arXiv subjects

Zach Cano

Publications and source records attributed to Zach Cano.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Modeling the Light Curves of the Luminous Type Ic Supernova 2007D

SN~2007D is a nearby (redshift $z = 0.023146$), luminous Type Ic supernova (SN) having a narrow light curve (LC) and high peak luminosity. Previous research based on the assumption that it was powered by the $^{56}$Ni cascade decay suggested that the inferred $^{56}$Ni mass and the ejecta mass are $\sim 1.5$M$_{\odot}$ and $\sim 3.5$M$_{\odot}$, respectively. In this paper, we employ some multiband LC models to model the $R$-band LC and the color ($V-R$) evolution of SN~2007D to investigate the possible energy sources powering them. We find that the pure $^{56}$Ni model is disfavored; the multiband LCs of SN~2007D can be reproduced by a magnetar whose initial rotational period $P_{0}$ and magnetic field strength $B_p$ are $7.28_{-0.21}^{+0.21}$ (or $9.00_{-0.42}^{+0.32}$) ms and $3.10_{-0.35}^{+0.36}\times 10^{14}$ (or $2.81_{-0.44}^{+0.43}\times 10^{14}$) G, respectively. By comparing the spectrum of SN~2007D with that of some superluminous SNe (SLSNe), we find that it might be a luminous SN like several luminous ``gap-filler" optical transients that bridge ordinary and SLSNe, rather than a genuine SLSN.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

A fallback accretion model for the unusual type II-P supernova iPTF14hls

The Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory reported the discovery of an unusual type II-P supernova iPTF14hls. Instead of a ~100-day plateau as observed for ordinary type II-P supernovae, the light curve of iPTF14hls has at least five distinct peaks, followed by a steep decline at ~1000 days since discovery. Until 500 days since discovery, the effective temperature of iPTF14hls is roughly constant at 5000-6000K . In this paper we propose that iPTF14hls is likely powered by intermittent fallback accretion. It is found that the light curve of iPTF14hls can be well fit by the usual t^{-5/3} accretion law until ~1000 days post discovery when the light curve transitions to a steep decline. To account for this steep decline, we suggest a power-law density profile for the late accreted material, rather than the constant profile as appropriated for the t^{-5/3} accretion law. Detailed modeling indicates that the total fallback mass is ~0.2M_{sun}, with an ejecta mass M_{ej}~21M_{sun}. We find the third peak of the light curve cannot be well fit by the fallback model, indicating that there could be some extra rapid energy injection. We suggest that this extra energy injection may be a result of a magnetic outburst if the central object is a neutron star. These results indicate that the progenitor of iPTF14hls could be a massive red supergiant.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Empirically determined dilution factors of stripped-envelope, core-collapse SNe: Paper I - Method & Progenitor constraints

In this work, the empirically derived dilution/correct factors of a sample stripped-envelope, core-collapse supernovae (SE-SNe), including five SNe IIb, four SNe Ib, six SNe Ic and two relativistic broad-lined type Ic supernovae (SNe IcBL) are presented. The ultimate goal of this project is to derive model-free distances to the host galaxy of one or more gamma-ray burst supernova (GRB-SN), and to exploit their observed luminosity$-$decline relationship by employing them as cosmological probes. In the first part of a two-paper analysis, I present my method for deriving the dilution factors of the SE-SN sample, which were chosen on the basis that cosmological-model-independent distances exist to their host galaxies, and each has a sufficient dataset that allows for host-subtracted, dereddened rest-frame $BVI$ LCs to be constructed, and time-series spectra. A Planck function was fit to the data to derive the blackbody radius and blackbody temperature as a function of time, while the blueshifted velocity of either Si II $λ$6355 or Fe II $λ$5169 was used a proxy of the photospheric velocity, and hence photospheric radius. The ratio of these empirically derived radii was taken as the dilution/correct factor. I then compared the empirically derived dilution factors with synthetic values obtained from radiative transfer models calculated for SE-SNe arising from binary systems. It is seen that the empirical dilution factors of the SNe Ic and GRB-SNe, the latter which were derived based on luminosity distances calculated from their spectroscopic redshift, are very similar. It is found that the dilution factors of the two relativistic SN IcBL are very different to those of the GRB-SNe, meaning that these engine-driven events may arise from fundamentally different progenitor systems.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Empirically determined dilution factors of stripped-envelope, core-collapse SNe: Paper II - Using GRB-SNe to determine the Hubble Constant

