Search for a Counterpart to the Subsolar Mass Gravitational-wave Candidate S251112cm

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Abstract The recent candidate gravitational-wave (GW) alert from a compact object merger involving at least one subsolar mass (SSM) object has prompted questions about their origins. S251112cm is reported by LIGO/Virgo with a false-alarm rate of 1 per 6.2 yr, nearby luminosity distance of 93 ± 27 Mpc, and probability of containing an SSM object of 100%. Such a system, if astrophysical, likely did not involve the supersolar neutron stars or black holes invoked to explain kilonovae. One must then also invoke hitherto unobserved and speculative models to produce SSM mergers that may have electromagnetic (EM) counterparts. We introduce a framework that vets and scores candidate counterparts to SSM GW events to inform follow-up in search of any among the zoo of potential EM transients: kilonovae, kilonovae-within-supernovae, superkilonovae, or active galactic nucleus (AGN) flares from binary black hole mergers. We use a suite of telescopes to perform tiling, galaxy-targeted observations, and photometric/spectroscopic follow-up of promising candidates. In near-real time, we ingest candidates reported by the community, including some of the first observations reported by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. We vet and score a total of 456 candidates, including 67 from Rubin, but find no likely counterpart. We nonetheless highlight candidates that demonstrate the ability of our framework to distinguish between different transient types and describe strategies to maximize the chances of detecting a counterpart to the next SSM event. Our framework will be implemented in the forthcoming Multimessenger Tool for Rapid Object Vetting and Examination.

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