We present continued radio observations of the tidal disruption event Swift J164449.3+573451 extending to delta t approx = 216 days after discovery. The data were obtained with the EVLA, AMI Large ...Array, CARMA, the SMA, and the VLBA+Effelsberg as part of a long-term program to monitor the expansion and energy scale of the relativistic outflow, and to trace the parsec-scale environment around a previously dormant supermassive black hole (SMBH). The new observations reveal a significant change in the radio evolution starting at delta t approx = 1 month, with a brightening at all frequencies that requires an increase in the energy by about an order of magnitude, and an overall density profile around the SMBH of rho is proportional tor super(-3/2) (0.1-1.2 pc) with a significant flattening at r approx = 0.4-0.6 pc. The increase in energy cannot be explained with continuous injection from an L is proportional tot super(-5/3) tail, which is observed in the X-rays. Instead, we conclude that the relativistic jet was launched with a wide range of Lorentz factors, obeying E(> Gammaj)is proportional toGamma super(-2.5)j. The similar ratios of duration to dynamical timescale for Sw 1644+57 and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) suggest that this result may be applicable to GRB jets as well. The radial density profile may be indicative of Bondi accretion, with the inferred flattening at r ~ 0.5 pc in good agreement with the Bondi radius for a ~few x 10 super(6) M black hole. The density at ~0.5 pc is about a factor of 30 times lower than inferred for the Milky Way Galactic Center, potentially due to a smaller number of mass-shedding massive stars. From our latest observations ( delta t approx = 216 days) we find that the jet energy is E sub(j, iso) approx = 5 x 10 super(53) erg (E sub(j) approx = 2.4 x 10 super(51) erg or thetaj = 0.1), the radius is r approx = 1.2 pc, the Lorentz factor is Gammaj approx = 2.2, the ambient density is n approx = 0.2 cm super(-3), and the projected angular size is r sub(proj) approx = 25 mu as, below the resolution of the VLBA+Effelsberg. Assuming no future changes in the observed evolution and a final integrated total energy of E sub(j) approx = 10 super(52) erg, we predict that the radio emission from Sw 1644+57 should be detectable with the EVLA for several decades and will be resolvable with very long baseline interferometry in a few years.
We present late-time radio observations of 68 local Type Ibc supernovae, including six events with broad optical absorption lines ("hypernovae"). None of these objects exhibit radio emission ...attributable to off-axis gamma-ray burst jets spreading into our line of sight. Comparison with our afterglow models reveals the following conclusions. (1) Less than 610% of Type Ibc supernovae are associated with typical gamma-ray bursts initially directed away from our line of sight; this places an empirical constraint on the GRB beaming factor of < fb super(-1) > 10 super(4), corresponding to an average jet opening angle,f sub(j) 0 8. (2) This holds in particular for the broad-lined supernovae (SNe 1997dq, 1997ef, 1998ey, 2002ap, 2002bl, and 2003jd), which have been argued to host GRB jets. Our observations reveal no evidence for typical (or even subenergetic) GRBs and rule out the scenario in which every broad-lined SN harbors a GRB at the 84% confidence level. Their large photospheric velocities and asymmetric ejecta (inferred from spectropolarimetry and nebular spectroscopy) appear to be characteristic of the nonrelativistic SN explosion and do not necessarily imply the existence of associated GRB jets.
We present continued multi-frequency radio observations of the relativistic tidal disruption event Swift J164449.3+573451 extending to t approximate 600 days. The data were obtained with the JVLA and ...AMI Large Array as part of our on-going study of the jet energetics and the density structure of the parsec-scale environment around the disrupting super-massive black hole. We combine these data with public Swift/XRT and Chandra X-ray observations over the same time-frame to show that the jet has undergone a dramatic transition starting at approximate 500 days, with a sharp decline in the X-ray flux by about a factor of 170 on a timescale of delta t/t < or = 0.2. On the other hand, our radio data uniquely demonstrate that the low X-ray flux measured by Chandra at approximate 610 days is consistent with emission from the forward shock. Projecting forward, we predict that the emission in the radio and X-ray bands will evolve in tandem with similar decline rates.
ABSTRACT We present extensive multiwavelength (radio to X-ray) observations of the Type Ib/c supernova (SN Ib/c) SN 2013ge from −13 to +457 days relative to maximum light, including a series of ...optical spectra and Swift UV-optical photometry beginning 2-4 days post-explosion. This data set makes SN 2013ge one of the best-observed normal SNe Ib/c at early times-when the light curve is particularly sensitive to the progenitor configuration and mixing of radioactive elements-and reveals two distinct light curve components in the UV bands. The first component rises over 4-5 days and is visible for the first week post-explosion. Spectra of the first component have blue continua and show a plethora of moderately high velocity (∼15,000 km s−1) but narrow (∼3500 km s−1) spectroscopic features, indicating that the line-forming region is restricted. The explosion parameters estimated for the bulk explosion ( M ej ∼ 2-3 M ; E K ∼ (1-2) × 1051 erg) are standard for SNe Ib/c, and there is evidence for weak He features at early times-in an object that would have otherwise been classified as Type Ic. In addition, SN 2013ge exploded in a low-metallicity environment (∼0.5 Z ), and we have obtained some of the deepest radio and X-ray limits for an SN Ib/c to date, which constrain the progenitor mass-loss rate to be M ˙ < 4 × 10−6 M yr−1. We are left with two distinct progenitor scenarios for SN 2013ge, depending on our interpretation of the early emission. If the first component is cooling envelope emission, then the progenitor of SN 2013ge either possessed an extended ( 30 R ) envelope or ejected a portion of its envelope in the final 1 yr before core collapse. Alternatively, if the first component is due to outwardly mixed 56Ni, then our observations are consistent with the asymmetric ejection of a distinct clump of nickel-rich material at high velocities. Current models for the collision of an SN shock with a binary companion cannot reproduce both the timescale and luminosity of the early emission in SN 2013ge. Finally, the spectra of the first component of SN 2013ge are similar to those of the rapidly declining SN 2002bj.
