2025MNRAS.543.3885O

We propose that the delayed conversion of a neutron star (NS) into either a quark star (QS) or a hybrid star (HS), occurring approximately $\sim$105-109 d after the supernova (SN) explosion, injects ${\sim} 2 \times 10^{49}$ erg of thermal energy into the expanded SN ejecta. This energy, delivered over ${\sim} 40$ d via a quark-nova (QN) shock or spin-down (SpD) power of the HS, can reproduce the photometric and spectral features observed in SN 2023aew. In this model, the first light-curve peak corresponds to the $^{56}$Ni-powered SN from a stripped-envelope progenitor with a zero-age main sequence mass of ${\gtrsim} 15$-$16\, \mathrm{ M}_{\odot }$. The plateau between the two peaks may result from interaction with circumstellar material (CSM), or from SpD power of the NS prior to its conversion. The second peak is powered by the HS, a highly magnetized remnant formed through a quark matter phase capable of sustaining core magnetic fields up to ${\sim} 10^{18}$ G. A scenario involving two phases of SpD power - first from the NS and later from the HS - is compelling and supports the hypothesis that some magnetars may be HSs. The SpD energy of the HS powers the QN ejecta - outer NS layers - which then transfer energy to the SN ejecta, producing luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs). This model offers a potential connection between superluminous SNe (SLSNe) and LFBOTs, with implications for high-energy astrophysics, r-process nucleosynthesis, and the physics of dense quark matter governed by Quantum Chromodynamics.