these ToOs are observations of exop(lan)ets, or…
Quantum transients are temporary features of matter waves before they reach a stationary regime. Transients may arise after the preparation of an unstable initial state or due to a sudden interaction or a change in the boundary conditions.…
Stellar-mass black holes (BHs) are mostly found in X-ray transients, a subclass of X-ray binaries that exhibit violent outbursts. None of the 50 Galactic BHs known show eclipses, which is surprising for a random distribution of…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), particularly those detected by wide-field instruments such as the Fermi/GBM, pose a challenge for optical follow-up due to their large initial localisation regions, leaving many GRBs without identified afterglows.…