The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients: Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies

Jacob E. Jencson; Mansi M. Kasliwal; Scott M. Adams; Howard E. Bond; Kishalay De; Joel Johansson; Viraj Karambelkar; Ryan M. Lau; Samaporn Tinyanont; Stuart D. Ryder; Ann Marie Cody; Frank J. Masci; John Bally; Nadejda Blagorodnova; Sergio Castellón; Christoffer Fremling; Robert D. Gehrz; George Helou; Charles D. Kilpatrick; Peter A. Milne; Nidia Morrell; Daniel A. Perley; M. M. Phillips; Nathan Smith; Schuyler D. Van Dyk; Robert Williams

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01

The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients: Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies

Jacob E. Jencson, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Scott M. Adams, Howard E. Bond, Kishalay De, Joel Johansson, Viraj Karambelkar, Ryan M. Lau, Samaporn Tinyanont, Stuart D. Ryder, Ann Marie Cody, Frank J. Masci, John Bally, Nadejda Blagorodnova, Sergio Castellón, Christoffer Fremling, Robert D. Gehrz, George Helou, Charles D. Kilpatrick, Peter A. MilneNidia Morrell, Daniel A. Perley, M. M. Phillips, Nathan Smith, Schuyler D. Van Dyk, Robert Williams

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)

63 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We present a systematic study of the most luminous (M_IR[Vega magnitudes] brighter than -14) infrared (IR) transients discovered by the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) between 2014 and 2018 in nearby galaxies (D < 35 Mpc). The sample consists of nine events that span peak IR luminosities of M_[4.5],peakbetween -14 and -18.2, show IR colors between 0.2 < ([3.6]-[4.5]) < 3.0, and fade on timescales between 55 days < t _fade< 480 days. The two reddest events (A _V > 12) show multiple, luminous IR outbursts over several years and have directly detected, massive progenitors in archival imaging. With analyses of extensive, multiwavelength follow-up, we suggest the following possible classifications: five obscured core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), two erupting massive stars, one luminous red nova, and one intermediate-luminosity red transient. We define a control sample of all optically discovered transients recovered in SPIRITS galaxies and satisfying the same selection criteria. The control sample consists of eight CCSNe and one Type Iax SN. We find that 7 of the 13 CCSNe in the SPIRITS sample have lower bounds on their extinction of 2 < A _V < 8. We estimate a nominal fraction of CCSNe in nearby galaxies that are missed by optical surveys as high as 38.5^{+26 0}%_-21.9(90% confidence). This study suggests that a significant fraction of CCSNe may be heavily obscured by dust and therefore undercounted in the census of nearby CCSNe from optical searches.

Original language	English
Article number	40
Pages (from-to)	1-35
Number of pages	35
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	886
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01
Publication status	Published - 20 Nov 2019

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2019 The American Astronomical Society. First published in the Astrophysical Journal, 886(1), 40, 2019, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

dust, extinction
infrared: general
stars: massive
supernovae: general
supernovae: individual (SPIRITS 14buu, SPIRITS 15c, SPIRITS 15ud, SPIRITS 16ix, SPIRITS 16tn, SPIRITS 17lb)

Access to Document

10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 8.08 MBLicence: Other

Cite this

Jencson, J. E., Kasliwal, M. M., Adams, S. M., Bond, H. E., De, K., Johansson, J., Karambelkar, V., Lau, R. M., Tinyanont, S., Ryder, S. D., Cody, A. M., Masci, F. J., Bally, J., Blagorodnova, N., Castellón, S., Fremling, C., Gehrz, R. D., Helou, G., Kilpatrick, C. D., ... Williams, R. (2019). The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients: Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies. Astrophysical Journal, 886(1), 1-35. Article 40. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01

@article{6d878b129c774781952737b67c79e993,

title = "The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients: Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies",

abstract = "We present a systematic study of the most luminous (MIR[Vega magnitudes] brighter than -14) infrared (IR) transients discovered by the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) between 2014 and 2018 in nearby galaxies (D < 35 Mpc). The sample consists of nine events that span peak IR luminosities of M[4.5],peakbetween -14 and -18.2, show IR colors between 0.2 < ([3.6]-[4.5]) < 3.0, and fade on timescales between 55 days < t fade< 480 days. The two reddest events (A V > 12) show multiple, luminous IR outbursts over several years and have directly detected, massive progenitors in archival imaging. With analyses of extensive, multiwavelength follow-up, we suggest the following possible classifications: five obscured core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), two erupting massive stars, one luminous red nova, and one intermediate-luminosity red transient. We define a control sample of all optically discovered transients recovered in SPIRITS galaxies and satisfying the same selection criteria. The control sample consists of eight CCSNe and one Type Iax SN. We find that 7 of the 13 CCSNe in the SPIRITS sample have lower bounds on their extinction of 2 < A V < 8. We estimate a nominal fraction of CCSNe in nearby galaxies that are missed by optical surveys as high as 38.5+26 0%-21.9(90% confidence). This study suggests that a significant fraction of CCSNe may be heavily obscured by dust and therefore undercounted in the census of nearby CCSNe from optical searches.",

keywords = "dust, extinction, infrared: general, stars: massive, supernovae: general, supernovae: individual (SPIRITS 14buu, SPIRITS 15c, SPIRITS 15ud, SPIRITS 16ix, SPIRITS 16tn, SPIRITS 17lb)",

