SN 2003lw and GRB 031203: A Bright Supernova for a Faint Gamma-Ray Burst

Optical and near-infrared observations of the gamma-ray burst GRB 031203, at z = 0.1055, are reported. A very faint afterglow is detected superposed onto the host galaxy in our first infrared JHK observations, carried out ~9 hr after the burst. Subsequently, a rebrightening is detected in all bands, peaking in the R band about 18 rest-frame days after the burst. The rebrightening closely resembles the light curve of a supernova like SN 1998bw, assuming that the GRB and the SN went off almost simultaneously, but with a somewhat slower evolution. Spectra taken close to the maximum of the rebrightening show extremely broad features as in SN 1998bw. The determination of the absolute magnitude of this SN (SN 2003lw) is difficult owing to the large and uncertain extinction, but likely this event was brighter than SN 1998bw by 0.5 mag in the VRI bands, reaching an absolute magnitude MV = -19.75 ± 0.15.

[1]  J. Bloom,et al.  The Supernova Associated with GRB 031203: SMARTS Optical-Infrared Light Curves from 0.2 to 92 Days , 2004, astro-ph/0403510.

[2]  Nordic Optical Telescope,et al.  The supernova 2003lw associated with X-ray flash 031203 , , 2004, astro-ph/0403451.

[3]  Gregory Y. Prigozhin,et al.  High Energy Transient Explorer 2 Observations of the Extremely Soft X-Ray Flash XRF 020903 , 2004 .

[4]  S. Klose,et al.  A Systematic Analysis of Supernova Light in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows , 2003, astro-ph/0311610.

[5]  D. Yonetoku,et al.  An Off-Axis Jet Model For GRB 980425 and Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Bursts , 2003, astro-ph/0306615.

[6]  K. Pedersen,et al.  A very energetic supernova associated with the γ-ray burst of 29 March 2003 , 2003, Nature.

[7]  D. Fugazza,et al.  Evidence for supernova signatures in the spectrum of the late-time bump of the optical afterglow of GRB 021211 , 2003, astro-ph/0306298.

[8]  A. Castro-Tirado,et al.  The optical afterglow of the not so dark GRB 021211 , 2003, astro-ph/0304481.

[9]  Warren R. Brown,et al.  Spectroscopic Discovery of the Supernova 2003dh Associated with GRB 030329 , 2003, astro-ph/0304173.

[10]  K. Enya,et al.  The Optical/Near-Infrared Light Curves of SN 2002ap for the First 1.5 Years after Discovery , 2003, astro-ph/0601465.

[11]  D. Frail,et al.  Gamma-Ray Burst Energetics and the Gamma-Ray Burst Hubble Diagram: Promises and Limitations , 2003, astro-ph/0302210.

[12]  S. R. Kulkarni,et al.  Discovery of Early Optical Emission from GRB 021211 , 2003, astro-ph/0301377.

[13]  M. Feroci,et al.  A Comparative Study of the X-Ray Afterglow Properties of Optically Bright and Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts , 2002, astro-ph/0212298.

[14]  L. Infante,et al.  Discovery of the Low-Redshift Optical Afterglow of GRB 011121 and Its Progenitor Supernova SN 2001ke , 2002, astro-ph/0204234.

[15]  N. Masetti,et al.  Intrinsic spectra and energetics of BeppoSAX Gamma-Ray Bursts with known redshifts , 2002, astro-ph/0205230.

[16]  S. Smartt,et al.  The Type Ic Hypernova SN 2002ap , 2002, astro-ph/0204007.

[17]  S. Covino,et al.  On the role of extinction in failed gamma-ray burst optical/infrared afterglows , 2000, astro-ph/0011443.

[18]  S. Djorgovski,et al.  Beaming in Gamma-Ray Bursts: Evidence for a Standard Energy Reservoir , 2001, astro-ph/0102282.

[19]  C. Guidorzi,et al.  Detection of the optical afterglow of GRB 000630: Implications for dark bursts , 2001, astro-ph/0101425.

[20]  P. Mazzali,et al.  Explosive Nucleosynthesis in Aspherical Hypernova Explosions and Late-Time Spectra of SN 1998bw , 2000, astro-ph/0011003.

[21]  J. Thorstensen,et al.  The Peculiar Type Ic Supernova 1997ef: Another Hypernova , 2000 .

[22]  L. A. Antonelli,et al.  BeppoSAX Observations of GRB 980425: Detection of the Prompt Event and Monitoring of the Error Box , 1999, astro-ph/9910235.

[23]  S. Djorgovski,et al.  The unusual afterglow of the γ-ray burst of 26 March 1998 as evidence for a supernova connection , 1999, Nature.

[24]  Bradley E. Schaefer,et al.  The Late‐Time Light Curve of SN 1998bw Associated with GRB 980425 , 1999, astro-ph/9904397.

[25]  ApJ, in press , 1999 .

[26]  D. Frail,et al.  Radio emission from the unusual supernova 1998bw and its association with the γ-ray burst of 25 April 1998 , 1998, Nature.

[27]  P. Vreeswijk,et al.  A hypernova model for the supernova associated with the γ-ray burst of 25 April 1998 , 1998, Nature.

[28]  T. Piran,et al.  Spectra and Light Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows , 1997, astro-ph/9712005.

[29]  J. Mathis,et al.  The relationship between infrared, optical, and ultraviolet extinction , 1989 .