2006/04/05 by M. Della Valle, D. Malesani, J. S. Bloom +23 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/504636
published as Astrophys.J.642:L103-L106,2006 · 5 pages, 4 ps figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters
arxiv created 2006/04/05 · openalex publication_date 2006/04/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We report observations of GRB 050525A, for which a Gemini North spectrum shows its redshift to be z = 0.606. This is the third closest long GRB discovered by Swift . We observed its afterglow using the VLT, Gemini, and TNG telescopes to search for an associated supernova. We find that the early-time light curve is described by a broken power law with a break at t ~ 0.3 days after the burst. About 5 days after the burst, a flattening is apparent, followed by a further dimming. Both the magnitude and the shape of the light curve suggest that a supernova was emerging during the late decay of the afterglow. This supernova, named SN 2005nc, had a rise time faster than SN 1998bw and a long-lasting maximum. A spectrum obtained about 20 days (rest frame) after the GRB resembles the spectrum of SN 1998bw obtained close to maximum light.