The aim of this work is to use gamma-ray burst supernovae (GRB-SNe) as cosmological probes to measure the Hubble constant, $H_0$, in the local Universe. In the context of the Expanding Photosphere Method (EPM), I use empirically derived dilution factors of a sample of nearby SNe Ic, which were derived in Paper I of a two-paper series, as a proxy for the dilution factors of GRB-SNe. It is seen that the dilution factors as a function of temperature in $VI$ display the least amount of scatter, relative to $BVI$ and $BV$. A power-law function is fit to the former, and is used to derive model dilution factors which are then used to derive EPM distances to GRB-SNe 1998bw and 2003lw: $36.7\pm9.6$ and $372.2\pm137.1$ Mpc, respectively. In linear Hubble diagrams in filters $BVR$, I determine the offset of the Hubble ridge line, and armed with the peak absolute magnitudes in these filters for the two aforementioned GRB-SNe, I find a (weighted average) Hubble constant of $\bar{H_{0,\rm w}} = 61.9\pm12.3$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ for GRB-SNe located at redshifts $z\le0.1$. The 20\% error is consistent with the value of $H_0$ calculated by Planck and SNe Ia within 1$σ$. I tested the fitting method on five nearby SNe Ic, and found that their EPM distances varied by 18-50\%, with smaller errors found for those SNe which had more numerous usable observations. For SN 2002ap, its EPM distance was overestimated by 18\%, and if the distance to SN 1998bw was similarly over-estimated by the same amount, the resultant value of the Hubble constant is $H_0 = 72$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, which perfectly matches that obtained using SNe Ia. [abridged]

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Testing the magnetar scenario for superluminous supernovae with circular polarimetry

Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are at least $\sim$5 times more luminous than common supernovae (SNe). Especially hydrogen-poor SLSN-I are difficult to explain with conventional powering mechanisms. One possible scenario that might explain such luminosities is that SLSNe-I are powered by an internal engine, such as a magnetar or an accreting black hole. Strong magnetic fields or collimated jets can circularly polarize light. In this work, we measured circular polarization of two SLSNe-I with the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS2) mounted at the ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). PS17bek, a fast evolving SLSN-I, was observed around peak, while OGLE16dmu, a slowly evolving SLSN-I, was observed 100 days after maximum. Neither SLSN shows evidence of circularly polarized light, however, these non-detections do not rule out the magnetar scenario as the powering engine for SLSNe-I. We calculate the strength of the magnetic field and the expected circular polarization as a function of distance from the magnetar, which decreases very fast. Additionally, we observed no significant linear polarization for PS17bek at four epochs, suggesting that the photosphere near peak is close to spherical symmetry.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

A Monte Carlo approach to magnetar-powered transients: II. Broad-lined type Ic supernovae not associated with GRBs

Broad-lined type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL) are a subclass of rare core collapse SNe whose energy source is debated in the literature. Recently a series of investigations on SNe Ic-BL with the magnetar (plus 56Ni) model were carried out. Evidence for magnetar formation was found for the well-observed SNe Ic-BL 1998bw and 2002ap. In this paper we systematically study a large sample of SNe Ic-BL not associated with gamma-ray bursts. We use photospheric velocity data determined in a homogeneous way. We find that the magnetar+56Ni model provides a good description of the light curves and velocity evolution of our sample of SNe Ic-BL, although some SNe (not all) can also be described by the pure-magnetar model or by the two-component pure-56Ni model (3 out of 12 are unlikely explained by two-component model). In the magnetar+56Ni model, the amount of 56Ni required to explain their luminosity is significantly reduced, and the derived initial explosion energy is, in general, in accordance with neutrino heating. Some correlations between different physical parameters are evaluated and their implications regarding magnetic field amplification and the total energy reservoir are discussed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