Active galactic nuclei, which are powered by long-term accretion onto central supermassive black holes, produce relativistic jets with lifetimes of at least one million years, and the observation of ...the birth of such a jet is therefore unlikely. Transient accretion onto a supermassive black hole, for example through the tidal disruption of a stray star, thus offers a rare opportunity to study the birth of a relativistic jet. On 25 March 2011, an unusual transient source (Swift J164449.3+573451) was found, potentially representing such an accretion event. Here we report observations spanning centimetre to millimetre wavelengths and covering the first month of evolution of a luminous radio transient associated with Swift J164449.3+573451. The radio transient coincides with the nucleus of an inactive galaxy. We conclude that we are seeing a newly formed relativistic outflow, launched by transient accretion onto a million-solar-mass black hole. A relativistic outflow is not predicted in this situation, but we show that the tidal disruption of a star naturally explains the observed high-energy properties and radio luminosity and the inferred rate of such events. The weaker beaming in the radio-frequency spectrum relative to γ-rays or X-rays suggests that radio searches may uncover similar events out to redshifts of z ≈ 6.
Researchers face many, often seemingly arbitrary, choices in formulating hypotheses, designing protocols, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting results. Opportunistic use of "researcher ...degrees of freedom" aimed at obtaining statistical significance increases the likelihood of obtaining and publishing false-positive results and overestimated effect sizes. Preregistration is a mechanism for reducing such degrees of freedom by specifying designs and analysis plans before observing the research outcomes. The effectiveness of preregistration may depend, in part, on whether the process facilitates sufficiently specific articulation of such plans. In this preregistered study, we compared 2 formats of preregistration available on the OSF: Standard Pre-Data Collection Registration and Prereg Challenge Registration (now called "OSF Preregistration," http://osf.io/prereg/). The Prereg Challenge format was a "structured" workflow with detailed instructions and an independent review to confirm completeness; the "Standard" format was "unstructured" with minimal direct guidance to give researchers flexibility for what to prespecify. Results of comparing random samples of 53 preregistrations from each format indicate that the "structured" format restricted the opportunistic use of researcher degrees of freedom better (Cliff's Delta = 0.49) than the "unstructured" format, but neither eliminated all researcher degrees of freedom. We also observed very low concordance among coders about the number of hypotheses (14%), indicating that they are often not clearly stated. We conclude that effective preregistration is challenging, and registration formats that provide effective guidance may improve the quality of research.
Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) mark the explosive death of some massive stars and are a rare sub-class of type Ibc supernovae. They are distinguished by the production of an energetic and ...collimated relativistic outflow powered by a central engine (an accreting black hole or neutron star). Observationally, this outflow is manifested in the pulse of gamma-rays and a long-lived radio afterglow. Until now, central-engine-driven supernovae have been discovered exclusively through their gamma-ray emission, yet it is expected that a larger population goes undetected because of limited satellite sensitivity or beaming of the collimated emission away from our line of sight. In this framework, the recovery of undetected GRBs may be possible through radio searches for type Ibc supernovae with relativistic outflows. Here we report the discovery of luminous radio emission from the seemingly ordinary type Ibc SN 2009bb, which requires a substantial relativistic outflow powered by a central engine. A comparison with our radio survey of type Ibc supernovae reveals that the fraction harbouring central engines is low, about one per cent, measured independently from, but consistent with, the inferred rate of nearby GRBs. Independently, a second mildly relativistic supernova has been reported.
Deep, late-time X-ray observations of the relativistic, engine-driven, type Ic SN 2012ap allow us to probe the nearby environment of the explosion and reveal the unique properties of relativistic ...supernova explosions (SNe). We find that on a local scale of ~0.01 pc the environment was shaped directly by the evolution of the progenitor star with a pre-explosion mass-loss rate of M < 5 x 10 super(-6) M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1), in line with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and the other relativistic SN 2009bb. Like sub-energetic GRBs, SN 2012ap is characterized by a bright radio emission and evidence for mildly relativistic ejecta. However, its late-time ( delta t asymptotically = 20 days) X-ray emission is ~100 times fainter than the faintest sub-energetic GRB at the same epoch, with no evidence for late-time central engine activity. These results support theoretical proposals that link relativistic SNe like 2009bb and 2012ap with the weakest observed engine-driven explosions, where the jet barely fails to break out. Furthermore, our observations demonstrate that the difference between relativistic SNe and sub-energetic GRBs is intrinsic and not due to line-of-sight effects. This phenomenology can either be due to an intrinsically shorter-lived engine or to a more extended progenitor in relativistic SNe.
We present the Pan-STARRS1 discovery of the long-lived and blue transient PS1-11af, which was also detected by Galaxy Evolution Explorer with coordinated observations in the near-ultraviolet (NUV) ...band. Four epochs of spectroscopy reveal a pair of transient broad absorption features in the UV on otherwise featureless spectra. Blackbody fits to the spectral energy distribution are inconsistent with the cooling, expanding ejecta of a SN, and the velocities of the absorption features are too high to represent material in homologous expansion near a SN photosphere. A full disruption model predicts higher bolometric luminosities, which would require most of the radiation to be emitted in a separate component at high energies where we lack observations. Three deep non-detections in the radio with the Very Large Array over the first two years after the event set strict limits on the production of any relativistic outflow comparable to Swift J1644+57, even if off-axis.
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