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Author
Kasliwal, Mansi M.
Bally, John

Masci, Frank

Cody, Ann Marie

Bond, Howard E.

Jencson, Jacob E.

Tinyanont, Samaporn
Cao, Yi

Contreras, Carlos
Dykhoff, Devin A.
Amodeo, Samuel
Armus, Lee
Boyer, Martha

Cantiello, Matteo

Carlon, Robert L.
Cass, Alexander C.
Cook, David

Corgan, David T.
Faella, Joseph
Fox, Ori D.
Green, Wayne
Gehrz, R. D.
Helou, George
Hsiao, Eric

Johansson, Joel
Khan, Rubab M.

Lau, Ryan M.
Langer, Norbert
Levesque, Emily
Milne, P. A.

Mohamed, Shazrene
Morrell, N.

Monson, Andy
Moore, Anna
Ofek, Eran O.

Sullivan, Donal O’
Parthasarathy, Mudumba
Perez, Andres
Perley, D.

Phillips, Mark

Prince, Thomas

Shenoy, Dinesh

Smith, Nathan
Surace, Jason

Dyk, Schuyler D. Van
Whitelock, Patricia A.
Williams, Robert
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Steward ObservIssue Date
2017-04-19Keywords
infrared: generalnovae, cataclysmic variables
stars: AGB and post-AGB
stars: mass-loss
supernovae: general
surveys
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IOP PUBLISHING LTDCitation
SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer 2017, 839 (2):88 The Astrophysical JournalJournal
The Astrophysical JournalRights
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.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 indepth 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.ISSN
1538-4357Version
Final published versionAdditional Links
http://stacks.iop.org/0004-637X/839/i=2/a=88?key=crossref.2b8cbae0c71fb974ba32fceb754fdc0bae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3847/1538-4357/aa6978