author = "Jencson, {Jacob E.} and Kasliwal, {Mansi M.} and Adams, {Scott M.} and Bond, {Howard E.} and Kishalay De and Joel Johansson and Viraj Karambelkar and Lau, {Ryan M.} and Samaporn Tinyanont and Ryder, {Stuart D.} and Cody, {Ann Marie} and Masci, {Frank J.} and John Bally and Nadejda Blagorodnova and Sergio Castell{\'o}n and Christoffer Fremling and Gehrz, {Robert D.} and George Helou and Kilpatrick, {Charles D.} and Milne, {Peter A.} and Nidia Morrell and Perley, {Daniel A.} and Phillips, {M. M.} and Nathan Smith and {Van Dyk}, {Schuyler D.} and Robert Williams",

note = "Copyright 2019 The American Astronomical Society. First published in the Astrophysical Journal, 886(1), 40, 2019, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

year = "2019",

month = nov,

day = "20",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01",

language = "English",

volume = "886",

pages = "1--35",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "IOP Publishing",

number = "1",

}

Jencson, JE, Kasliwal, MM, Adams, SM, Bond, HE, De, K, Johansson, J, Karambelkar, V, Lau, RM, Tinyanont, S, Ryder, SD, Cody, AM, Masci, FJ, Bally, J, Blagorodnova, N, Castellón, S, Fremling, C, Gehrz, RD, Helou, G, Kilpatrick, CD, Milne, PA, Morrell, N, Perley, DA, Phillips, MM, Smith, N, Van Dyk, SD & Williams, R 2019, 'The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients: Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 886, no. 1, 40, pp. 1-35. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01

TY - JOUR

T1 - The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients

T2 - Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies

AU - Jencson, Jacob E.

AU - Kasliwal, Mansi M.

AU - Adams, Scott M.

AU - Bond, Howard E.

AU - De, Kishalay

AU - Johansson, Joel

AU - Karambelkar, Viraj

AU - Lau, Ryan M.

AU - Tinyanont, Samaporn

AU - Ryder, Stuart D.

AU - Cody, Ann Marie

AU - Masci, Frank J.

AU - Bally, John

AU - Blagorodnova, Nadejda

AU - Castellón, Sergio

AU - Fremling, Christoffer

AU - Gehrz, Robert D.

AU - Helou, George

AU - Kilpatrick, Charles D.

AU - Milne, Peter A.

AU - Morrell, Nidia

AU - Perley, Daniel A.

AU - Phillips, M. M.

AU - Smith, Nathan

AU - Van Dyk, Schuyler D.

AU - Williams, Robert

N1 - Copyright 2019 The American Astronomical Society. First published in the Astrophysical Journal, 886(1), 40, 2019, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2019/11/20

Y1 - 2019/11/20

N2 - We present a systematic study of the most luminous (MIR[Vega magnitudes] brighter than -14) infrared (IR) transients discovered by the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) between 2014 and 2018 in nearby galaxies (D < 35 Mpc). The sample consists of nine events that span peak IR luminosities of M[4.5],peakbetween -14 and -18.2, show IR colors between 0.2 < ([3.6]-[4.5]) < 3.0, and fade on timescales between 55 days < t fade< 480 days. The two reddest events (A V > 12) show multiple, luminous IR outbursts over several years and have directly detected, massive progenitors in archival imaging. With analyses of extensive, multiwavelength follow-up, we suggest the following possible classifications: five obscured core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), two erupting massive stars, one luminous red nova, and one intermediate-luminosity red transient. We define a control sample of all optically discovered transients recovered in SPIRITS galaxies and satisfying the same selection criteria. The control sample consists of eight CCSNe and one Type Iax SN. We find that 7 of the 13 CCSNe in the SPIRITS sample have lower bounds on their extinction of 2 < A V < 8. We estimate a nominal fraction of CCSNe in nearby galaxies that are missed by optical surveys as high as 38.5+26 0%-21.9(90% confidence). This study suggests that a significant fraction of CCSNe may be heavily obscured by dust and therefore undercounted in the census of nearby CCSNe from optical searches.

AB - We present a systematic study of the most luminous (MIR[Vega magnitudes] brighter than -14) infrared (IR) transients discovered by the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) between 2014 and 2018 in nearby galaxies (D < 35 Mpc). The sample consists of nine events that span peak IR luminosities of M[4.5],peakbetween -14 and -18.2, show IR colors between 0.2 < ([3.6]-[4.5]) < 3.0, and fade on timescales between 55 days < t fade< 480 days. The two reddest events (A V > 12) show multiple, luminous IR outbursts over several years and have directly detected, massive progenitors in archival imaging. With analyses of extensive, multiwavelength follow-up, we suggest the following possible classifications: five obscured core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), two erupting massive stars, one luminous red nova, and one intermediate-luminosity red transient. We define a control sample of all optically discovered transients recovered in SPIRITS galaxies and satisfying the same selection criteria. The control sample consists of eight CCSNe and one Type Iax SN. We find that 7 of the 13 CCSNe in the SPIRITS sample have lower bounds on their extinction of 2 < A V < 8. We estimate a nominal fraction of CCSNe in nearby galaxies that are missed by optical surveys as high as 38.5+26 0%-21.9(90% confidence). This study suggests that a significant fraction of CCSNe may be heavily obscured by dust and therefore undercounted in the census of nearby CCSNe from optical searches.

KW - dust, extinction

KW - infrared: general

KW - stars: massive

KW - supernovae: general

KW - supernovae: individual (SPIRITS 14buu, SPIRITS 15c, SPIRITS 15ud, SPIRITS 16ix, SPIRITS 16tn, SPIRITS 17lb)

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077335303&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ab4a01

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85077335303

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 886

SP - 1

EP - 35

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 1

M1 - 40

ER -

The SPIRITS sample of luminous infrared transients: Uncovering hidden supernovae and dusty stellar outbursts in nearby galaxies

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this