ALMA and GMRT constraints on the off-axis gamma-ray burst 170817A from the binary neutron star merger GW170817

Binary neutron-star mergers (BNSMs) are among the most readily detectable gravitational-wave (GW) sources with LIGO. They are also thought to produce short $γ$-ray bursts (SGRBs), and kilonovae that are powered by r-process nuclei. Detecting these phenomena simultaneously would provide an unprecedented view of the physics during and after the merger of two compact objects. Such a Rosetta Stone event was detected by LIGO/Virgo on 17 August 2017 at a distance of $\sim 44$ Mpc. We monitored the position of the BNSM with ALMA at 338.5 GHz and GMRT at 1.4 GHz, from 1.4 to 44 days after the merger. Our observations rule out any afterglow more luminous than $3\times 10^{26}~{\rm erg\,s}^{-1}\,{\rm Hz}^{-1}$ in these bands, probing $>$2--4 dex fainter than previous SGRB limits. We match these limits, in conjunction with public data announcing the appearance of X-ray and radio emission in the weeks after the GW event, to templates of off-axis afterglows. Our broadband modeling suggests that GW170817 was accompanied by a SGRB and that the GRB jet, powered by $E_{\rm AG,\,iso}\sim10^{50}$~erg, had a half-opening angle of $\sim20^\circ$, and was misaligned by $\sim41^\circ$ from our line of sight. The data are also consistent with a more collimated jet: $E_{\rm AG,\,iso}\sim10^{51}$~erg, $θ_{1/2,\,\rm jet}\sim5^\circ$, $θ_{\rm obs}\sim17^\circ$. This is the most conclusive detection of an off-axis GRB afterglow and the first associated with a BNSM-GW event to date. Assuming a uniform top-hat jet, we use the viewing angle estimates to infer the initial bulk Lorentz factor and true energy release of the burst.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Modeling The Most Luminous Supernova Associated with a Gamma-Ray Burst, SN 2011kl

We study the most luminous known supernova (SN) associated with a gamma-ray burst (GRB), SN 2011kl. The photospheric velocity of SN 2011kl around peak brightness is $21,000\pm7,000$ km s$^{-1}$. Owing to different assumptions related to the light-curve (LC) evolution (broken or unbroken power-law function) of the optical afterglow of GRB 111209A, different techniques for the LC decomposition, and different methods (with or without a near-infrared contribution), three groups derived three different bolometric LCs for SN 2011kl. Previous studies have shown that the LCs without an early-time excess preferred a magnetar model, a magnetar+$^{56}$Ni model, or a white dwarf tidal disruption event model rather than the radioactive heating model. On the other hand, the LC shows an early-time excess and dip that cannot be reproduced by the aforementioned models, and hence the blue-supergiant model was proposed to explain it. Here we reinvestigate the energy sources powering SN 2011kl. We find that the two LCs without the early-time excess of SN 2011kl can be explained by the magnetar+$^{56}$Ni model, and the LC showing the early excess can be explained by the magnetar+$^{56}$Ni model taking into account the cooling emission from the shock-heated envelope of the SN progenitor, demonstrating that this SN might primarily be powered by a nascent magnetar.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

