SPIRITS 15c and SPIRITS 14buu: Two Obscured Supernovae in the Nearby Star-Forming Galaxy IC 2163

Abstract

SPIRITS---SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey---is an ongoing survey of nearby galaxies searching for infrared (IR) transients with Spitzer/IRAC. We present the discovery and follow-up observations of one of our most luminous ($M_{[4.5]}=-17.1\pm 0.4$ mag, Vega) and red ($[3.6]-[4.5]=3.0\pm 0.2$ mag) transients, SPIRITS 15c. The transient was detected in a dusty spiral arm of IC 2163 ($D\approx 35.5$ Mpc). Pre-discovery ground-based imaging revealed an associated, shorter-duration transient in the optical and near-IR (NIR). NIR spectroscopy showed a broad ($\approx 8400$ km s${}^{-1}$), double-peaked emission line of He I at $1.083\mu$m, indicating an explosive origin. The NIR spectrum of SPIRITS 15c is similar to that of the Type IIb SN 2011dh at a phase of $\approx 200$ days. Assuming $A_V=2.2$ mag of extinction in SPIRITS 15c provides a good match between their optical light curves. The IR light curves and the extreme $[3.6]-[4.5]$ color cannot be explained using only a standard extinction law. Another luminous ($M_{4.5}=-16.1\pm 0.4$ mag) event, SPIRITS 14buu, was serendipitously discovered in the same galaxy. The source displays an optical plateau lasting $\gtrsim 80$ days, and we suggest a scenario similar to the low-luminosity Type IIP SN 2005cs obscured by $A_V\approx 1.5$ mag. Other classes of IR-luminous transients can likely be ruled out in both cases. If both events are indeed SNe, this may suggest $\gtrsim 18\%$ of nearby core-collapse SNe are missed by currently operating optical surveys.

arXiv comment19 pages, 7 Figures, 4 Tables

References in corpus (82)

• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) for the Spitzer Space Telescope
• Correcting for the Effects of Interstellar Extinction
• The Spitzer Space Telescope Mission
• Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
• A Method of Correcting Near-Infrared Spectra for Telluric Absorption
• The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey ZYJHK Photometric System: Passbands and Synthetic Colours
• WISeREP - An Interactive Supernova Data Repository
• Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared. XIV: the Absolute Calibration of 2MASS
• Optimal Techniques in Two-dimensional Spectroscopy: Background Subtraction for the 21st Century
• Dust-Corrected Star Formation Rates of Galaxies. I. Combinations of H-alpha and Infrared Tracers
• Empirical Color Transformations Between SDSS Photometry and Other Photometric Systems
• V1309 Scorpii: merger of a contact binary
• Observed and Physical Properties of Core-Collapse Supernovae
• The UKIRT Wide Field Camera ZYJHK Photometric System: Calibration from 2MASS
• The massive binary companion star to the progenitor of supernova 1993J
• A comparative modeling of supernova 1993J
• SN 2005cs in M51 II. Complete Evolution in the Optical and the Near-Infrared
• Kinematics of the Local Universe XIII. 21-cm line measurements of 452 galaxies with the Nançay radiotelescope, JHK Tully-Fisher relation and preliminary maps of the peculiar velocity field
• Asphericity in Supernova Explosions from Late-Time Spectroscopy
• An energetic stellar outburst accompanied by circumstellar light echoes
• The Yellow Supergiant Progenitor of the Type II Supernova 2011dh in M51
• Discovery of the Dust-Enshrouded Progenitor of SN 2008S with Spitzer
• Towards Characterization of the Type IIP Supernova Progenitor Population: a Statistical Sample of Light Curves from Pan-STARRS1
• The Cosmic Core-collapse Supernova Rate does not match the Massive-Star Formation Rate
• Dust and the type II-plateau supernova 2004et
• An Asymmetric, Energetic Type Ic Supernova Viewed Off-Axis, and a Link to Gamma-Ray Bursts
• A New Class of Luminous Transients and A First Census of Their Massive Stellar Progenitors
• PTF12os and iPTF13bvn. Two stripped-envelope supernovae from low-mass progenitors in NGC 5806
• The Mid-Infrared Extinction Law in the Ophiuchus, Perseus, and Serpens Molecular Clouds
• Improved Standardization of Type II-P Supernovae: Application to an Expanded Sample
• Late-time spectral line formation in Type IIb supernovae, with application to SN 1993J, SN 2008ax, and SN 2011dh
• The 2008 Luminous Optical Transient in the Nearby Galaxy NGC 300
• Caltech Core-Collapse Project (CCCP) Observations of Type II Supernovae: Evidence for Three Distinct Photometric Subtypes
• VLBI Images of 49 Radio Supernovae in Arp 220
• Optical and near-infrared observations of SN 2011dh - The first 100 days
• The Progenitor of Supernova 2011dh/PTF11eon in Messier 51
• Modelling the binary progenitor of supernova 1993J
• The type IIb SN 2008ax: the nature of the progenitor
• Stellar Mergers Are Common
• Double-peaked Oxygen Lines Are not Rare in Nebular Spectra of Core-Collapse Supernovae
• Core-collapse supernovae missed by optical surveys
• A Complete Survey of the Transient Radio Sky and Implications for Gamma-Ray Bursts, Supernovae, and other Relativistic Explosions
• Common Envelope ejection for a Luminous Red Nova in M101
• Doublets and Double Peaks: Late-Time [O I] 6300, 6364 Line Profiles of Stripped-Envelope, Core-Collapse Supernovae
• The expanding bipolar shell of the helium nova V445 Puppis
• The Type IIb SN 2011dh - Two years of observations and modelling of the lightcurves
• The infrared supernova rate in starburst galaxies
• On the Progenitor of the Type II Supernova 2004et in NGC 6946
• The Progenitor of Supernova 2011dh Has Vanished
• V838 Monocerotis: A Geometric Distance from Hubble Space Telescope Polarimetric Imaging of its Light Echo
• Almost Gone: SN~2008S and NGC~300 2008OT-1 are Fainter than their Progenitors
• Dusty Explosions from Dusty Progenitors: The Physics of SN2008S and the 2008 NGC300-OT
• PTF10fqs: A Luminous Red Nova in the Spiral Galaxy Messier 99
• A Systematic Study of Mid-Infrared Emission from Core-Collapse Supernovae with SPIRITS
• SN2010jp (PTF10aaxi): A Jet-Driven Type II Supernova
• Adaptive Optics Discovery of Supernova 2004ip in the Nuclear Regions of the Luminous Infrared Galaxy IRAS 18293-3413
• The Photometric and Spectral Evolution of the 2008 Luminous Optical Transient in NGC 300
• Discovery of a very highly extinguished supernova in a luminous infrared galaxy
• An extremely prolific supernova factory in the buried nucleus of the starburst galaxy IC 694
• Radio Emission from Young Supernovae and Supernova Remnants in Arp 299
• Discovery of Two Supernovae in the Nuclear Regions of the Luminous Infrared Galaxy IC 883
• Discovery of two infrared supernovae: a new window on the SN search
• HST Observations of the Interacting Galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163
• Discovery of a bright radio transient in M82: a new radio supernova?
• Spitzer observations of SN 2014J and properties of mid-IR emission in Type Ia supernovae
• An Excess of Mid-Infrared Emission from the Type Iax SN 2014dt
• The nuclear starburst in Arp 299-A: From the 5.0 GHz VLBI radio light-curves to its core-collapse supernova rate
• An IR Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies
• The nature of supernovae 2010O and 2010P in Arp 299 - I. Near-infrared and optical evolution
• A NICMOS search for obscured Supernovae in starburst galaxies
• Highly extinguished supernovae in the nuclear regions of starburst galaxies
• The nature of supernovae 2010O and 2010P in Arp 299 - II. Radio emission
• Dust to Dust: 3 years in the Evolution of the Unusual SN 2008S
• Supernovae and radio transients in M 82
• Evidence of nuclear disks in starburst galaxies from their radial distribution of supernovae
• Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Outburst Site of M31 RV. II. No Blue Remnant in Quiescence
• High star formation rates in turbulent atomic-dominated gas in the interacting galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207
• The Mid-Infrared Light Curve of Nearby Core-Collapse Supernova SN2011dh (PTF11eon)
• HAWK-I infrared supernova search in starburst galaxies
• e-MERLIN and VLBI observations of the luminous infrared galaxy IC883: a nuclear starburst and an AGN candidate revealed
• Ocular Shock Front in the Colliding Galaxy IC 2163

Cited by in corpus (16)

• The early detection and follow-up of the highly obscured Type II supernova 2016ija/DLT16am
• The `Red Supergiant Problem': the upper luminosity boundary of type-II supernova progenitors
• The SPIRITS sample of Luminous Infrared Transients: Uncovering Hidden Supernovae and Dusty Stellar Outbursts in Nearby Galaxies
• Near-Infrared and Optical Observations of Type Ic SN2020oi and broad-lined Ic SN2020bvc: Carbon Monoxide, Dust and High-Velocity Supernova Ejecta
• A Comprehensive Analysis of Spitzer Supernovae
• First results from GeMS/GSAOI for project SUNBIRD: Supernovae UNmasked By Infra-Red Detection
• Circumstellar Medium Interaction in SN 2018lab, A Low-Luminosity II-P Supernova observed with TESS
• X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Emission From Core-collapse Supernovae: Comparison of Three-dimensional Neutrino-driven Explosions With SN 1987A
• SPIRITS 16tn in NGC 3556: A heavily obscured and low-luminosity supernova at 8.8 Mpc
• Core-collapse supernova subtypes in luminous infrared galaxies
• Near-Infrared and Optical Observations of Type Ic SN 2021krf: Luminous Late-time Emission and Dust Formation
• Enhanced mass-loss rate evolution of stars with $\gtrsim 18M_{\odot }$ and missing optically-observed type II core-collapse supernovae
• Revealing Dusty Supernovae in High-Redshift (Ultra-)Luminous InfraRed Galaxies Through Near-Infrared Integrated Light Variability
• An ALMA-HST Study of Millimeter Dust Emission and Star Clusters
• Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Luminous Extragalactic Infrared Transients and Variables from the SPIRITS Survey
• Spitzer's Last Look at Extragalactic Explosions: Long-Term Evolution of Interacting Supernovae