SN1998bw/GRB980425 and Radio Supernovae

Abstract

The unusual supernova SN1998bw, which is thought to be related to the gamma-ray burster GRB980425, is a possible link between the two classes of objects. Analyzing the extensive radio emission data avaliable for SN1998bw, we are able to describe its time evolution within the well established framework available for the analysis of radio emission from supernovae. This then allows description of a number of physical properties of the object. The radio emission can best be explained as interaction of a mildly relativistic (Gamma about 1.6) shock with a dense pre-explosion stellar wind established circumstellar medium (CSM) which is highly structured both azimuthally, in clumps or filaments, and radially, with two observed density enhancements separated by about 3e17 cm. With assumptions as to pre-explosion stellar wind conditions, it is possible to estimate that the progenitor to SN 1998bw had a mass loss rate of about 3.5e-5 solar masses per yr with at least two approximately 30% increases in mass-loss rate; the most recent extending from about 1,600 - 4,700 yr before explosion and the oldest known having occurred, with possibly comparable length, about 12,000 yr before explosion. Because of its unusual characteristics for a Type Ib/c SN, the relation of SN1998bw to GRB980425 is strengthened with consequent improvement in our understanding of these poorly understood objects.

24 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Astrophysical Journal

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