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Black Hole

Lensing of space time around a black hole. At Oxford we study black holes observationally and theoretically on all size and time scales - it is some of our core work.

Credit: ALAIN RIAZUELO, IAP/UPMC/CNRS. CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE IMAGES.

Professor Stephen Smartt CBE FRS MRIA

Professor of Astrophysics

Research theme

  • Astronomy and astrophysics

Sub department

  • Astrophysics

Research groups

  • Hintze Centre for Astrophysical Surveys
  • Pulsars, transients and relativistic astrophysics
  • Rubin-LSST
stephen.smartt@physics.ox.ac.uk
Telephone: 01865273405
Denys Wilkinson Building, room 714
  • About
  • Publications

Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium

Astronomy & Astrophysics EDP Sciences 707 (2026) a157

Authors:

Y-Z Cai, A Pastorello, K Maeda, J-W Zhao, Z-Y Wang, Z-H Peng, A Reguitti, L Tartaglia, AV Filippenko, Y Pan, G Valerin, B Kumar, Z Wang, M Fraser, JP Anderson, S Benetti, S Bose, TG Brink, E Cappellaro, T-W Chen, X-L Chen, N Elias-Rosa, A Esamdin, A Gal-Yam, M González-Bañuelos, M Gromadzki, CP Gutiérrez, C Inserra, A Iskandar, T Kangas, E Kankare, T Kravtsov, H Kuncarayakti, L-P Li, C-X Liu, X-K Liu, P Lundqvist, K Matilainen, S Mattila, S Moran, TE Müller-Bravo, T Nagao, T Petrushevska, G Pignata, I Salmaso, SJ Smartt, J Sollerman, S Srivastav, MD Stritzinger, L-T Wang, S-Y Yan, Y Yang, Y-P Yang, W Zheng, X-Z Zou, L-Y Chen, X-L Du, Q-L Fang, A Fiore, F Ragosta, S Zha, J-J Zhang, X-W Liu, J-M Bai, B Wang, X-F Wang

Abstract:

We present a photometric and spectroscopic analyses of the Type Ibn supernova (SN) 2024acyl. It rises to an absolute magnitude peak of M o = −17.58 ± 0.15 mag in 10.6 days, and displays a rapid linear post-peak light-curve decline in all bands (e.g. γ 0 − 60 ( V ) = 0.097 ± 0.002 mag day −1 ), similar to most SNe Ibn. The optical pseudobolometric light curve peaks at (3.5 ± 0.8)×10 42 erg s −1 , with a total radiated energy of (5.0 ± 0.4)×10 48 erg. The spectra are dominated by a blue continuum at early stages, with narrow P-Cygni He  I lines and flash-ionisation emission lines of C  III , N  III , and He  II . The P-Cygni He  I features gradually evolve and become emission-dominated in late-time spectra. The H α line is detected throughout the entire spectral evolution, which indicates that the circumstellar material (CSM) is helium-rich with some residual amount of hydrogen. Our multi-band light-curve modelling yields estimates of the ejecta mass of M ej = 0.49 +0.11 −0.09 M ⊙ with a kinetic energy of E k = 0.06 +0.01 −0.01 × 10 51 erg, and a 56 Ni mass of M Ni = 0.018 M ⊙ . The inferred CSM properties are characterised by a mass of M CSM = 0.51 +0.05 −0.04 M ⊙ , an inner radius of R 0 =17.8 +3.6 −3.0 AU, and a density of ρ CSM = (8.3 +2.7 −1.2 ) × 10 −12 g cn −3 . The multi-epoch spectra are well reproduced by the CMFGEN/ he4p0 model, corresponding to a He-ZAMS mass of 4 M ⊙ (H-ZAMS mass 18.11 M ⊙ , pre-SN mass 3.16 M ⊙ ). These findings are consistent with a scenario of an SN powered by ejecta-CSM interaction originating from a low-mass helium star that evolved within an interacting binary system where the CSM with some residual hydrogen may originate from the mass-transfer process. We also discuss an extreme scenario involving the possible merger of a helium white dwarf. In addition, a channel of core-collapse explosion of a late-type Wolf-Rayet (WR) star with hydrogen, or a transitional star between an Of and a WR type (e.g. an Ofpe/WN9 star) with fallback accretion cannot be entirely ruled out.