A spectroscopic look at the gravitationally lensed type Ia SN 2016geu at z=0.409

The spectacular success of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in SN-cosmology is based on the assumption that their photometric and spectroscopic properties are invariant with redshift. However, this fundamental assumption needs to be tested with observations of high-z SNe Ia. To date, the majority of SNe Ia observed at moderate to large redshifts (0.4 < z < 1.0) are faint, and the resultant analyses are based on observations with modest signal-to-noise ratios that impart a degree of ambiguity in their determined properties. In rare cases however, the Universe offers a helping hand: to date a few SNe Ia have been observed that have had their luminosities magnified by intervening galaxies and galaxy clusters acting as gravitational lenses. In this paper we present long-slit spectroscopy of the lensed SNe Ia 2016geu, which occurred at a redshift of z=0.409, and was magnified by a factor of ~55 by a galaxy located at z=0.216. We compared our spectra, which were obtained a couple weeks to a couple months past peak light, with the spectroscopic properties of well-observed, nearby SNe Ia, finding that SN 2016geu's properties are commensurate with those of SNe Ia in the local universe. Based primarily on the velocity and strength of the Si II 6355 absorption feature, we find that SN 2016geu can be classified as a high-velocity, high-velocity gradient and "core-normal" SN Ia. The strength of various features (measured though their pseudo-equivalent widths) argue against SN 2016geu being a faint, broad-lined, cool or shallow-silicon SN Ia. We conclude that the spectroscopic properties of SN 2016geu imply that it is a normal SN Ia, and when taking previous results by other authors into consideration, there is very little, if any, evolution in the observational properties of SNe Ia up to z~0.4. [Abridged]

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

The Observer's Guide to the Gamma-Ray Burst-Supernova Connection

In this review we present a progress report of the connection between long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their accompanying supernovae (SNe). The analysis is from the point of view of an observer, with much of the emphasis placed on how observations, and the modelling of observations, have constrained what we known about GRB-SNe. We discuss their photometric and spectroscopic properties, their role as cosmological probes, including their measured luminosity$-$decline relationships, and how they can be used to measure the Hubble constant. We present a statistical analysis of their bolometric properties, and use this to determine the properties of the "average" GRB-SNe: which has a kinetic energy of $E_{\rm K} \approx 2.5\times10^{52}$ erg, an ejecta mass of $M_{\rm ej} \approx 6$ M$_{\odot}$, a nickel mass of $M_{\rm Ni} \approx 0.4$ M$_{\odot}$, a peak photospheric velocity of $v_{\rm ph} \approx 21,000$ km s$^{-1}$, a peak bolometric luminosity of $L_{\rm p} \approx 1\times10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and it reaches peak bolometric light in $t_{\rm p} \approx 13$ days. We discuss their geometry, consider the various physical processes that are thought to power the luminosity of GRB-SNe, and whether differences exist between GRB-SNe and the SNe associated with ultra-long duration GRBs. We discuss how observations of the environments of GRB-SNe further constrain the physical properties of their progenitor stars, and give an overview of the current theoretical paradigms of their suspected central engines. We also present an overview of the radioactively powered transients that have been photometrically associated with short-duration GRBs. We conclude the review by discussing what additional research is needed to further our understanding of GRB-SNe, in particular the role of binary-formation channels and the connection of GRB-SNe with superluminous SNe (abridged).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Hubble diagrams of relativistic broad-lined type Ic supernovae

