A Sensitive Search for Supernova Emission Associated with the Extremely Energetic and Nearby GRB 221009A

Abstract

We report observations of the optical counterpart of the long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) GRB 221009A. Due to the extreme rarity of being both nearby ($z=0.151$) and highly energetic ($E_{\gamma ,\mathrm{iso}}\ge 10^{54}$ erg), GRB 221009A offers a unique opportunity to probe the connection between massive star core collapse and relativistic jet formation across a very broad range of $\gamma$-ray properties. Adopting a phenomenological power-law model for the afterglow and host galaxy estimates from high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we use Bayesian model comparison techniques to determine the likelihood of an associated SN contributing excess flux to the optical light curve. Though not conclusive, we find moderate evidence ($K_{\mathrm{Bayes}}=10^{1.2}$) for the presence of an additional component arising from an associated supernova, SN 2022xiw, and find that it must be substantially fainter ($<$ 67% as bright at the 99% confidence interval) than SN 1998bw. Given the large and uncertain line-of-sight extinction, we attempt to constrain the supernova parameters ($M_{\mathrm{Ni}}$, $M_{\mathrm{ej}}$, and $E_{\mathrm{KE}}$) under several different assumptions with respect to the host galaxy's extinction. We find properties that are broadly consistent with previous GRB-associated SNe: $M_{\mathrm{Ni}}=0.05$ - $0.25{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$, $M_{\mathrm{ej}}=3.5$ - $11.1{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$, and $E_{\mathrm{KE}}=(1.6$ - $5.2)\times 10^{52}\mathrm{erg}$. We note that these properties are weakly constrained due to the faintness of the supernova with respect to the afterglow and host emission, but we do find a robust upper limit on the $M_{\mathrm{Ni}}$ of $M_{\mathrm{Ni}}<0.36{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$. Given the tremendous range in isotropic gamma-ray energy release exhibited by GRBs (7 orders of magnitude), the SN emission appears to be decoupled from the central engine in these systems.

arXiv comment18 pages, accepted to ApJL, 4 tables, 5 figures. Updated abstract in Preview

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• The curious case of EP241021a: Unraveling the mystery of its exceptional rebrightening
• HAFFET: Hybrid Analytic Flux FittEr for Transients
• Theoretical modeling of the exceptional GRB 221009A afterglow
• GRB 221009A: Spectral signatures based on ALPs candidates
• GRB 221009A and the Apparently Most Energetic Gamma-Ray Bursts
• TeV Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts: Theoretical Analysis and Prospects for Future Observations
• Transient electromagnetic sources can detect solitary black holes in Milky Way galaxy
• GRB 180728A and SN 2018fip: the nearest high-energy cosmological gamma-ray burst with an associated supernova
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