Do Wolf-Rayet stars have similar locations in hosts as type Ib/c supernovae and long gamma-ray bursts?

Abstract

Aims: We study the distribution of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and their subtypes with respect to their host galaxy light distribution. We thus want to investigate whether WR stars are potential progenitors of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae (SNe) and/or long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs). Methods: We derived the relative surface brightness (fractional flux) at the locations of WR stars and compared with similar results for LGRBs and SNe. We examined two nearby galaxies, M 83 and NGC 1313, for which a comprehensive study of the WR population exists. These two galaxies contain a sufficiently large number of WR stars and sample different metallicities. To enable the comparison, the images of the galaxies were processed to make them appear as they would look at a higher redshift. The robustness of our results against several sources of uncertainty was investigated with the aid of Monte Carlo simulations. Results: We find that the WC star distribution favours brighter pixels than the WN star population. WC stars are more likely drawn from the same distribution as SNe Ic than from other SN distributions, while WN stars show a higher degree of association with SNe Ib. It can also not be excluded that WR (especially WC) stars are related to LGRBs. Some differences between the two galaxies do exist, especially in the subtype distributions, and may stem from differences in metallicity. Conclusions: Although a conclusive answer is not possible, the expectation that WR stars are the progenitors of SNe Ib/c and LGRBs survives this test. The trend observed between the distributions of WN and WC stars, as compared to those of SNe Ib and Ic, is consistent with the theoretical picture that SNe Ic result from progenitors that have been stripped of a larger part of their envelope.

The previous version was accepted (March 31). This version contains minor changes (during language editing and proofs) to match the published version (August 26)

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Optical Spectra of 73 Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse Supernovae
• Gamma-ray burst progenitors
• The optically unbiased GRB host (TOUGH) survey. VI. Radio observations at z<1 and consistency with typical star-forming galaxies
• Statistical studies of supernova environments
• Unlocking Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars with $\text{Gaia}$ DR2 I: Distances and absolute magnitudes
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• The very young resolved stellar populations around stripped-envelope supernovae
• The host of the SN-less GRB 060505 in high resolution
• Core-collapse supernova progenitor constraints using the spatial distributions of massive stars in local galaxies
• Metallicity Measurements of Gamma-Ray Burst and Supernova Explosion Sites: Lessons from HII regions in M31
• Binary progenitor systems for Type Ic supernovae
• Far-infrared observations of an unbiased sample of gamma-ray burst host galaxies