This paper is a demonstration of how relativistic, broad-lined type Ic supernovae (SNe IcBL) can be used to constrain a value of the Hubble constant in the local universe ($H_{0}$). Included in our sample of SNe IcBL are the SNe associated with long-duration $γ$-ray bursts (GRB-SNe), as well as local relativistic SNe IcBL that are not associated with GRBs. Building upon recent results that found a luminosity$-$stretch relationship for a sample of nine GRB-SNe, we demonstrate that GRB-SNe and SNe IcBL have statistically significant luminosity$-$decline relationships in $BVR$ filters at the $p=0.02$ confidence level. Conversely, we show that SNe Ib, Ic and IIb do not have statistically significant luminosity$-$decline relationships. Two of the relativistic SNe IcBL in our sample have independent distance measurements (SN 2009bb and SN 2012ap) that we used to constrain a weighted-average value of ${H}_{0,\rm w}=82.5\pm8.1$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. This value is 1$σ$ greater than that obtained using SNe Ia, and 2$σ$ larger than that determined by Planck. This difference can be attributed to large peculiar motions of the host galaxies of the two SNe IcBL, which are members of galaxy groups. When determining a value of $H_{0}$ using SNe Ib, Ic and IIb, we found an average value of $H_{0}$ that has a standard deviation of order $20-40$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, which demonstrates that these SNe are poor cosmological candles. With the launch of the next generation of space telescopes, SNe IcBL, and in particular GRB-SNe, have the potential to constrain constrain the Hubble diagram up to a redshift of $z=3-5$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

A self-consistent analytical magnetar model: The luminosity of $γ$-ray burst supernovae is powered by radioactivity

We present an analytical model that considers energy arising from a magnetar central engine. The results of fitting this model to the optical and X-ray light curves (LCs) of five long-duration $γ$-ray bursts (LGRBs) and two ultra-long GRBs (ULGRBs), including their associated supernovae (SNe), show that emission from a magnetar central engine cannot be solely responsible for powering an LGRB-SN. While the early AG-dominated phase can be well described with our model, the predicted SN luminosity is underluminous by a factor of $3-17$. We use this as compelling evidence that additional sources of heating must be present to power an LGRB-SN, which we argue must be radioactive heating. Our self-consistent modelling approach was able to successfully describe all phases of ULGRB 111209A / SN 2011kl, from the early afterglow to the later SN, where we determined for the magnetar central engine a magnetic field strength of $1.1-1.3\times10^{15}$ G, an initial spin period of $11.5-13.0$ ms, a spin-down time of $4.8-6.5$ d, and an initial energy of $1.2-1.6\times10^{50}$ erg. These values are entirely consistent with those determined by other authors. The luminosity of a magnetar-powered SN is directly related to how long the central engine is active, where central engines with longer durations give rise to brighter SNe. The spin-down timescales of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are of order months to years, which provides a natural explanation as to why SN 2011kl was less luminous than SLSNe that are also powered by emission from magnetar central engines.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The lightcurve of the macronova associated with the long-short burst GRB 060614

The {\it Swift}-detected GRB 060614 was a unique burst that straddles an imaginary divide between long- and short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and its physical origin has been heavily debated over the years. Recently, a distinct very-soft F814W-band excess at $t\sim 13.6$ days after the burst was identified in a joint-analysis of VLT and HST optical afterglow data of GRB~060614, which has been interpreted as evidence for an accompanying Li-Paczynski macronova (also called a kilonova). Under the assumption that the afterglow data in the time interval of $1.7-3.0$ days after the burst are due to external forward shock emission, when this assumption is extrapolated to later times it is found that there is an excess of flux in several multi-band photometric observations. This component emerges at $\sim$4 days after the burst, and it may represent the first time that a multi-epoch/band lightcurve of a macronova has been obtained. The macronova associated with GRB 060614 peaked at $t\lesssim 4$ days after the burst, which is significantly earlier than that observed for a supernova associated with a long-duration GRB. Due to the limited data, no strong evidence for a temperature evolution is found. We derive a conservative estimate of the macronova rate of $\sim 16.3^{+16.3}_{-8.2}~{\rm Gpc^{-3}}{\rm yr^{-1}}$, implying a promising prospect for detecting the gravitational wave radiation from compact object mergers by upcoming Advanced LIGO/VIRGO/KAGRA detectors (i.e., the rate is ${\cal R}_{\rm GW} \sim 0.5^{+0.5}_{-0.25}(D/200~{\rm Mpc})^{3}~{\rm yr^{-1}}$).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Type Ib SN 1999dn as an example of the thoroughly mixed ejecta of Ib supernovae

