UVOT, ZTF gri LCs and spectra of the SN Ia 2019yvq

We present exquisite observations of SN 2019yvq, the second observed SN Ia, after iPTF 14atg, to display an early flash of emission in the ultraviolet (UV) and optical. Our analysis finds that SN 2019yvq was unusual, even when ignoring the initial flash, in that it was moderately underluminous for an SN Ia (M_g_~-18.5mag at peak) yet featured very high absorption velocities (v~15000km/s for SiII{lambda}6355 at peak).

We find that many of the observational features of SN 2019yvq, aside from the flash, can be explained if the explosive yield of radioactive 56Ni is relatively low (we measure M_56Ni_=0.31+/-0.05M_{sun}_) and it and other iron-group elements are concentrated in the innermost layers of the ejecta. To explain both the UV/optical flash and peak properties of SN 2019yvq we consider four different models: interaction between the SN ejecta and a nondegenerate companion, extended clumps of ^56^Ni in the outer ejecta, a double-detonation explosion, and the violent merger of two white dwarfs.