Swift Observations of SN 2006jc in UGC 4904
ATel #916; P. J. Brown, Pennsylvania State University, S. Immler, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, and Universities Space Research Association, & M. Modjaz (CfA/Harvard) on behalf of the Swift satellite team
on 14 Oct 2006; 00:00 UT
Credential Certification: Stefan Immler (immler@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov)
Subjects: Optical, Ultra-Violet, X-ray, Supernovae
Referred to by ATel #: 934, 961
Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) observations of SN 2006jc (CBET 666, 672) began at 2006-10-13 16:10 (UT). The following UVOT magnitudes were measured for SN 2006jc during the first orbit: V = 14.3 (145-s exposure), UVW1 [181-321 nm] = 13.2 (291 s), UVM2 [166-268 nm] =13.5 (362 s), and UVW2 [112-264 nm] = 13.7 (569 s). U and B observations were at or close to the saturation limit. Statistical and systematic errors are approximately 0.1 mag each.
The UV-V colors are extremely blue, similar to early observations of the SN IIP 2006bp (ATEL #793) and B band observations of the SN IIn 1998S (Li et al 2002, 114, 401, Modjaz et al. in prep). They are approximately 2 magnitudes bluer than UVOT observations of SNe Ia (see e.g. Brown et al. ApJ, 2005, 635, 1192) or the Ic SN2006aj (associated with GRB060218; Campana et al. Nature, 442, 1008) near maximum light.
An excess of X-ray counts is detected from the position of the SN at a 2.4-sigma level in the 3.4 ks XRT data obtained during the first two orbits. The XRT net count rate of (2.0+/-0.8)E-03 cts/s corresponds to a (0.2-10 keV) X-ray flux and luminosity of (1.0+/-0.4)E-13 ergs/cm/cm/s and (6.7+/-2.7)E39 ergs/s, respectively, for an adopted thermal plasma spectrum with a temperature of kT=10 keV and a distance of 23.6 Mpc.
