SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer

Mansi M. Kasliwal; John Bally; Frank Masci; Ann Marie Cody; Howard E. Bond; Jacob E. Jencson; Samaporn Tinyanont; Yi Cao; Carlos Contreras; Devin A. Dykhoff; Samuel Amodeo; Lee Armus; Martha Boyer; Matteo Cantiello; Robert L. Carlon; Alexander C. Cass; David Cook; David T. Corgan; Joseph Faella; Ori D. Fox; Wayne Green; R. D. Gehrz; George Helou; Eric Hsiao; Joel Johansson; Rubab M. Khan; Ryan M. Lau; Norbert Langer; Emily Levesque; Peter Milne; Shazrene Mohamed; Nidia Morrell; Andy Monson; Anna Moore; Eran O. Ofek; Donal O. Sullivan; Mudumba Parthasarathy; Andres Perez; Daniel A. Perley; Mark Phillips; Thomas A. Prince; Dinesh Shenoy; Nathan Smith; Jason Surace; Schuyler D.Van Dyk; Patricia A. Whitelock; Robert Williams

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978

SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer

Mansi M. Kasliwal, John Bally, Frank Masci, Ann Marie Cody, Howard E. Bond, Jacob E. Jencson, Samaporn Tinyanont, Yi Cao, Carlos Contreras, Devin A. Dykhoff, Samuel Amodeo, Lee Armus, Martha Boyer, Matteo Cantiello, Robert L. Carlon, Alexander C. Cass, David Cook, David T. Corgan, Joseph Faella, Ori D. FoxWayne Green, R. D. Gehrz, George Helou, Eric Hsiao, Joel Johansson, Rubab M. Khan, Ryan M. Lau, Norbert Langer, Emily Levesque, Peter Milne, Shazrene Mohamed, Nidia Morrell, Andy Monson, Anna Moore, Eran O. Ofek, Donal O. Sullivan, Mudumba Parthasarathy, Andres Perez, Daniel A. Perley, Mark Phillips, Thomas A. Prince, Dinesh Shenoy, Nathan Smith, Jason Surace, Schuyler D.Van Dyk, Patricia A. Whitelock, Robert Williams

Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

76 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS - SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between -11 and -14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]-[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr^-1 to >7 mag yr^-1. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	88
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	839
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978
State	Published - Apr 20 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..

Keywords

infrared: general
novae, cataclysmic variables
stars: AGB and post-AGB
stars: mass-loss
supernovae: general
surveys

Access

10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978

OpenUrl availability

Full text

Cite this

Kasliwal, M. M., Bally, J., Masci, F., Cody, A. M., Bond, H. E., Jencson, J. E., Tinyanont, S., Cao, Y., Contreras, C., Dykhoff, D. A., Amodeo, S., Armus, L., Boyer, M., Cantiello, M., Carlon, R. L., Cass, A. C., Cook, D., Corgan, D. T., Faella, J., ... Williams, R. (2017). SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer. Astrophysical Journal, 839(2), Article 88. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978

Kasliwal, MM, Bally, J, Masci, F, Cody, AM, Bond, HE, Jencson, JE, Tinyanont, S, Cao, Y, Contreras, C, Dykhoff, DA, Amodeo, S, Armus, L, Boyer, M, Cantiello, M, Carlon, RL, Cass, AC, Cook, D, Corgan, DT, Faella, J, Fox, OD, Green, W, Gehrz, RD, Helou, G, Hsiao, E, Johansson, J, Khan, RM, Lau, RM, Langer, N, Levesque, E, Milne, P, Mohamed, S, Morrell, N, Monson, A, Moore, A, Ofek, EO, Sullivan, DO, Parthasarathy, M, Perez, A, Perley, DA, Phillips, M, Prince, TA, Shenoy, D, Smith, N, Surace, J, Dyk, SDV, Whitelock, PA & Williams, R 2017, 'SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 839, no. 2, 88. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978

@article{9ecb9bc1ad39442db3f57d1250be8199,

title = "SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer",

abstract = "We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS - SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between -11 and -14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]-[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr-1 to >7 mag yr-1. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.",

keywords = "infrared: general, novae, cataclysmic variables, stars: AGB and post-AGB, stars: mass-loss, supernovae: general, surveys",

author = "Kasliwal, {Mansi M.} and John Bally and Frank Masci and Cody, {Ann Marie} and Bond, {Howard E.} and Jencson, {Jacob E.} and Samaporn Tinyanont and Yi Cao and Carlos Contreras and Dykhoff, {Devin A.} and Samuel Amodeo and Lee Armus and Martha Boyer and Matteo Cantiello and Carlon, {Robert L.} and Cass, {Alexander C.} and David Cook and Corgan, {David T.} and Joseph Faella and Fox, {Ori D.} and Wayne Green and Gehrz, {R. D.} and George Helou and Eric Hsiao and Joel Johansson and Khan, {Rubab M.} and Lau, {Ryan M.} and Norbert Langer and Emily Levesque and Peter Milne and Shazrene Mohamed and Nidia Morrell and Andy Monson and Anna Moore and Ofek, {Eran O.} and Sullivan, {Donal O.} and Mudumba Parthasarathy and Andres Perez and Perley, {Daniel A.} and Mark Phillips and Prince, {Thomas A.} and Dinesh Shenoy and Nathan Smith and Jason Surace and Dyk, {Schuyler D.Van} and Whitelock, {Patricia A.} and Robert Williams",

year = "2017",

month = apr,

day = "20",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "839",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - SPIRITS

T2 - Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer

AU - Kasliwal, Mansi M.

AU - Bally, John

AU - Masci, Frank

AU - Cody, Ann Marie

AU - Bond, Howard E.

AU - Jencson, Jacob E.

AU - Tinyanont, Samaporn

AU - Cao, Yi

AU - Contreras, Carlos

AU - Dykhoff, Devin A.

AU - Amodeo, Samuel

AU - Armus, Lee

AU - Boyer, Martha

AU - Cantiello, Matteo

AU - Carlon, Robert L.

AU - Cass, Alexander C.

AU - Cook, David

AU - Corgan, David T.

AU - Faella, Joseph

AU - Fox, Ori D.

AU - Green, Wayne

AU - Gehrz, R. D.

AU - Helou, George

AU - Hsiao, Eric

AU - Johansson, Joel

AU - Khan, Rubab M.

AU - Lau, Ryan M.

AU - Langer, Norbert

AU - Levesque, Emily

AU - Milne, Peter

AU - Mohamed, Shazrene

AU - Morrell, Nidia

AU - Monson, Andy

AU - Moore, Anna

AU - Ofek, Eran O.

AU - Sullivan, Donal O.

AU - Parthasarathy, Mudumba

AU - Perez, Andres

AU - Perley, Daniel A.

AU - Phillips, Mark

AU - Prince, Thomas A.

AU - Shenoy, Dinesh

AU - Smith, Nathan

AU - Surace, Jason

AU - Dyk, Schuyler D.Van

AU - Whitelock, Patricia A.

AU - Williams, Robert

PY - 2017/4/20

Y1 - 2017/4/20

N2 - We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS - SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between -11 and -14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]-[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr-1 to >7 mag yr-1. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.

AB - We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS - SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between -11 and -14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]-[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr-1 to >7 mag yr-1. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.

KW - infrared: general

KW - novae, cataclysmic variables

KW - stars: AGB and post-AGB

KW - stars: mass-loss

KW - supernovae: general

KW - surveys

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85018971211&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85018971211&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85018971211

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 839

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 2

M1 - 88

ER -

SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access

OpenUrl availability

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this