An HST Search for Supernovae Accompanying X-ray Flashes

Abstract

We present the results from an Hubble Space Telescope/ACS search for supernovae associated with X-ray flashes 020903, 040701, 040812 and 040916. We find strong evidence that XRF 020903 (z=0.25) was associated with a SN 1998bw-like supernova and confirm this using optical spectroscopy at t ~ 25 days. We find no evidence, however, for SN 1998bw-like supernovae associated with the other three events. In the case of XRF 040701 (z=0.21), we rule out even a faint supernova similar to SN 2002ap, using template light-curves for several local Type Ic supernovae. For the two cases in which the redshift is not known, XRFs 040812 and 040916, we derive robust redshift limits assuming they were accompanied by supernovae similar to SN 1998bw and compare these limits with photometric redshift constraints provided by their host galaxies. We supplement this analysis with results for three additional events (XRFs 011030, 020427 and 030723) and discuss the observed diversity of supernovae associated with X-ray flashes and gamma-ray bursts. We conclude that XRF-SNe exist, but can be significantly fainter than SN 1998bw, possibly consistent with the observed spread in local Type Ibc supernovae.

Submitted to ApJ, 22 pages, 11 figures. High resolution figures available at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~ams/XRF-SNe.html

References in corpus (20)

• A very energetic supernova associated with the gamma-ray burst of 29 March 2003
• Spectroscopic Discovery of the Supernova 2003dh Associated with GRB 030329
• SN 2003lw and GRB 031203: A Bright Supernova for a Faint Gamma-ray Burst
• Optical Photometry and Spectroscopy of the SN 1998bw-like Type Ic Supernova 2002ap
• The Propagation and Eruption of Relativistic Jets from the Stellar Progenitors of GRBs
• Photometry and Spectroscopy of GRB 030329 and Its Associated Supernova 2003dh: The First Two Months
• A Systematic Analysis of Supernova Light in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• A Standard Kinetic Energy Reservoir in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• A Radio Survey of Type Ib and Ic Supernovae: Searching for Engine Driven Supernovae
• The detailed optical light curve of GRB 030329
• Discovery of Early Optical Emission from GRB 021211
• A Redshift Determination for XRF 020903: First Spectroscopic Observations of an X-Ray Flash
• On the Afterglow of the X-Ray Flash of July 23 2003: Photometric evidence for an off-axis Gamma-Ray Burst with an associated Supernova?
• On the Light Curve and Spectrum of SN 2003dh Separated from the Optical Afterglow of GRB 030329
• Deep Photometry of GRB 041006 Afterglow: Hypernova Bump at Redshift z=0.716
• Cosmological X-ray Flashes in the Off-Axis Jet Model
• The First Two Host Galaxies of X-ray Flashes: XRF 011030 and XRF 020427
• Supernova light curve models for the bump in the Optical Counterpart of X-Ray Flash 030723
• High Energy Observations of XRF 030723: Evidence for an Off-axis Gamma-Ray Burst?
• A Deep Search with HST for Late Time Supernova Signatures in the Hosts of XRF 011030 and XRF 020427

Cited by in corpus (67)

