We present the bolometric light curve, identification and analysis of the progenitor candidate, and preliminary modelling of AT 2016jbu (Gaia16cfr). We find a progenitor consistent with a similar to 22-25 M-circle dot yellow hypergiant surrounded by a dusty circumstellar shell, in agreement with what has been previously reported. We see evidence for significant photometric variability in the progenitor, as well as strong H alpha emission consistent with pre-existing circumstellar material. The age of the environment, as well as the resolved stellar population surrounding AT 2016jbu, supports a progenitor age of >10 Myr, consistent with a progenitor mass of similar to 22 M-circle dot. A joint analysis of the velocity evolution of AT 2016jbu and the photospheric radius inferred from the bolometric light curve shows the transient is consistent with two successive outbursts/explosions. The first outburst ejected material with velocity similar to 650 km s(-1), while the second, more energetic event ejected material at similar to 4500 km s(-1). Whether the latter is the core collapse of the progenitor remains uncertain. We place a limit on the ejected Ni-56 mass of <0.016 M-circle dot. Using the Binary Population And Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) code, we explore a wide range of possible progenitor systems and find that the majority of these are in binaries, some of which are undergoing mass transfer or common-envelope evolution immediately prior to explosion. Finally, we use the SuperNova Explosion Code (SNEC) to demonstrate that the low-energy explosions within some of these binary systems, together with sufficient circumstellar material, can reproduce the overall morphology of the light curve of AT 2016jbu.

The La; Campanas Infrared Survey is a photometric redshift survey designed to study the evolution and clustering of evolved galaxies over the redshift range 1 < z < 2. The survey is motivated by the construction of a unique, wide-field infrared camera for the Las Campanas 2.5m telescope. The primary goals are to obtain infrared imaging of a square degree to K-s = 21.1 and J = 22.7 along with deep optical imaging in VRIz' We discuss the scientific and technical goals of the survey, and we present the first survey images obtained in April 1999.

SN 1999aw was discovered during the first campaign of the Nearby Galaxies Supernova Search project. This luminous, slow-declining [Deltam(15)(B) = 0.81 +/- 0.03] Type Ia supernova was noteworthy in at least two respects. First, it occurred in an extremely low luminosity host galaxy that was not visible in the template images nor in initial subsequent deep imaging. Second, the photometric and spectral properties of this supernova indicate that it very likely was similar to the subclass of Type Ia supernovae whose prototype is SN 1999aa. This paper presents the BVRI and J(s)HK(s) light curves of SN 1999aw ( through similar to100 days past maximum light), as well as several epochs of optical spectra. From these data, we calculate the bolometric light curve and give estimates of the luminosity at maximum light and the initial Ni-56 mass. In addition, we present deep BVI images obtained recently with the Baade 6.5 m telescope at Las Campanas Observatory that reveal the remarkably low-luminosity host galaxy.

We describe a compact cluster or group of massive red galaxies at discovered in one of the Gemini z = 1.5 Deep Deep Survey (GDDS) fields. Deep H- band imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) reveals a high density of red galaxies associated with a galaxy with a spectroscopic redshift of 1.51. These galaxies have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that peak between 3.6 and 4.5 mu m, and fits to 12- band photometry reveal 12 or more galaxies with spectral shapes consistent with. Most are within similar to 170 comoving kpc of the z = 1.5 GDDS galaxy, and the enclosed stellar mass is >16 x 10(11) M circle dot. The colors of the most massive galaxies are close to those expected from passive evolution of simple stellar populations (SSPs) formed at much higher redshifts. We suggest that several of these galaxies will merge to form a single, very massive galaxy by the present day. This system may represent an example of a short- lived dense group or cluster core typical of the progenitors of massive clusters in the present day and suggests that the red sequence was in place in overdense regions at early times.

Aims. We present new near-infrared (NIR) light-curve templates for fundamental (FU, J, H, K-S) and first overtone (FO, J) classical Cepheids. The new templates together with period-luminosity and period-Wesenheit (PW) relations provide Cepheid distances from single-epoch observations with a precision only limited by the intrinsic accuracy of the method adopted.

We present ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy and photometry of four Type Ia supernovae (SNe 2004dt, 2004ef, 2005M, and 2005cf) obtained with the UV prism of the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope. This data set provides unique spectral time series down to 2000 angstrom. Significant diversity is seen in the near-maximum-light spectra (similar to 2000-3500 angstrom) for this small sample. The corresponding photometric data, together with archival data from Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope observations, provide further evidence of increased dispersion in the UV emission with respect to the optical. The peak luminositiesmeasured in the uvw1/F250W filter are found to correlate with the B-band light-curve shape parameter Delta m(15)(B), but with much larger scatter relative to the correlation in the broadband B band (e.g., similar to 0.4 mag versus similar to 0.2 mag for those with 0.8 mag < Delta m(15)(B) < 1.7 mag). SN 2004dt is found as an outlier of this correlation (at > 3 sigma), being brighter than normal SNe Ia such as SN 2005cf by similar to 0.9 mag and similar to 2.0 mag in the uvw1/F250W and uvm2/F220W filters, respectively. We show that different progenitor metallicity or line-expansion velocities alone cannot explain such a large discrepancy. Viewing-angle effects, such as due to an asymmetric explosion, may have a significant influence on the flux emitted in the UV region. Detailed modeling is needed to disentangle and quantify the above effects.

