Sn 2005bf:: A possible transition event between type Ib/c supernovae and gamma-ray bursts

We present u'g'r'i'BV photometry and optical spectroscopy of the Type Ib/Ic SN 2005bf covering the first similar to 100 days following discovery. The u'g'BV light curves displayed an unprecedented morphology among Type Ib/Ic supernovae, with an initial maximum some 2 weeks after discovery and a second, main maximum about 25 days after that. The bolometric light curve indicates that SN 2005bf was a remarkably luminous event, radiating at least 6.3 x 10(42) ergs s(-1) at maximum light and a total of 2.1 x 10(49) ergs during the first 75 days after the explosion. Spectroscopically, SN 2005bf underwent a unique transformation from a Type Ic-like event at early times to a typical Type Ib supernova at later phases. The initial maximum in u'g'BV was accompanied by the presence in the spectrum of high-velocity (> 14,000 km s(-1)) absorption lines of Fe II, Ca II, and H I. The photospheric velocity derived from spectra at early epochs was below 10,000 km s(-1), which is unusually low compared with ordinary Type Ib supernovae. We describe one-dimensional computer simulations that attempt to account for these remarkable properties. The most favored model is that of a very energetic (2 x 10(51) ergs), asymmetric explosion of a massive ( 8.3 M-circle dot) Wolf-Rayet WN star that had lost most of its hydrogen envelope. We speculate that an unobserved relativistic jet was launched producing a two-component explosion consisting of ( 1) a polar explosion containing a small fraction of the total mass and moving at high velocity and ( 2) the explosion of the rest of the star. At first, only the polar explosion is observed, producing the initial maximum and the high-velocity absorption-line spectrum resembling a Type Ic event. At late times, this fast- moving component becomes optically thin, revealing the more slowly moving explosion of the rest of the star and transforming the observed spectrum to that of a typical Type Ib supernova. If this scenario is correct, then SN 2005bf is the best example to date of a transition object between normal Type Ib/Ic supernovae and gamma-ray bursts.