An Optimized Radio Follow-up Strategy for Stripped-envelope Core-collapse Supernovae

Several ongoing or planned synoptic optical surveys are offering, or will soon be offering, an unprecedented opportunity for discovering larger samples of the rarest types of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae, such as those associated with relativistic jets, mildly relativistic ejecta, or strong interaction with the circumstellar medium. Observations at radio wavelengths are a useful tool to probe the fastest moving ejecta, as well as denser circumstellar environments, and can thus help us identify the rarest type of core-collapse explosions. Here, we discuss how to set up an efficient radio follow-up program to detect and correctly identify radio-emitting stripped-envelope core-collapse explosions. We use a method similar to the one described in Carbone & Corsi, and determine the optimal timing of GHz radio observations assuming a sensitivity comparable to that of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. The optimization is done so as to ensure that the collected radio observations can identify the type of explosion powering the radio counterpart by using the smallest possible amount of telescope time. We also present a previously unpublished upper limit on the late-time radio emission from supernova iPTF 17cw. Finally, we conclude by discussing implications for follow-up in the X-rays.