We present well-sampled UBVRIJHK photometry of SN 2002fk starting 12 days before maximum light through 122 days after peak brightness, along with a series of 15 optical spectra from -4 to +95 days since maximum. Our observations show the presence of C II lines in the early-time spectra of SN 2002fk, expanding at 11,000 km s(-1) and persisting until 8 days past maximum light with a velocity of similar to 9000 km s(-1). SN 2002fk is characterized by a small velocity gradient of. (upsilon) over dotS(i II) = 26 km s(-1) day(-1), possibly caused by an off-center explosion with the ignition region oriented toward the observer. The connection between the viewing angle of an off-center explosion and the presence of C II in the early-time spectrum suggests that the observation of C II could be also due to a viewing angle effect. Adopting the Cepheid distance to NGC 1309 we provide the first H-0 value based on near-infrared (near-IR) measurements of a Type Ia supernova (SN) between 63.0 +/- 0.8 (+/- 3.4 systematic) and 66.7 +/- 1.0 (+/- 3.5 systematic) kms(-1) Mpc(-1), depending on the absolute magnitude/decline rate relationship adopted. It appears that the near-IR yields somewhat lower (6%-9%) H-0 values than the optical. It is essential to further examine this issue by (1) expanding the sample of high-quality near-IR light curves of SNe in the Hubble flow, and (2) increasing the number of nearby SNe with near-IR SN light curves and precise Cepheid distances, which affords the promise to deliver a more precise determination of H-0.

We report the late-time evolution of Type IIb supernova (SN IIb) 2013df. SN 2013df showed a dramatic change in its spectral features at similar to 1 yr after the explosion. Early on it showed typical characteristics shared by SNe IIb/Ib/Ic dominated by metal emission lines, while later on it was dominated by broad and flat-topped Ha and He I emissions. The late-time spectra are strikingly similar to SN IIb 1993J, which is the only previous example clearly showing the same transition. This late-time evolution is fully explained by a change in the energy input from the Co-56 decay to the interaction between the SN ejecta and dense circumstellar matter (CSM). The mass-loss rate is derived to be similar to(5.4 +/- 3.2) x 10(-5) M(circle dot)yr(-1) (for the wind velocity of similar to 20 km s(-1)), similar to SN 1993J but larger than SN IIb 2011dh by an order of magnitude. The striking similarity between SNe IIb 2013df and 1993J in the (candidate) progenitors and the CSM environments. and the contrast in these natures to SN 2011dh. infer that there is a link between the natures of the progenitor and the mass loss: SNe IIb with a more extended progenitor have experienced a much stronger mass loss in the final centuries toward the explosion. It might indicate that SNe IIb from a more extended progenitor are the explosions during a strong binary interaction phase, while those from a less extended progenitor have a delay between the strong binary interaction and the explosion.

The La Silla/QUEST Variability Survey (LSQ) and the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP II) are collaborating to discover and obtain photometric light curves for a large sample of low-redshift (z < 0.1) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The supernovae are discovered in the LSQ survey using the 1 m ESO Schmidt telescope at the La Silla Observatory with the 10 square degree QUEST camera. The follow-up photometric observations are carried out using the 1 m Swope telescope and the 2.5 m du Pont telescopes at the Las Campanas Observatory. This paper describes the survey, discusses the methods of analyzing the data, and presents the light curves for the first 31 SNe Ia obtained in the survey. The SALT 2.4 supernova light-curve fitter was used to analyze the photometric data, and the Hubble diagram for this first sample is presented. The measurement errors for these supernovae averaged 4%, and their intrinsic spread was 14%.

We present ultraviolet (UV) observations of six nearby Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, three of which were also observed in the near-IR (NIR) with Wide-Field Camera 3. UV observations with the Swift satellite, as well as ground-based optical and NIR data provide complementary information. The combined data set covers the wavelength range 0.2-2 mu m. By also including archival data of SN 2014J, we analyse a sample spanning observed colour excesses up to E(B - V) = 1.4 mag. We study the wavelength-dependent extinction of each individual SN and find a diversity of reddening laws when characterized by the total-to-selective extinction R-V. In particular, we note that for the two SNe with E(B - V) greater than or similar to 1 mag, for which the colour excess is dominated by dust extinction, we find R-V = 1.4 +/- 0.1 and R-V = 2.8 +/- 0.1. Adding UV photometry reduces the uncertainty of fitted R-V by similar to 50 per cent allowing us to also measure R-V of individual low-extinction objects which point to a similar diversity, currently not accounted for in the analyses when SNe Ia are used for studying the expansion history of the Universe.