MAXI Discovery of Supernovae Shock Breakouts and Rapid Swift Follow-up
Abstract
The Swift X-Ray Telescope (XRT) serendipitously discovered an intense X-ray outburst from SN 2008D at the time of the explosion. In its five years in orbit, Swift has only discovered the shock breakout of this one supernova. The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) is expected to discover three such breakouts every year. Rapid communication between MAXI and Swift will allow the XRT to quickly follow the very early X-ray evolution of other core-collapsed supernovae and also allow the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) to observe the very early time adiabatic cooling after the initial shock breakout. Here we discuss the synergistic capabilities of the two missions related to rapid observations during this unexplored time domain of core-collapsed supernovae.
- Publication:
-
AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #11
- Pub Date:
- March 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010HEAD...11.1303R