We present observations of four rapidly rising (t rise ≈ 10 d) transients with peak luminosities between those of supernovae (SNe) and superluminous SNe (M peak ≈ −20) -one discovered and followed by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and three by the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). The light curves resemble those of SN 2011kl, recently shown to be associated with an ultra-long-duration gamma ray burst (GRB), though no GRB was seen to accompany our SNe. The rapid rise to a luminous peak places these events in a unique part of SN phase space, challenging standard SN emission mechanisms. Spectra of the PTF event formally classify it as a Type II SN due to broad Hα emission, but an unusual absorption feature, which can be interpreted as either high velocity Hα (though deeper than in previously known cases) or Si II (as seen in Type Ia SNe), is also observed. We find that existing models of white dwarf detonations, CSM interaction, shock breakout in a wind (or steeper CSM) and magnetar spindown can not readily explain the observations. We consider the possibility that a "Type 1.5 SN" scenario could be the origin of our events. More detailed models for these kinds of transients and more constraining observations of future such events should help better determine their nature.

We present the results of a search for rapidly evolving transients in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Programme. These events are characterized by fast light curve evolution (rise to peak in 10 d and exponential decline in 30 d after peak). We discovered 72 events, including 37 transients with a spectroscopic redshift from host galaxy spectral features. The 37 events increase the total number of rapid optical transients by more than factor of two. They are found at a wide range of redshifts (0.05 < z < 1.56) and peak brightnesses (−15.75 > M g > −22.25). The multiband photometry is well fit by a blackbody up to few weeks after peak. The events appear to be hot (T ≈ 10000 − 30000 K) and large (R ≈ 10 14 − 2 · 10 15 cm) at peak, and generally expand and cool in time, though some events show evidence for a receding photosphere with roughly constant temperature. Spectra taken around peak are dominated by a blue featureless continuum consistent with hot, optically thick ejecta. We compare our events with a previously suggested physical scenario involving shock breakout in an optically thick wind surrounding a core-collapse supernova (CCSNe), we conclude that current models for such a scenario might need an additional power source to describe the exponential decline. We find these transients tend to favor star-forming host galaxies, which could be consistent with a core-collapse origin. However, more detailed modeling of the light curves is necessary to determine their physical origin.

We present two hydrogen-rich superluminous supernovae (SLSNe), namely SN2013hx and PS15br. These objects, together with SN2008es are the only SLSNe showing a distinct, broad Hα feature during the photospheric phase and also do not show any sign of strong interaction between fast moving ejecta and circumstellar shells in their early spectra. Despite PS15br peak luminosity is fainter than the other two objects, the spectrophotometric evolution is similar to SN2013hx and different than any other supernova in a similar luminosity space. We group all of them as SLSNe II and hence distinct from the known class of SLSN IIn. Both transients show a strong, multicomponent Hα emission after 200 days past maximum which we interpret as an indication of interaction of the ejecta with an asymmetric, clumpy circumstellar material. The spectra and photometric evolution of the two objects are similar to type II supernovae, although they have much higher luminosity and evolve on slower timescales. This is qualitatively similar to how SLSNe I compare with normal type Ic in that the former are brighter and evolve more slowly. We apply a magnetar and an interaction semi-analytical codes to fit the light curves of our two objects and SN2008es. The overall observational dataset would tend to favour the magnetar, or central engine, model as the source of the peak luminosity although the clear signature of late-time interaction indicates that interaction can play a role in the luminosity evolution of SLSNe II at some phases.

We investigate the identification of hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe I) using a photometric analysis, without including an arbitrary magnitude threshold. We assemble a homogeneous sample of previously classified SLSNe I from the literature, and fit their light curves using Gaussian processes. From the fits, we identify four photometric parameters that have a high statistical significance when correlated, and combine them in a parameter space that conveys information on their luminosity and color evolution. This parameter space presents a new definition for SLSNe I, which can be used to analyse existing and future transient datasets. We find that 90% of previously classified SLSNe I meet our new definition. We also examine the evidence for two subclasses of SLSNe I, combining their photometric evolution with spectroscopic information, namely the photospheric velocity and its gradient. A cluster analysis reveals the presence of two distinct groups. 'Fast' SLSNe show fast light curves and color evolution, large velocities, and a large velocity gradient. 'Slow' SLSNe show slow light curve and color evolution, small expansion velocities, and an almost non-existent velocity gradient. Finally, we discuss the impact of our analyses in the understanding of the powering engine of SLSNe, and their implementation as cosmological probes in current and future surveys.

We present a measurement of the volumetric rate of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) at z∼1.0, measured using archival data from the first four years of the Canada-FranceHawaii Telescope Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). We develop a method for the photometric classification of SLSNe to construct our sample. Our sample includes two previously spectroscopically-identified objects, and a further new candidate selected using our classification technique. We use the point-source recovery efficiencies from Perrett et al. (2010) and a Monte Carlo approach to calculate the rate based on our SLSN sample. We find that the three identified SLSNe from SNLS give a rate of 91 +76 −36 SNe Yr −1 Gpc −3 at a volume-weighted redshift of z = 1.13. This is equivalent to 2.2 +1.8 −0.9 × 10 −4 of the volumetric core collapse supernova rate at the same redshift. When combined with other rate measurements from the literature, we show that the rate of SLSNe increases with redshift in a manner consistent with that of the cosmic star formation history. We also estimate the rate of ultra-long gamma ray bursts (ULGRBs) based on the events discovered by the Swift satellite, and show that it is comparable to the rate of SLSNe, providing further evidence of a possible connection between these two classes of events. We also examine the host galaxies of the SLSNe discovered in SNLS, and find them to be consistent with the stellar-mass distribution of other published samples of SLSNe.