SN~2018erx: A fast-evolving, dust-reddened Type Icn supernova with broad C II emission lines

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Das, Kaustav K., Gangopadhyay, Anjasha, Kasliwal, Mansi M., Sollerman, Jesper, Perley, Daniel A., Schulze, Steve, Fremling, Christoffer, Coughlin, Michael W., De, Kishalay, Gal-Yam, Avishay, Goobar, Ariel, Graham, Matthew, Masci, Frank J., Moriya, Takashi J., Purdum, Josiah, Rose, Sam, Rusholme, Ben, Sarin, Nikhil, Smith, Roger, Tsuna, Daichi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Das, Kaustav K.
Gangopadhyay, Anjasha
Kasliwal, Mansi M.
Sollerman, Jesper
Perley, Daniel A.
Schulze, Steve
Fremling, Christoffer
Coughlin, Michael W.
De, Kishalay
Gal-Yam, Avishay
Goobar, Ariel
Graham, Matthew
Masci, Frank J.
Moriya, Takashi J.
Purdum, Josiah
Rose, Sam
Rusholme, Ben
Sarin, Nikhil
Smith, Roger
Tsuna, Daichi
author_facet Das, Kaustav K.
Gangopadhyay, Anjasha
Kasliwal, Mansi M.
Sollerman, Jesper
Perley, Daniel A.
Schulze, Steve
Fremling, Christoffer
Coughlin, Michael W.
De, Kishalay
Gal-Yam, Avishay
Goobar, Ariel
Graham, Matthew
Masci, Frank J.
Moriya, Takashi J.
Purdum, Josiah
Rose, Sam
Rusholme, Ben
Sarin, Nikhil
Smith, Roger
Tsuna, Daichi
contents We present the discovery and characterization of SN~2018erx (ZTF18abkmbpy), a fast-evolving, unusually red, interacting stripped-envelope supernova. Spectroscopically, SN~2018erx shows broad \ion{C}{2} emission with characteristic widths of $\sim\!3800$~km~s$^{-1}$, consistent with interaction with carbon-rich circumstellar material and a Type~Icn core-collapse SN classification. Photometrically, it evolves rapidly, rising from half-maximum to peak in 2.1~d and declining back in 3.1~d. Semi-analytical CSM-interaction modeling favors a compact, shell-like CSM with $M_{\rm CSM}\approx0.3\,M_\odot$, $R_0\approx0.7$~AU, and a low ejecta mass of $M_{\rm ej}\approx0.11\,M_\odot$. The radioactive yield is also small, with $M_{\rm Ni}\lesssim(3$--$5)\times10^{-3}\,M_\odot$, placing SN~2018erx at the low end of the H-poor distribution. At +29~d after peak, we detect a near-infrared excess consistent with pre-existing local circumstellar dust, with $M_{\rm d}\sim10^{-6}$--$10^{-5}\,M_\odot$. Together, the rapid evolution, strong local reddening, carbon-rich emission, and dust point to a multi-component circumstellar environment: a dense inner interaction region from enhanced pre-SN mass loss and an outer dusty layer from an earlier mass-loss episode roughly $10$--$200$~yr before core collapse. These properties favor an ultra-stripped core-collapse explosion of a low-mass He star in a binary system, with fallback-modified Wolf--Rayet collapse or merger-driven mass loss remaining possible alternatives. SN~2018erx provides rare insight into the mass-loss history of stripped-envelope SNe and suggests that dust-enshrouded explosions of this kind may be underrepresented in optical surveys.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_24811
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle SN~2018erx: A fast-evolving, dust-reddened Type Icn supernova with broad C II emission lines
Das, Kaustav K.
Gangopadhyay, Anjasha
Kasliwal, Mansi M.
Sollerman, Jesper
Perley, Daniel A.
Schulze, Steve
Fremling, Christoffer
Coughlin, Michael W.
De, Kishalay
Gal-Yam, Avishay
Goobar, Ariel
Graham, Matthew
Masci, Frank J.
Moriya, Takashi J.
Purdum, Josiah
Rose, Sam
Rusholme, Ben
Sarin, Nikhil
Smith, Roger
Tsuna, Daichi
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present the discovery and characterization of SN~2018erx (ZTF18abkmbpy), a fast-evolving, unusually red, interacting stripped-envelope supernova. Spectroscopically, SN~2018erx shows broad \ion{C}{2} emission with characteristic widths of $\sim\!3800$~km~s$^{-1}$, consistent with interaction with carbon-rich circumstellar material and a Type~Icn core-collapse SN classification. Photometrically, it evolves rapidly, rising from half-maximum to peak in 2.1~d and declining back in 3.1~d. Semi-analytical CSM-interaction modeling favors a compact, shell-like CSM with $M_{\rm CSM}\approx0.3\,M_\odot$, $R_0\approx0.7$~AU, and a low ejecta mass of $M_{\rm ej}\approx0.11\,M_\odot$. The radioactive yield is also small, with $M_{\rm Ni}\lesssim(3$--$5)\times10^{-3}\,M_\odot$, placing SN~2018erx at the low end of the H-poor distribution. At +29~d after peak, we detect a near-infrared excess consistent with pre-existing local circumstellar dust, with $M_{\rm d}\sim10^{-6}$--$10^{-5}\,M_\odot$. Together, the rapid evolution, strong local reddening, carbon-rich emission, and dust point to a multi-component circumstellar environment: a dense inner interaction region from enhanced pre-SN mass loss and an outer dusty layer from an earlier mass-loss episode roughly $10$--$200$~yr before core collapse. These properties favor an ultra-stripped core-collapse explosion of a low-mass He star in a binary system, with fallback-modified Wolf--Rayet collapse or merger-driven mass loss remaining possible alternatives. SN~2018erx provides rare insight into the mass-loss history of stripped-envelope SNe and suggests that dust-enshrouded explosions of this kind may be underrepresented in optical surveys.
title SN~2018erx: A fast-evolving, dust-reddened Type Icn supernova with broad C II emission lines
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.24811