• The Supernova -- Gamma-Ray Burst Connection
• An optical supernova associated with the X-ray flash XRF 060218
• No supernovae associated with two long-duration gamma ray bursts
• Measured Metallicities at the Sites of Nearby Broad-Lined Type Ic Supernovae and Implications for the SN-GRB Connection
• The Afterglows of Swift-era Gamma-Ray Bursts. I. Comparing pre-Swift and Swift era Long/Soft (Type II) GRB Optical Afterglows
• Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era
• On the progenitor of SN 2005gl and the nature of Type IIn supernovae
• The Observer's Guide to the Gamma-Ray Burst-Supernova Connection
• GRB Radiative Efficiencies Derived from the Swift Data: GRBs vs. XRFs, Long vs. Short
• The Afterglow, Energetics and Host Galaxy of the Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Burst 051221a
• Short GRBs with Extended Emission from Magnetar Birth: Jet Formation and Collimation
• Signatures of Extragalactic Dust in pre-Swift GRB Afterglows
• A Radio-Selected Sample of Gamma Ray Burst Afterglows
• GRB 080503: Implications of a Naked Short Gamma-Ray Burst Dominated by Extended Emission
• The Cosmic Rate, Luminosity Function and Intrinsic Correlations of Long GRBs
• The Local Rate and the Progenitor Lifetimes of Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Bursts: Synthesis and Predictions for LIGO
• Supernova 2006aj and the associated X-Ray Flash 060218
• The Radio and X-ray Luminous SN 2003bg and the Circumstellar Density Variations Around Radio Supernovae
• GRB 050509B: Constraints on short gamma-ray burst models
• A Complete Survey of the Transient Radio Sky and Implications for Gamma-Ray Bursts, Supernovae, and other Relativistic Explosions
• Detection of Wolf-Rayet stars in host galaxies of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs): are GRBs produced by runaway massive stars ejected from high stellar density regions ?
• On the consistency of the peculiar GRBs 060218 and 060614 with the Ep,i - Eiso correlation
• Stellar Explosions by Magnetic Towers
• Hypernova Signatures in the Late Rebrightening of GRB 050525A
• Formation of black hole and accretion disk in a massive high-entropy stellar core collapse
• Afterglow Observations Shed New Light on the Nature of X-ray Flashes
• The Spectroscopic Classification and Explosion Properties of SN2009nz Associated with GRB091127 at z=0.490
• Diversity of GRB energetics vs. SN homogeneity: supernova 2013cq associated with the gamma-ray burst 130427A
• SN 2013dx associated with GRB 130702A: a detailed photometric and spectroscopic monitoring and a study of the environment
• Swift follow-up observations of candidate gravitational-wave transient events
• An HST Study of the Supernovae Accompanying GRB 040924 and GRB 041006
• The Energetics and Environment of the Short-GRB Afterglows 050709 and 050724
• The Fast Evolution of SN 2010bh associated with XRF 100316D
• Temporal Profiles and Spectral Lags of XRF 060218
• The Optical SN 2012bz Associated with the Long GRB 120422A
• A Spectacular Radio Flare from XRF 050416a at 40 days and Implications for the Nature of X-ray Flashes
• Evidence for a Supernova Associated with the X-ray Flash 020903
• Metallicity in the GRB 100316D/SN 2010bh Host Complex
• Stellar Forensics with the Supernova-GRB Connection
• Keck and ESO-VLT View of the Symmetry of the Ejecta of the XRF/SN 2006aj
• Tidal Disruptions of White Dwarfs: Theoretical Models and Observational Prospects
• The nature of the X-Ray Flash of August 24 2005
• A high angular-resolution search for the progenitor of the type Ic Supernova 2004gt
• Correlation between the Peak Spectral Energy of Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Peak Luminosity of the Underlying Supernovae: Implication for the Nature of GRB-SN Connection
• A Unified Energy-Reservoir Model Containing Contributions from ${}^{56}$Ni and Neutron Stars and Its Implication to Luminous Type Ic Supernovae
• The X-Ray Transient 080109 in NGC 2770: an X-Ray Flash Associated with a Normal Core-Collapse Supernova
• GRB/GW association: Long-short GRB candidates, time-lag, measuring gravitational wave velocity and testing Einstein's equivalence principle
• The host of GRB/XRF 030528 - an actively star forming galaxy at z=0.782
• Gamma Ray Burst Production and Supernova Signatures in Slowly Rotating Collapsars
• Optical Follow-Up Observations of PTF10qts, a Luminous Broad-Lined Type Ic Supernova Found by the Palomar Transient Factory
• Perspectives on Gamma-Ray Burst Physics and Cosmology with Next Generation Facilities
• Swift-UVOT Observations of the X-Ray Flash 050406
• Statistical Study of the Swift X-ray Flash and X-ray Rich Gamma-Ray Bursts
• The connection between Gamma-ray bursts and Supernovae Ib/c
• Nonthermal Synchrotron Radiation from Gamma Ray Burst External Shocks and the X-ray Flares Observed with Swift
• Gamma--Ray Bursts associated with Supernovae: A systematic analysis of BATSE GRB candidates
• Infrared/optical - X-ray simultaneous observations of X-ray flares in GRB 071112C and GRB 080506
• Host Galaxy Properties of the Subluminous GRB 120422A/SN 2012bz
• No supernovae detected in two long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts
• X-ray flashes powered by the spindown of long-lived neutron stars
• The first Swift X-ray Flash: The faint afterglow of XRF 050215B
• GRB 111005A at Z = 0.0133 and the Prospect of Establishing Long-short GRB/GW Association
• Astrophysics in 2005
• Detection of short high-energy transients in the localuniverse with SVOM/ECLAIRs
• Could the GRB-Supernovae GRB 031203 and XRF 060218 be Cosmic Twins?
• ALMA Host galaxy observation of the off-axis Gamma-Ray Burst XRF020903
• A lower occurrence rate of bright X-ray flares in SN-GRBs than $z<1$ GRBs: evidence of energy partitions?