Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userThe shock break-out of GRB 060218/SN 2006aj
94
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
Although the link between long Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and supernovae (SNe) has been established, hitherto there have been no observations of the beginning of a supernova explosion and its intimate link to a GRB. In particular, we do not know however how a GRB jet emerges from the star surface nor how a GRB progenitor explodes. Here we report on observations of the close GRB060218 and its connection to SN2006aj. In addition to the classical non-thermal emission, GRB060218 shows a thermal component in its X-ray spectrum, which cools and shifts into the optical/UV band as time passes. We interpret these features as arising from the break out of a shock driven by a mildly relativistic shell into the dense wind surrounding the progenitor. Our observations allow us for the first time to catch a SN in the act of exploding, to directly observe the shock break-out and to provide strong evidence that the GRB progenitor was a Wolf-Rayet star.
rate research
Read More
We present early photometric and spectroscopic data on the afterglow of GRB 060218 and report the evolution of the underlying supernova 2006aj. Our data span a time-range of 4 days to 22 days after the GRB and clearly establish that SN 2006aj is a fast-evolving broad-lined Type Ic SN with an extremely short rise-time (~ 10 days) and a large optical luminosity (M_V = -18.7 mag). The SN properties are deduced well since the GRB afterglow does not contribute a significant amount to the total light output. The spectra show broad lines indicative of large expansion velocities, but are better matched by those of SN 2002ap and SN 1997ef (that are not associated with a GRB) than those of the proto-typical GRB-related SN 1998bw. We refine the redshift estimate to z = 0.0335 +/- 0.00007. The host-galaxy is a low-metallicity dwarf galaxy (with M_V ~ -16.0 mag), similar to host-galaxies of other GRB-associated SNe.
We report the imaging and spectroscopic localization of GRB 060218 to a low-metallicity dwarf starburst galaxy at z = 0.03345 +/- 0.00006. In addition to making it the second nearest gamma-ray burst known, optical spectroscopy reveals the earliest detection of weak, supernova-like Si II near 5720 Angstroms (0.1c), starting 1.95 days after the burst trigger. UBVRI photometry obtained between 1 and 26 days post-burst confirms the early rise of supernova light, and suggests a short time delay between the gamma-ray burst and the onset of SN 2006aj if the early appearance of a soft component in the X-ray spectrum is understood as a ``shock breakout. Together, these results verify the long-hypothesized origin of soft gamma-ray bursts in the deaths of massive stars.
We have studied the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) of February 18, 2006. This is a nearby long GRB, with a very low peak energy, and is therefore classified as an X-ray Flash (XRF). XRF 060218 is clearly associated with a supernova -- dubbed SN 2006aj. We present early spectra for SN 2006aj as well as optical lightcurves reaching out to 50 days past explosion. Our optical lightcurves define the rise times, the lightcurve shapes and the absolute magnitudes in the U, V and R bands, and we compare these data with data for other relevant supernovae. SN 2006aj evolved quite fast, somewhat similarly to SN 2002ap, but not as fast as SN 1994I. Our spectra show the evolution of the supernova over the peak, when the U-band portion of the spectrum rapidly fades due to extensive line blanketing. We compare to similar spectra of very energetic Type Ic supernovae. Our first spectra are earlier than spectra for any other GRB-SN. The spectrum taken 12 days after burst in the rest frame is similar to somewhat later spectra of both SN 1998bw and SN 2003dh, implying a rapid early evolution. This is consistent with the fast lightcurve. From the narrow emission lines from the host galaxy we derive a redshift of z=0.0331+-0.0007. This makes XRF 060218 the second closest gamma-ray burst detected. The flux of these emission lines indicate a high-excitation state, and a modest metallicity and star formation rate of the host galaxy.
Optical spectroscopy and photometry of SN 2006aj have been performed with the Subaru telescope at t > 200 days after GRB060218, the X-ray Flash with which it was associated. Strong nebular emission-lines with an expansion velocity of v ~ 7,300 km/s were detected. The peaked but relatively broad [OI]6300,6363 suggests the existence of ~ 2 Msun of materials in which ~1.3 Msun is oxygen. The core might be produced by a mildly asymmetric explosion. The spectra are unique among SNe Ic in (1) the absence of [CaII]7291,7324 emission, and (2) a strong emission feature at ~ 7400A, which requires ~ 0.05 Msun of newly-synthesized 58Ni. Such a large amount of stable neutron-rich Ni strongly indicates the formation of a neutron star. The progenitor and the explosion energy are constrained to 18 Msun < Mms < 22 Msun and E ~ (1 - 3) 10^{51} erg, respectively.
The observational technique of spectropolarimetry has been used to directly measure the asymmetries of Supernovae (SNe), Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and X-Ray Flashes (XRFs). We wish to determine if non-axial asymmetries are present in SNe that are associated with GRBs and XRFs, given the particular alignment of the jet axis and axis of symmetry with the line of sight in these cases. We performed spectropolarimetry with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) FORS1 instrument of the Type Ic SN 2006aj, associated with the XRF 060218, at V-band maximum at 9.6 rest frame days after the detection of the XRF. Due to observations at only 3 retarder plate angles, the data were reduced assuming that the instrumental signature correction for the $U$ Stokes parameter was identical to the correction measured for $Q$. We find SN 2006aj to be highly polarized at wavelengths corresponding to the absorption minima of certain spectral lines, particularly strong for O I 7774AA and Fe II, observed at 4200AA with a polarization 3%. The value of the Interstellar Polarization is not well constrained by these observations and, considering the low polarization observed between 6000-6500AA, the global asymmetry of the SN is $lesssim 15%$. O I and Fe II lines share a polarization angle that differs from Ca II. SN 2006aj exhibits a higher degree of line polarization than other SNe associated with GRBs and XRFs. The polarization associated with spectral lines implies significant asymmetries of these elements with respect to each other and to the line of sight. This is contrary to the standard picture of SNe associated with GRBs/XRFs, where the axis of symmetry of the SN is aligned with the GRB jet axis and the line of sight.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
