The Environments of Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients: Evidence for a Compact Object and Wolf─Rayet Star Merger Origin
明亮快蓝光瞬变源的环境:致密天体与沃尔夫-拉叶星并合起源的证据
We present a comprehensive analysis of the host galaxies of 11 luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs). We model new and archival host photometry and spectroscopy with Prospector. We determine that all LFBOT hosts are actively star-forming with recent bursts of star formation and have a median stellar mass of <inline-formula> <mml:math><mml:mi>log</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>M</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>*</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:mo>/</mml:mo><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>M</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>⊙</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:mo>)</mml:mo><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>9.6</mml:mn><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>1.61</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.74</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math> </inline-formula>, present-day star formation rate SFR = <inline-formula> <mml:math><mml:mn>0.9</mml:mn><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>9</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.95</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mn>14.85</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math> </inline-formula> M<SUB>⊙</SUB> yr<SUP>−1</SUP>, and gas-phase oxygen abundance metallicity 12+log(O/H) = <inline-formula> <mml:math><mml:mn>8.5</mml:mn><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>9</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.22</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.18</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math> </inline-formula>. To contextualize these results, we compare them to the host properties of hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), several core-collapse supernova (CCSN)subtypes (SNe Ibc, II, and Ibn), and long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs). We find that LFBOT hosts are more star-forming than CCSN hosts, but less star-forming than SLSN-I hosts. We further show that LFBOT hosts are more metal-poor than SN Ibc and II hosts, but more metal-rich than SLSN-I and LGRB hosts. Finally, we find that, similar to SLSNe-I and unlike CCSNe and LGRBs, a large fraction of LFBOTs occur in their hosts' faintest pixel or outside their host galaxy's light. Our results indicate that LFBOTs have a massive stellar origin that does not trace active star-forming regions within their hosts and have a weaker metallicity-dependence than other extreme transients. For these reasons, we favor a compact-object and Wolf─Rayet star merger progenitor scenario over other previously proposed models, such as tidal disruption events and failed or successful CCSN. Future discoveries of LFBOTs with the Rubin Observatory will help to increase their sample size and place firmer constraints on their environments and progenitors.
展开 ▾首次实现LFBOT宿主星系的系统、多波段星族拟合,排除了IMBH潮汐瓦解等模型,发现LFBOT环境与SLSNe-I显著不同,强烈指向BH/NS-WR并合起源,并为未来大样本研究奠定基础。
以往对LFBOT宿主的研究仅限于零星事件(如 Perley+ 2019、Coppejans+ 2020),缺乏统一分析。本文首次对11个LFBOT宿主进行系统性建模,并与SLSNe-I、LGRBs及各类CCSNe宿主进行比较。结果表明,LFBOT宿主偏好恒星形成活动较强的星系,但金属丰度高于传统极端瞬变宿主,且事件多位于星系暗弱区域。这些特征有力支持了致密天体与Wolf‑Rayet星并合的前身星图像(Metzger 2022)。未来随着Vera C. Rubin天文台巡天(LSST Science Collaboration+ 2009)的开展,LFBOT样本将扩大数十倍,有望最终甄别其前身星模型。
预印本 2026-03-24 · 接收 2026-06-15 · 刊出 2026-07-15 · 收录 2026-07-22