We present the results of modelling archival observations of type Ib SN 1999dn. In the spectra, two He I absorption features are seen: a slower component with larger opacity, and a more rapid He I component with smaller opacity. Complementary results are obtained from modelling the bolometric light curve of SN 1999dn, where a two-zone model (dense inner region, and less dense outer region) provides a much better fit than a one-zone model. A key result we find is that roughly equal amounts of radioactive material are found in both regions. The two-zone analytical model provides a more realistic representation of the structure of the ejecta, including mixing and asymmetries, which offers a physical explanation for how the radioactive material is propelled to, and mixed within, the outer regions. Our result supports the theoretical expectation that the radioactive content in the outflow of a type Ib supernova (SN) is thoroughly mixed. We fit our model to six additional SNe Ibc, of which the majority of the SNe Ib are best described by the two-zone model, and the majority of the SNe Ic by the one-zone model. Of the SNe Ic, only SN 2007gr was best fit by the two-zone model, indicating that the lack of helium spectral features for this event cannot be attributed to poor mixing.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

GRB 081007 and GRB 090424: the surrounding medium, outflows and supernovae

We discuss the results of the analysis of multi-wavelength data for the afterglows of GRB 081007 and GRB 090424, two bursts detected by Swift. One of them, GRB 081007, also shows a spectroscopically confirmed supernova, SN 2008hw, which resembles SN 1998bw in its absorption features, while the maximum luminosity is only about half as large as that of SN 1998bw. Bright optical flashes have been detected in both events, which allows us to derive solid constraints on the circumburst-matter density profile. This is particularly interesting in the case of GRB 081007, whose afterglow is found to be propagating into a constant-density medium, yielding yet another example of a GRB clearly associated with a massive star progenitor which did not sculpt the surroundings with its stellar wind. There is no supernova component detected in the afterglow of GRB 090424, likely due to the brightness of the host galaxy, comparable to the Milky Way. We show that the afterglow data are consistent with the presence of both forward- and reverse-shock emission powered by relativistic outflows expanding into the interstellar medium. The absence of optical peaks due to the forward shock strongly suggests that the reverse shock regions should be mildly magnetized. The initial Lorentz factor of outflow of GRB 081007 is estimated to be Γ~ 200, while for GRB 090424 a lower limit of Γ> 170 is derived. We also discuss the prompt emission of GRB 081007, which consists of just a single pulse. We argue that neither the external forward-shock model nor the shock-breakout model can account for the prompt emission data and suggest that the single-pulse-like prompt emission may be due to magnetic energy dissipation of a Poynting-flux dominated outflow or to a dissipative photosphere.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

A new method for estimating the bolometric properties of Ibc SNe

The bolometric properties (nickel mass, ejecta mass and kinetic energies) of 61 Ibc supernovae (SNe), including 20 Gamma-Ray Burst and X-Ray Flash (GRB/XRF), 19 Ib, 13 Ic and 9 Ic-BL (broad-lined) SNe are presented. All of the available $BVRI$ photometry in the literature have been collected and used in a new method that utilizes a template supernova (SN 1998bw) and an analytical model based on Arnett (1982) to accurately estimate the bolometric properties of each SN. A statistical analysis of the bolometric properties is then performed, where it is found that GRB/XRF SNe are the most energetic, and eject more mass (including nickel content) than Ib, Ic and Ic-BL SNe. The results are then compared to the existing progenitor models of Ibc SNe, where it is concluded that it is highly likely that at least two progenitor channels exist for producing a Ibc SN: most Ibc SNe arise via binary interactions, where the mass of the stellar progenitor is less than what is attributed to a Wolf Rayet star. Conversely, the progenitors of Ic-BL and GRB/XRF are more massive than those of Ib and Ic SNe, though a key difference between them is progenitor metallicity, with Ic-BL SNe arise from more metal rich progenitors. As mass loss in massive stars is influenced by metal content, the progenitors of Ic-BL SNe lose more mass, and therefore more angular momentum, before exploding. It is expected that the explosion mechanism in Ic-BL and GRB/XRF SNe is ``engine-driven'' (i.e. an accreting black hole, or a millisecond magnetar), but the increased mass loss of Ic-BL SNe means the central engine is less powerful than in GRB/XRF SNe. Finally, it is found that the SNe that accompany GRBs and XRFs are statistically indistinguishable, and some mechanism other than metallicity is needed to explain the differences in the high-energy components in these events.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

