The birth place of the type Ic Supernova 2007gr

R. Mark Crockett; Justyn R. Maund; Stephen J. Smartt; Seppo Mattila; Andrea Pastorello; Jonathan Smoker; Andrew W. Stephens; Johan Fynbo; John J. Eldridge; I. John Danziger; Christopher R. Benn

doi:10.1086/527299

arXiv · 0709.2354

The birth place of the type Ic Supernova 2007gr

R. Mark Crockett·Justyn R. Maund·Stephen J. Smartt·Seppo Mattila·Andrea Pastorello·Jonathan Smoker·Andrew W. Stephens·Johan Fynbo·John J. Eldridge·I. John Danziger·Christopher R. Benn

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We report our attempts to locate the progenitor of the peculiar type Ic SN 2007gr in HST pre-explosion images of the host galaxy, NGC 1058. Aligning adaptive optics Altair/NIRI imaging of SN 2007gr from the Gemini (North) Telescope with the pre-explosion HST WFPC2 images, we identify the SN position on the HST frames with an accuracy of 20 mas. Although nothing is detected at the SN position we show that it lies on the edge of a bright source, 134+/-23 mas (6.9 pc) from its nominal centre. Based on its luminosity we suggest that this object is possibly an unresolved, compact and coeval cluster and that the SN progenitor was a cluster member, although we note that model profile fitting favours a single bright star. We find two solutions for the age of this assumed cluster; 7-/+0.5 Myrs and 20-30 Myrs, with turn-off masses of 28+/-4 Msun and 12-9 Msun respectively. Pre-explosion ground-based K-band images marginally favour the younger cluster age/higher turn-off mass. Assuming the SN progenitor was a cluster member, the turn-off mass provides the best estimate for its initial mass. More detailed observations, after the SN has faded, should determine if the progenitor was indeed part of a cluster, and if so allow an age estimate to within ~2 Myrs thereby favouring either a high mass single star or lower mass interacting binary progenitor.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph

Keep this discovery

BibTeX RIS

R. Mark Crockett, Justyn R. Maund, Stephen J. Smartt, Seppo Mattila, Andrea Pastorello, Jonathan Smoker, Andrew W. Stephens, Johan Fynbo, John J. Eldridge, I. John Danziger, Christopher R. Benn. 2007-11-28. The birth place of the type Ic Supernova 2007gr. https://doi.org/10.1086/527299

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2018

Nuclear Reaction Network for Primordial Nucleosynthesis: a detailed analysis of rates, uncertainties and light nuclei yields

We analyze in details the standard Primordial Nucleosynthesis scenario. In particular we discuss the key theoretical issues which are involved in a detailed prediction of light nuclide abundances, as the weak reaction rates, neutrino decoupling and nuclear rate modeling. We also perform a new analysis of available data on the main nuclear processes entering the nucleosynthesis reaction network, with particular stress on their uncertainties as well as on their role in determining the corresponding uncertainties on light nuclide theoretical estimates. The current status of theoretical versus experimental results for 2H, 3He, 4He and 7Li is then discussed using the determination of the baryon density as obtained from Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2018

Sky coverage of orbital detectors. Analytical approach

Orbital detectors without pointing capability have to keep their field of view axis laying on their orbital plane, to observe the largest sky fraction. A general approach to estimate the exposure of each sky element for such detectors is a valuable tool in the R&D phase of a project, when the detector characteristics are still to be fixed. An analytical method to estimate the sky exposure is developed, which makes only few very reasonable approximations. The formulae obtained with this method are used to compute the histogram of the sky exposure of a hypothetical gamma-ray detector installed on the ISS. The C++ code used in this example is freely available on the https://github.com/dcasadei/SkyCoverage web page.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2017

The Role of Primordial Kicks on Black Hole Merger Rates

Primordial stars are likely to be very massive >30 Msun, form in isolation, and will likely leave black holes as remnants in the centers of their host dark matter halos. We expect primordial stars to form in halos in the mass range 10^6-10^10 Msun. Some of these early black holes, formed at redshifts z>10, could be the seed black hole for a significant fraction of the supermassive black holes found in galaxies in the local universe. If the black hole descendants of the primordial stars exist, their mergers with nearby supermassive black holes may be a prime candidate for long wavelength gravitational wave detectors. We simulate formation and evolution of dark matter halos in LambdaCDM universe. We seed high-redshift dark matter halos with early black holes, and explore the merger history of the host halos and the implications of black hole's kick velocities arising from their coalescence. The central concentration of low mass early black holes in present day galaxies is reduced if they experience even moderate kicks of tens of km/s. Even such modest kicks allow the black holes to leave their parent halo, which consequently leads to dynamical friction being less effective on the low mass black holes that were ejected, compared to those still embedded in their parent halos. Therefore, merger rates with central supermassive black holes in the largest halos may be reduced by more than an order of magnitude. Using analytical and illustrative cosmological N-body simulations, we quantify the role of kicks on the merger rates of black holes formed from massive metal free stars with supermassive black holes in present day galaxies.

astro-ph↗