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Title: An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies

Abstract

IR and radio-band observations of heavily extinguished regions in starburst galaxies suggest a high supernova (SN) rate associated with such regions. Optically measured SN rates may therefore underestimate the total SN rate by factors of up to 10, as a result of the very high extinction ({ital A}{sub {ital B}}thinsp{approximately}thinsp10{endash}20 mag) to core-collapse SNe in starburst regions. The IR/radio SN rates come from a variety of indirect means, however, which suffer from model dependence and other problems. We describe a direct measurement of the SN rate from a regular patrol of starburst galaxies done with {ital K}{prime}-band imaging to minimize the effects of extinction. A collection of {ital K}{prime}-band measurements of core-collapse SNe near maximum light is presented. Such measurements (excluding 1987A) are not well reported in the literature. Results of a preliminary {ital K}{prime}-band search, using the MIRC camera at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory and an improved search strategy using the new ORCA optics, are described. A monthly patrol of a sample of {ital IRAS} bright (mostly starburst) galaxies within 25 Mpc should yield 1{endash}6 SNe yr{sup {minus}1}, corresponding to the range of estimated SN rates. Our initial MIRC search with low resolution (2&arcsec;2 pixels) failed to find extinguishedmore » SNe in the {ital IRAS} galaxies, limiting the SN rate outside the nucleus (at greater than 15{double_prime} radius) to less than 3.8 far-IR SN rate units (SNe per century per 10{sup 10} {ital L}{sub {circle_dot}} measured at 60 and 100 {mu}m, or FIRSRU) at 90{percent} confidence. The MIRC camera had insufficient resolution to search nuclear starburst regions, where starburst and SN activity is concentrated; therefore, we were unable to rigorously test the hypothesis of high SN rates in heavily obscured star-forming regions. We conclude that high-resolution nuclear SN searches in starburst galaxies with small fields are more productive than low-resolution, large-field searches, even for our sample of large (often several arcminutes) galaxies. With our ORCA high-resolution optics, we could limit the total SN rate to less than 1.3 FIRSRU at 90{percent} confidence in 3 years of observations, lower than most estimates. {copyright} {ital {copyright} 1999.} {ital The American Astronomical Society}« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [6]
  1. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley and Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Mail Stop 50-232, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming, P.O. Box 3905, University Station, Laramie, WY 82071 (United States)
  3. Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Mail Stop 50-348, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
  4. European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei Muenchen (Germany)
  5. University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
  6. Yerkes Observatory, 373 West Geneva Street, Williams Bay, WI 53191 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
698821
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astronomical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 118; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
66 PHYSICS; SUPERNOVAE; GALAXY NUCLEI; STAR EVOLUTION; LUMINOSITY; INFRARED RADIATION; INTERSTELLAR GRAINS

Citation Formats

Grossan, B, Spillar, E, Tripp, R, Pirzkal, N, Sutin, B M, Johnson, P, and Barnaby, D. An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies. United States: N. p., 1999. Web. doi:10.1086/300962.
Grossan, B, Spillar, E, Tripp, R, Pirzkal, N, Sutin, B M, Johnson, P, & Barnaby, D. An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies. United States. https://doi.org/10.1086/300962
Grossan, B, Spillar, E, Tripp, R, Pirzkal, N, Sutin, B M, Johnson, P, and Barnaby, D. 1999. "An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies". United States. https://doi.org/10.1086/300962.
@article{osti_698821,
title = {An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies},
author = {Grossan, B and Spillar, E and Tripp, R and Pirzkal, N and Sutin, B M and Johnson, P and Barnaby, D},
abstractNote = {IR and radio-band observations of heavily extinguished regions in starburst galaxies suggest a high supernova (SN) rate associated with such regions. Optically measured SN rates may therefore underestimate the total SN rate by factors of up to 10, as a result of the very high extinction ({ital A}{sub {ital B}}thinsp{approximately}thinsp10{endash}20 mag) to core-collapse SNe in starburst regions. The IR/radio SN rates come from a variety of indirect means, however, which suffer from model dependence and other problems. We describe a direct measurement of the SN rate from a regular patrol of starburst galaxies done with {ital K}{prime}-band imaging to minimize the effects of extinction. A collection of {ital K}{prime}-band measurements of core-collapse SNe near maximum light is presented. Such measurements (excluding 1987A) are not well reported in the literature. Results of a preliminary {ital K}{prime}-band search, using the MIRC camera at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory and an improved search strategy using the new ORCA optics, are described. A monthly patrol of a sample of {ital IRAS} bright (mostly starburst) galaxies within 25 Mpc should yield 1{endash}6 SNe yr{sup {minus}1}, corresponding to the range of estimated SN rates. Our initial MIRC search with low resolution (2&arcsec;2 pixels) failed to find extinguished SNe in the {ital IRAS} galaxies, limiting the SN rate outside the nucleus (at greater than 15{double_prime} radius) to less than 3.8 far-IR SN rate units (SNe per century per 10{sup 10} {ital L}{sub {circle_dot}} measured at 60 and 100 {mu}m, or FIRSRU) at 90{percent} confidence. The MIRC camera had insufficient resolution to search nuclear starburst regions, where starburst and SN activity is concentrated; therefore, we were unable to rigorously test the hypothesis of high SN rates in heavily obscured star-forming regions. We conclude that high-resolution nuclear SN searches in starburst galaxies with small fields are more productive than low-resolution, large-field searches, even for our sample of large (often several arcminutes) galaxies. With our ORCA high-resolution optics, we could limit the total SN rate to less than 1.3 FIRSRU at 90{percent} confidence in 3 years of observations, lower than most estimates. {copyright} {ital {copyright} 1999.} {ital The American Astronomical Society}},
doi = {10.1086/300962},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/698821}, journal = {Astronomical Journal},
number = 2,
volume = 118,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999},
month = {Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999}
}