Radiative diffusion in a time-dependent outflow: a model for fast blue optical transients

Abstract

Fast Blue Optical Transients (FBOTs) are luminous transients with fast evolving (typically $t_{\rm rise}<12\ \rm days$) light curve and blue color (usually $\rm {-0.2\ >\ g-r\ >\ -0.3}$) that cannot be explained by a supernova-like explosion. We propose a radiative diffusion in a time-dependent outflow model to interpret such special transients. In this model, we assume a central engine ejects continuous outflow during a few days. We consider the ejection of the outflow to be time-dependent. The outflow is optically thick initially and photons are frozen in it. As the outflow expands over time, photons gradually escape, and our work is to model such an evolution. Numerical and analytical calculations are considered separately, and the results are consistent. We apply the model to three typical FBOTs: PS1-10bjp, ZTF18abukavn, and ATLAS19dqr. The modeling finds the total mass of the outflow ($\sim 1-5 {M_{\odot}}$), and the total time of the ejection ($\sim$ a few days) for them, leading us to speculate that they may be the result of the collapse of massive stars.