A MISSING-LINK IN THE SUPERNOVA–GRB CONNECTION: THE CASE OF SN 2012ap
- Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)
- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1 Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400005 (India)
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University, 4700 Keele St., M3J 1P3 Ontario (Canada)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
- Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Andres Bello, Avda. Republica 252, Santiago (Chile)
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza Dei Cavalieri 7—I-56126 Pisa (Italy)
- Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool (United Kingdom)
- Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden)
- Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box 443, Krugersdrop, 1740 (South Africa)
- Departamento de Astronoma, Universidad de Chile (Chile)
- University of Colorado, C327A, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)
- New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States)
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are characterized by ultra-relativistic outflows, while supernovae are generally characterized by non-relativistic ejecta. GRB afterglows decelerate rapidly, usually within days, because their low-mass ejecta rapidly sweep up a comparatively larger mass of circumstellar material. However, supernovae with heavy ejecta can be in nearly free expansion for centuries. Supernovae were thought to have non-relativistic outflows except for a few relativistic ones accompanied by GRBs. This clear division was blurred by SN 2009bb, the first supernova with a relativistic outflow without an observed GRB. However, the ejecta from SN 2009bb was baryon loaded and in nearly free expansion for a year, unlike GRBs. We report the first supernova discovered without a GRB but with rapidly decelerating mildly relativistic ejecta, SN 2012ap. We discovered a bright and rapidly evolving radio counterpart driven by the circumstellar interaction of the relativistic ejecta. However, we did not find any coincident GRB with an isotropic fluence of more than one-sixth of the fluence from GRB 980425. This shows for the first time that central engines in SNe Ic, even without an observed GRB, can produce both relativistic and rapidly decelerating outflows like GRBs.
- OSTI ID:
- 22522355
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 805, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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