Swift XRT Detection of Supernova 2009mk in X-Rays
ATel #2389; B. R. Russell (U of Maryland) and S. Immler (NASA/CRESST/GSFC), on behalf of the Swift satellite team
on 20 Jan 2010; 17:02 UT
Credential Certification: Stefan Immler (immler@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov)
Subjects: X-ray, Supernovae
Using 15 epochs of Swift X-Ray Telescope (XRT) observations of the Type IIb SN 2009mk in ESO 293-34 (CBET #2080, #2086), obtained between 2009-12-17 and 2010-01-13 (22.2 ks exposure time), an X-ray point-source is detected, consistent with the optical position of the SN, with a 3.7-sigma significance of source detection. The PSF, dead-time, and vignetting corrected XRT net count rate is (1.0+/-0.3)E-03 cts/s, corresponding to an unabsorbed (0.2-10 keV band) X-ray flux of (4.8+/-1.3)E-14 erg/cm/cm/s and a luminosity of (2.5+/-0.7)E39 erg/s for an adopted thermal plasma spectrum with a temperature of kT = 10 keV, a Galactic foreground column density of N_H = 1.7E+20 (Dickey & Lockman, 1990, ARAA 28) and a distance of 21 Mpc (NED).
Over the course of the Swift XRT observations, the X-ray source continuously faded, confirming that the X-ray emission is due to the SN and that contamination with a nearby X-ray source, if present, is small.
