Search for gamma-ray emission from super-luminous supernovae with the Fermi-LAT

TL;DR

This study conducted the first systematic search for gamma-ray emission from 45 super-luminous supernovae using Fermi-LAT, finding no significant emission and setting upper limits that constrain models involving rapidly rotating neutron stars as central engines.

Contribution

It provides the first individual and stacking gamma-ray emission limits for SLSNe, constraining the properties of potential neutron star central engines and their birth rates.

Findings

No gamma-ray excess detected from SLSNe positions.

Upper limits on gamma-ray luminosity constrain neutron star birth rates.

Specific SLSNe can only host millisecond pulsars if magnetic fields are below 10^{13} G.

Abstract

We present the first individual and stacking systematic search for $\gamma$-ray emission in the GeV band with the {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT), in the directions of 45 super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe). No excess of \gam rays from the SLSN positions was found. We report $\gamma$-ray luminosity upper limits and discuss the implication of these results on the origin of SLSNe in particular on the scenario of central compact object-aided SNe. From the stacking search, we derive an upper limit at 95\% confidence level (CL) to the $\gamma$-ray luminosity (above 600 MeV) $L_{\gamma}<9.1\times10^{41}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$ for an assumed $E^{-2}$ photon spectrum, for our full SLSN sample. We conclude that the rate of the neutron stars born with millisecond rotation periods {$P\lesssim 2\,$ms and $B\sim10^{12-13}\,$G} must be lower than the rate of the observed SLSNe. The luminosity limits obtained on individual sources are also constraining: in particular, SN2013fc, CSS140222, SN2010kd, and PTF12dam can be born with millisecond periods only if $B\lesssim 10^{13}\,$G.