The Nature of Gamma Ray Burst Supernovae

Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and Supernovae (SNe) are among the brightest and most energetic physical processes in the universe. It is known that core-collapse SNe arise from the gravitational collapse and subsequent explosion of massive stars (the progen- itors of nearby core-collapse SNe have been imaged and unambiguously identified). It is also believed that the progenitors of long-duration GRBs (L-GRBs) are massive stars, mainly due to the occurrence and detection of very energetic core-collapse su- pernovae that happen both temporally and spatially coincident with most L-GRBs. However many outstanding questions regarding the nature of these events exist: How massive are the progenitors? What evolutionary stage are they at when they explode? Do they exist as single stars or in binary systems (or both, and to what fractions)? The work presented in this thesis attempts to further our understanding at the types of progenitors that give rise to long-duration GRB supernovae (GRB-SNe). This work is based on optical photometry obtained for three GRB-SNe events: GRB 060729, GRB 090618 and XRF 100316D (an X-Ray Flash is similar to a L-GRB, but has a lower peak energy). For GRB 060729 and GRB 090618 we model the optical light curves and account for light coming from three sources: the host galaxy, the afterglow and the supernova. When we remove the host flux, and model the afterglow, the re- maining flux resembles that of a SN, both in the shape of the light curve and the shape of the spectral energy distribution. Our investigation of XRF 100316D and its spectroscopically-confirmed Ic-BL SN 2010bh is more detailed as we were able to obtain optical and infrared data in many filters, which we utilize to created a quasi-bolometric light curve that we model to determine physical parameters of the SN...

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

The Highly Energetic Expansion of SN2010bh Associated with GRB 100316D

We present the spectroscopic and photometric evolution of the nearby (z = 0.059) spectroscopically confirmed type Ic supernova, SN 2010bh, associated with the soft, long-duration gamma-ray burst (X-ray flash) GRB 100316D. Intensive follow-up observations of SN 2010bh were performed at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) using the X-shooter and FORS2 instruments. Owing to the detailed temporal coverage and the extended wavelength range (3000--24800 A), we obtained an unprecedentedly rich spectral sequence among the hypernovae, making SN 2010bh one of the best studied representatives of this SN class. We find that SN 2010bh has a more rapid rise to maximum brightness (8.0 +/- 1.0 rest-frame days) and a fainter absolute peak luminosity (L_bol~3e42 erg/s) than previously observed SN events associated with GRBs. Our estimate of the ejected (56)Ni mass is 0.12 +/- 0.02 Msun. From the broad spectral features we measure expansion velocities up to 47,000 km/s, higher than those of SNe 1998bw (GRB 980425) and 2006aj (GRB 060218). Helium absorption lines He I lambda5876 and He I 1.083 microm, blueshifted by ~20,000--30,000 km/s and ~28,000--38,000 km/s, respectively, may be present in the optical spectra. However, the lack of coverage of the He I 2.058 microm line prevents us from confirming such identifications. The nebular spectrum, taken at ~186 days after the explosion, shows a broad but faint [O I] emission at 6340 A. The light-curve shape and photospheric expansion velocities of SN 2010bh suggest that we witnessed a highly energetic explosion with a small ejected mass (E_k ~ 1e52 erg and M_ej ~ 3 Msun). The observed properties of SN 2010bh further extend the heterogeneity of the class of GRB supernovae.

astro-ph.HE↗