SN 2019vxm: A Shocking Coincidence between Fermi and TESS

Abstract Shock breakout and, in some cases, jet-driven high-energy emission are increasingly recognized as key signatures of the earliest phases of core-collapse supernovae, especially in Type IIn systems due to their dense, interaction-dominated circumstellar environments. We present a comprehensive photometric analysis of SN 2019vxm, a long-duration, luminous Type IIn supernova, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>M</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>V</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow/> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>21.41</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.05</mml:mn> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">mag</mml:mi> </mml:math> , observed from X-ray to near-infrared. SN 2019vxm is the first superluminous supernovae Type IIn to be caught with well-sampled TESS photometric data on the rise and has a convincing coincident X-ray source at the time of first light. The high-cadence TESS light curve captures the early-time rise, which is well described by a broken power law with an index of n = 1.41 ± 0.04, significantly shallower than the canonical n = 2 behavior. From this, we constrain the time of first light to within 7.2 hr. We identify a spatial and temporal coincidence between SN 2019vxm and the hard X-ray/gamma-ray transient GRB 191117A, corresponding to a 3.3 σ association confidence. Both the short-duration X-ray event and the lightcurve modeling are consistent with shock breakout into a dense, asymmetric circumstellar medium, indicative of a massive, compact progenitor such as a luminous blue variable transitioning to Wolf–Rayet phase embedded in a clumpy, asymmetric environment.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2026-05-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6245
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

SN 2019vxm: A Shocking Coincidence between Fermi and TESS

Qinan Wang, Jared A. Goldberg, C. L. Ransome, Marco Galoppo et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
article

SN 2019vxm: A Shocking Coincidence between Fermi and TESS

Qinan Wang, Jared A. Goldberg, C. L. Ransome, Marco Galoppo, Nathan Smith, P. Armstrong, James Freeburn, V. Ashley Villar, Pierre Mourier, Anya E. Nugent, E. Zimmerman, Thomas Moore, Ryan Ridden-Harper, A. Gal‐Yam, Ori D. Fox, H. L. Roxburgh, Rebekah Hounsell, Itai Linial, S. Rest, D. A. Coulter, Igor Andreoni, S. J. Smartt, T. Wasserman, K. Smith, Zachary G. Lane, Christopher Harvey-Hawes, Sebastian Vergara Carrasco, Koji Shukawa, Armin Rest, Jeffrey Cooke, David O’Neill, Peter J. Brown, Brayden Leicester, Clarinda Montilla, Micaela Steed, Zenati Yossef
article en

Abstract

Abstract Shock breakout and, in some cases, jet-driven high-energy emission are increasingly recognized as key signatures of the earliest phases of core-collapse supernovae, especially in Type IIn systems due to their dense, interaction-dominated circumstellar environments. We present a comprehensive photometric analysis of SN 2019vxm, a long-duration, luminous Type IIn supernova, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>M</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>V</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow/> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>21.41</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.05</mml:mn> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">mag</mml:mi> </mml:math> , observed from X-ray to near-infrared. SN 2019vxm is the first superluminous supernovae Type IIn to be caught with well-sampled TESS photometric data on the rise and has a convincing coincident X-ray source at the time of first light. The high-cadence TESS light curve captures the early-time rise, which is well described by a broken power law with an index of n = 1.41 ± 0.04, significantly shallower than the canonical n = 2 behavior. From this, we constrain the time of first light to within 7.2 hr. We identify a spatial and temporal coincidence between SN 2019vxm and the hard X-ray/gamma-ray transient GRB 191117A, corresponding to a 3.3 σ association confidence. Both the short-duration X-ray event and the lightcurve modeling are consistent with shock breakout into a dense, asymmetric circumstellar medium, indicative of a massive, compact progenitor such as a luminous blue variable transitioning to Wolf–Rayet phase embedded in a clumpy, asymmetric environment.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 1003(1)
National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, California Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, Drexel University, Space Telescope Science Institute, Australian Government, Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, Flatiron Health, University of Warwick, University of Oxford, European Commission, Queen's University Belfast, Durham University, Royal Society Te Apārangi, Queen's University, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, National Central University, Stockholms Universitet, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Goddard Space Flight Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Science Mission Directorate, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Marsden Fund, National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Astrophysics Science Division, Planetary Science Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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