Luminous Supernova-like UV/Optical/Infrared Transients Associated with Ultra-long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Metal-poor Blue Supergiants
Abstract
Metal-poor massive stars typically end their lives as blue supergiants (BSGs). Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) from such progenitors could have an ultra-long duration of relativistic jets. For example, Population III (Pop III) GRBs at z ~ 10-20 might be observable as X-ray-rich events with a typical duration of T 90 ~ 104(1 + z) s. The recent GRB111209A at z = 0.677 has an ultra-long duration of T 90 ~ 2.5 × 104 s and it has been suggested that its progenitor might have been a metal-poor BSG in the local universe. Here, we suggest that luminous UV/optical/infrared emission is associated with this new class of GRBs from metal-poor BSGs. Before the jet head breaks out of the progenitor envelope, the energy injected by the jet is stored in a hot plasma cocoon, which finally emerges and expands as a baryon-loaded fireball. We show that the photospheric emissions from the cocoon fireball could be intrinsically very bright (L peak ~ 1042-1044 erg s-1) in UV/optical bands (ɛpeak ~ 10 eV) with a typical duration of ~100 days in the rest frame. Such cocoon emissions from Pop III GRBs might be detectable in infrared bands at ~years after Pop III GRBs at up to z ~ 15 by upcoming facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope. We also suggest that GRB111209A might have been rebrightening in UV/optical bands up to an AB magnitude of <~ 26. The cocoon emission from local metal-poor BSGs might have been observed previously as luminous supernovae without GRBs since they can be seen from the off-axis direction of the jet.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 2013
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/770/1/8
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1212.6431
- Bibcode:
- 2013ApJ...770....8K
- Keywords:
-
- gamma-ray burst: general;
- infrared: general;
- stars: Population III;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 9 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