GN-z11-flash: A shock-breakout in a Population III supernova at Cosmic Dawn?

Hamsa Padmanabhan, Abraham Loeb

Published 2021-01-28Version 1

We discuss the possible interpretation of the recently observed transient, GN-z11-flash as originating from a shock-breakout in a Population III supernova occurring in the GN-z11 galaxy at $z \sim 11$. We find that the parameters of the explosion are fully consistent with those expected from the shock breakout associated with a Type II supernova of a progenitor star of $\sim 300$ solar masses in this galaxy, with of order unity such events expected over an observing timescale of a few years. We forecast the expected number of such transients from $z > 10$ galaxies as a function of their host stellar mass and star formation rate.