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Study Confirms Fast X-Ray Transients Arise From Failed Jets in Dying Stars

The latest dataset on EP 250108a/SN 2025kg reveals a direct link between trapped stellar jets and Type Ic broad-lined supernovae.

Overview

  • Two companion papers published this month offer the most detailed observations to date of EP 250108a/SN 2025kg, confirming that stifled jets in massive star collapse power FXTs.
  • Rapid multi-wavelength follow-up by the Einstein Probe, Gemini South’s FLAMINGOS-2, Gemini North’s GMOS and the SOAR Telescope captured the X-ray flash's transition into a Type Ic broad-lined supernova.
  • Analysis of the event indicates that failed jets are more common in massive star explosions than successful jets that produce gamma-ray bursts.
  • Spectroscopic and infrared data constrain the progenitor of SN 2025kg to a star roughly 15 to 30 times the mass of the sun.
  • Teams are preparing to leverage the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time for systematic detection and study of fast X-ray transients.