SN 2020bvc: A Broad-line Type Ic Supernova with a Double-peaked Optical Light Curve and a Luminous X-Ray and Radio Counterpart

Abstract

We present optical, radio, and X-ray observations of SN 2020bvc (=ASASSN-20bs, ZTF 20aalxlis), a nearby ( z = 0.0252 ; d  = 114 Mpc) broad-line (BL) Type Ic supernova (SN) and the first double-peaked Ic-BL discovered without a gamma-ray burst (GRB) trigger. Our observations show that SN 2020bvc shares several properties in common with the Ic-BL SN 2006aj, which was associated with the low-luminosity gamma-ray burst (LLGRB) 060218. First, the 10 GHz radio luminosity ( L radio ≈ 10 37 erg s − 1 ) is brighter than ordinary core-collapse SNe but fainter than LLGRB SNe such as SN 1998bw (associated with LLGRB 980425). We model our VLA observations (spanning 13–43 days) as synchrotron emission from a mildly relativistic ( v ≳ 0.3 c ) forward shock. Second, with Swift and Chandra, we detect X-ray emission ( L X  ≈ 10 41 erg s − 1 ) that is not naturally explained as inverse Compton emission or part of the same synchrotron spectrum as the radio emission. Third, high-cadence (6× night –1 ) data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) show a double-peaked optical light curve, the first peak from shock cooling of extended low-mass material (mass M e < 10 − 2 M ⊙ at radius R e  > 10 12 cm) and the second peak from the radioactive decay of 56 Ni . SN 2020bvc is the first double-peaked Ic-BL SN discovered without a GRB trigger, so it is noteworthy that it shows X-ray and radio emission similar to LLGRB SNe. For four of the five other nearby ( z  ≲ 0.05) Ic-BL SNe with ZTF high-cadence data, we rule out a first peak like that seen in SN 2006aj and SN 2020bvc, i.e., that lasts ≈1 day and reaches a peak luminosity M  ≈ −18. Follow-up X-ray and radio observations of Ic-BL SNe with well-sampled early optical light curves will establish whether double-peaked optical light curves are indeed predictive of LLGRB-like X-ray and radio emission.