A population of Type Ibc supernovae with massive progenitors: Broad lightcurves not uncommon in (i)PTF

Abstract

If high-mass stars (≳20 - 25 Mo˙) are the progenitors of stripped-envelope (SE) supernovae (SNe), their massive ejecta should lead to broad, long-duration lightcurves. Instead, literature samples of SE SNe have reported relatively narrow lightcurves corresponding to ejecta masses between 1 - 4 Mo˙ that favor intermediate-mass progenitors (≲20 - 25 Mo˙). Working with an untargeted sample from a single telescope to better constrain their rates, we searched the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and intermediate-PTF (iPTF) sample of SNe for SE SNe with broad lightcurves. Using a simple observational marker of g- or r-band lightcurve stretch compared to a template to measure broadness, we identified eight significantly broader Type Ibc SNe after applying quantitative sample selection criteria. The lightcurves, broad-band colors, and spectra of these SNe are found to evolve more slowly relative to typical Type Ibc SNe, proportional with the stretch parameter. Bolometric lightcurve modeling and their nebular spectra indicate high ejecta masses and nickel masses, assuming radioactive decay powering. Additionally, these objects are preferentially located in low-metallicity host galaxies with high star formation rates, which may account for their massive progenitors, as well as their relative absence from the literature. Our study thus supports the link between broad lightcurves (as measured by stretch) and high-mass progenitor stars in SE SNe with independent evidence from bolometric lightcurve modeling, nebular spectra, host environment properties, and photometric evolution. In the first systematic search of its kind using an untargeted sample, we used the stretch distribution to identify a higher than previously appreciated fraction of SE SNe with broad lightcurves (~13%). Correcting for Malmquist and lightcurve duration observational biases, we conservatively estimate that a minimum of ~6% of SE SNe are consistent with high-mass progenitors. This result has implications for the progenitor channels of SE SNe, including late stages of massive stellar evolution, the origin of the observed oxygen fraction in the universe, and formation channels for stellar-mass black holes.