Multiwavelength Observations of GRB 181201A and Detection of Its Associated Supernova

Multicolor photometric observations in the optical band and a comprehensive study in the X-ray, gamma-ray, and radio bands are presented for GRB 181201A and its afterglow. The optical observations began ∼0.5 day after the burst and lasted almost continuously for ∼24 days. They were resumed after eight months, which allowed us to determine the contribution of the host galaxy to the measured fluxes and to estimate the related extinction. Such complete coverage of the light curve became possible owing to the coordinated work of a network of nine telescopes worldwide. Convincing evidence of an incipient supernova explosion at the location of the burst source was obtained at the end of the first series of observations. Thus, GRB 181201A became yet another event that confirmed the association of gamma-ray bursts with supernovae. Thirty such events based on photometric observations of burst afterglows were known before it. A comparison of the supernova-induced excess emission in the light curve of the afterglow from GRB 181201A with other events has allowed some of the supernova parameters to be determined.