A multi-wavelength investigation of the radio-loud supernova PTF11qcj and its circumstellar environment
- Department of Physics, The George Washington University, 725 21st St, NW, Washington, DC 20052 (United States)
- Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot (Israel)
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States)
- Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
- Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 685, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Max-Planck-Institut fur Astrophysik, D-85741 Garching (Germany)
We present the discovery, classification, and extensive panchromatic (from radio to X-ray) follow-up observations of PTF11qcj, a supernova (SN) discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). Our observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array show that this event is radio-loud: PTF11qcj reached a radio peak luminosity comparable to that of the famous gamma-ray-burst-associated SN 1998bw (L {sub 5} {sub GHz} ≈ 10{sup 29} erg s{sup –1} Hz{sup –1}). PTF11qcj is also detected in X-rays with the Chandra Observatory, and in the infrared band with Spitzer. Our multi-wavelength analysis probes the SN interaction with circumstellar material. The radio observations suggest a progenitor mass-loss rate of ∼10{sup –4} M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} × (v{sub w} /1000 km s{sup –1}), and a velocity of ≈0.3-0.5 c for the fastest moving ejecta (at ≈10 days after explosion). However, these estimates are derived assuming the simplest model of SN ejecta interacting with a smooth circumstellar wind, and do not account for possible inhomogeneities in the medium and asphericity of the explosion. The radio data show deviations from such a simple model, as well as a late-time re-brightening. The X-ray flux from PTF11qcj is compatible with the high-frequency extrapolation of the radio synchrotron emission (within the large uncertainties). A light echo from pre-existing dust is in agreement with our infrared data. Our pre-explosion data from the PTF suggest that a precursor eruption of absolute magnitude M{sub r} ≈ –13 mag may have occurred ≈2.5 yr prior to the SN explosion. Overall, PTF11qcj fits the expectations from the explosion of a Wolf-Rayet star. Precursor eruptions may be a feature characterizing the final pre-explosion evolution of such stars.
- OSTI ID:
- 22348034
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 782, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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