SDWFS-MT-1: a self-obscured luminous supernova at z ≃ 0.2
Abstract
We report the discovery of a 6 month long mid-infrared transient, SDWFS-MT-1 (aka SN 2007va), in the Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Boötes field. The transient, located in a z = 0.19 low-luminosity (M_([4.5]) ≃ −18.6 mag, L/L_⋆ ≃ 0.01) metal-poor (12 + log(O/H) ≃ 7.8) irregular galaxy, peaked at a mid-infrared absolute magnitude of M_([4.5]) ≃ −24.2 in the 4.5μm Spitzer/IRAC band and emitted a total energy of at least 10^(51) erg. The optical emission was likely fainter than the mid-infrared, although our constraints on the optical emission are poor because the transient peaked when the source was "behind" the Sun. The Spitzer data are consistent with emission by a modified blackbody with a temperature of ~1350 K. We rule out a number of scenarios for the origin of the transient such as a Galactic star, active galactic nucleus activity, γ - ray burst, tidal disruption of a star by a black hole, and gravitational lensing. The most plausible scenario is a supernova (SN) exploding inside a massive, optically thick circumstellar medium, composed of multiple shells of previously ejected material. If the proposed scenario is correct, then a significant fraction (~10%) of the most luminous SN may be self-enshrouded by dust not only before but also after the SN occurs. The spectral energy distribution of the progenitor of such an SN would be a slightly cooler version of η Carinae peaking at 20–30 μm.
Additional Information
© 2010 American Astronomical Society. Received 2010 June 21; accepted 2010 August 24; published 2010 October 1. We thank the anonymous referee, whose comments helped us to improve the manuscript. This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (Caltech) under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Support for this work was provided by NASA through award numbers 1310744 (C.S.K. and S.K.), 1314516 (M.L.N.A.) issued by JPL/Caltech. C.S.K., K.Z.S., T.A.T., and S.K. are also supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grant AST-0908816. J.L.P. acknowledges support from NASA through Hubble Fellowship grant HF-51261.01-A awarded by STScI, which is operated by AURA, Inc., for NASA, under contract NAS 5-2655. This work made use of images and/or data products provided by NDWFS (Jannuzi & Dey 1999). The NDWFS and the research of A.D and B.T.J. are supported by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). NOAO is operated by AURA, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with NSF. The CRTS survey is supported by NSF under grants AST-0407448 and AST-0909182. The CSS survey is funded by NASA under grant no. NNG05GF22G issued through the Science Mission Directorate Near-Earth Objects Observations Program.Attached Files
Published - Kozlowski2010p12051Astrophys_J.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 21375
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20101215-094159969
- 1310744
- NASA
- HF-51261.01-A
- NASA Hubble Fellowship
- NAS 5-2655
- NASA
- NNG05GF22G
- NASA
- 1314516
- JPL/Caltech
- AST-0908816
- NSF
- AST-0407448
- NSF
- AST-0909182
- NSF
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)
- Created
-
2010-12-15Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Space Radiation Laboratory