A superluminous supernova lightened by collisions with pulsational pair-instability shells

Superluminous supernovae are among the most energetic stellar explosions in the Universe, but their energy sources remain an open question. Here we present long-term observations of one of the closest examples of the hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae subclass SLSNe-I, supernova SN 2017egm, revealing the most complicated known luminosity evolution of SLSNe-I. Three distinct post-peak bumps were recorded in its light curve collected at about 100-350 days after maximum brightness, challenging current popular power models such as magnetar, fallback accretion, and interaction between ejecta and a circumstellar shell. However, the complex light curve can be well modelled by successive interactions with multiple circumstellar shells with a total mass of about 6.8-7.7 M_⊙. In this scenario, large energy deposition from interaction-induced reverse shocks results in ionization of neutral oxygen in the supernova ejecta and hence a much lower nebular-phase line ratio of [O I] λ6,300/([Ca II] + [O II]) λ7,300 (~0.2) compared with that derived for other superluminous and normal stripped-envelope supernovae. The pre-existing multiple shells indicate that the progenitor of SN 2017egm experienced pulsational mass ejections triggered by pair instability within 2 years before explosion, in robust agreement with theoretical predictions for a pre-pulsation helium-core mass of 48-51 M_⊙.