SN 2024hpj: A perspective on SN 2009ip-like events

Astronomy & Astrophysics EDP Sciences 707 (2026) a80

Authors:

I Salmaso, A Pastorello, E Borsato, S Benetti, MT Botticella, Y-Z Cai, N Elias-Rosa, A Farina, M Fraser, L Galbany, M González-Bañuelos, CP Gutiérrez, M Huang, P Lundqvist, T Kangas, TL Killestein, T Kravtsov, K Matilainen, A Morales-Garoffolo, A Mura, G Pignata, A Reguitti, TM Reynolds, S Smartt, S Srivastav, L Tartaglia, G Valerin, Z-Y Wang

Abstract:

Supernovae (SNe) IIn are terminal explosions of massive stars that are surrounded by a dense circumstellar medium (CSM). Among SNe IIn, a notable subset is the SN 2009ip-like, which exhibits an initial, fainter peak attributed to stellar variability in the late evolutionary stages, followed by a brighter peak, interpreted as the SN explosion itself. In this context, we analysed the spectrophotometric evolution of SN 2024hpj, an object with a triple-peaked light curve and spectra typical of a SN IIn but with a complex line profile composed of broad P-Cygni features topped by narrow emissions. Comparing it with other SN 2009ip-like events in the literature, as well as with other unpublished objects (SNe 2019mry, 2022ytx, 2024uzf, and 2025csc), we identify star-forming regions as their preferred formation environment. On the other hand, the diversity of spectrophotometric features within the sample suggests that variations in CSM mass and distribution may influence the observed characteristics. We identify four sub-classes based on the luminosity and rapidity of the light curve evolution, which provides insights into possible differences in the progenitors, while a statistical analysis of their observed rate indicates progenitor masses around 25 − 31 M ⊙ or lower.

Can tidal disruption event models reliably measure black hole masses?

(2026)

Authors:

CR Angus, AJ Smith, D Magill, P Ramsden, N Sarin, M Nicholl, B Mockler, E Hammerstein, R Stein, Y Yao, T de Boer, KC Chambers, ME Huber, C-C Lin, TB Lowe, EA Magnier, SJ Smartt, RJ Wainscoat

ATLAS100 data release 1

University of Oxford (2026)

Authors:

Shubham Srivastav, Stephen Smartt

Abstract:

Public data release accompanying the ATLAS100 sample definition paper by Srivastav et al. (2026). The data release includes the cleaned and binned ATLAS light curves of 1729 transients in the sample. Also included is a catalog csv file with additional useful metadata for the transients in the sample, including host galaxy associations, any updated classifications, etc.

A Young Supernova Selection Pipeline For The LSST Era

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) (2025) staf2278

Authors:

Harry Addison, Chris Frohmaier, Kate Maguire, Robert C Nichol, Isobel Hook, Stephen J Smartt

Abstract:

Abstract Early-time spectroscopy of supernovae (SNe), acquired within days of explosion, yields crucial insights into their outermost ejecta layers, facilitating the study of their environments, progenitor systems, and explosion mechanisms. Recent efforts in early discovery and follow-up of SNe have shown the potential insights that can be gained from early-time spectra. Surveys such as the Time-Domain Extragalactic Survey (TiDES), conducted with the 4-meter Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST), will provide spectroscopic follow-up of transients discovered by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Current simulations indicate that early-time spectroscopic studies conducted with TiDES data will be limited by the current SN selection criteria. To enhance early-time SN spectroscopic studies from TiDES-like surveys, we propose a set of selection criteria focusing on young SNe (YSNe), which we define as SNe prior to −10 days before peak brightness. Utilising the Zwicky Transient Facility transient alerts, we developed criteria to select YSNe while minimising the sample’s contamination rate to 23percnt. The developed criteria were applied to LSST simulations, yielding a sample of 694 Deep Drilling Field survey SNe and 56260 Wide Fast Deep survey SNe for follow-up. We demonstrate that our criteria enables the selection of SNe at early-times, enhancing future early-time spectroscopic SN studies from TiDES-like surveys. Finally, we investigated 4MOST-like observing strategies to increase the sample of spectroscopically observed YSNe. We propose that a 4MOST-like observing strategy that follows LSST with a delay of 3 days is optimal for a TiDES-like SN survey in terms of the number of classifiable spectra obtained, while a 1 day delay is most optimal for enhancing the early-time science in conjunction with our YSN selection criteria.

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