On the Association of Gamma-Ray Bursts with Supernovae
Abstract
The recent discovery of a supernova (SN 1998bw) seemingly associated with GRB 980425 adds a new twist to the decades-old debate over the origin of gamma-ray bursts. To investigate the possibility that some (or all) bursts are associated with supernovae, we performed a systematic search for temporal/angular correlations using catalogs of BATSE and BATSE/Ulysses burst locations. We find no associations with any of the precise BATSE/Ulysses locations, which allows us to conclude that the fraction of high-fluence gamma-ray bursts from known supernovae is small (less than 0.2%). For the more numerous weaker bursts, the corresponding limiting fraction of 1.5% is less constraining due to the imprecise locations of these events. This limit (1.5%~=18 bursts) allows that a large fraction of the recent supernovae used as a comparison data set (18 supernovae ~= 20%) could have associated gamma-ray bursts. Thus, although we find no significant evidence to support a burst/supernova association, the possibility cannot be excluded for weak bursts.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 1998
- DOI:
- 10.1086/311634
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/9806364
- Bibcode:
- 1998ApJ...506L..27K
- Keywords:
-
- GAMMA RAYS: BURSTS;
- STARS: SUPERNOVAE: GENERAL;
- Gamma Rays: Bursts;
- Stars: Supernovae: General;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Re-Submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters, 1998 Jul. 24, 10 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables