61 research outputs found
The nearby Type Ibn supernova 2015G: signatures of asymmetry and progenitor constraints
We present the results of an extensive observational campaign on the nearby Type Ibn SN 2015G, including data from radio through ultraviolet wavelengths. SN 2015G was asymmetric, showing late-time nebular lines redshifted by ∼1000 km s^(−1). It shared many features with the prototypical SN Ibn 2006jc, including extremely strong He I emission lines and a late-time blue pseudo-continuum. The young SN 2015G showed narrow P-Cygni profiles of He I, but never in its evolution did it show any signature of hydrogen – arguing for a dense, ionized and hydrogen-free circumstellar medium moving outward with a velocity of ∼1000 km s^(−1) and created by relatively recent mass-loss from the progenitor star. Ultraviolet through infrared observations show that the fading SN 2015G (which was probably discovered some 20 d post-peak) had a spectral energy distribution that was well described by a simple, single-component blackbody. Archival HST images provide upper limits on the luminosity of SN 2015G's progenitor, while non-detections of any luminous radio afterglow and optical non-detections of outbursts over the past two decades provide constraints upon its mass-loss history
Constraints on the Progenitor of SN 2010jl and Pre-Existing Hot Dust in its Surrounding Medium
A search for the progenitor of SN~2010jl, an unusually luminous core-collapse
supernova of Type~IIn, using pre-explosion {\it Hubble}/WFPC2 and {\it
Spitzer}/IRAC images of the region, yielded upper limits on the UV and
near-infrared (IR) fluxes from any candidate star. These upper limits constrain
the luminosity and effective temperature of the progenitor, the mass of any
preexisting dust in its surrounding circumstellar medium (CSM), and dust
proximity to the star. A {\it lower} limit on the CSM dust mass is required to
hide a luminous progenitor from detection by {\it Hubble}. {\it Upper} limits
on the CSM dust mass and constraints on its proximity to the star are set by
requiring that the absorbed and reradiated IR emission not exceed the IRAC
upper limits. Using the combined extinction-IR emission constraints we present
viable combinations, where and are the CSM dust mass and
its inner radius. These depend on the CSM outer radius, dust composition and
grain size, and the properties of the progenitor. The results constrain the
pre-supernova evolution of the progenitor, and the nature and origin of the
observed post-explosion IR emission from SN~2010jl. In particular, an
~Car-type progenitor will require at least 4~mag of visual extinction to
avoid detection by the {\it Hubble}. This can be achieved with dust masses
~\msun\ (less than the estimated 0.2-0.5~\msun\ around
~Car) which must be located at distances of ~cm from the
star to avoid detection by {\it Spitzer}.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ. 14 pages 10 figures. The
complete figure set for Figure 10 (24 images) is available in the online
journa
Asphericity, Interaction, and Dust in the Type II-P/II-L Supernova 2013ej in Messier 74
SN 2013ej is a well-studied core-collapse supernova (SN) that stemmed from a
directly identified red supergiant (RSG) progenitor in galaxy M74. The source
exhibits signs of substantial geometric asphericity, X-rays from persistent
interaction with circumstellar material (CSM), thermal emission from warm dust,
and a light curve that appears intermediate between supernovae of Types II-P
and II-L. The proximity of this source motivates a close inspection of these
physical characteristics and their potential interconnection. We present
multi-epoch spectropolarimetry of SN 2013ej during the first 107 days, and deep
optical spectroscopy and ultraviolet through infrared photometry past ~800
days. SN 2013ej exhibits the strongest and most persistent continuum and line
polarization ever observed for a SN of its class during the recombination
phase. Modeling indicates that the data are consistent with an oblate
ellipsoidal photosphere, viewed nearly edge-on, and probably augmented by
optical scattering from circumstellar dust. We suggest that interaction with an
equatorial distribution of CSM, perhaps the result of binary evolution, is
responsible for generating the photospheric asphericity. Relatedly, our
late-time optical imaging and spectroscopy shows that asymmetric CSM
interaction is ongoing, and the morphology of broad H-alpha emission from
shock-excited ejecta provides additional evidence that the geometry of the
interaction region is ellipsoidal. Alternatively, a prolate ellipsoidal
geometry from an intrinsically bipolar explosion is also a plausible
interpretation of the data, but would probably require a ballistic jet of
radioactive material capable of penetrating the hydrogen envelope early in the
recombination phase (abridged).Comment: Post-proof edit. Accepted to ApJ on Nov. 23 2016; 21 pages, 16
figure
The Progenitor of Supernova 2011dh Has Vanished
We conducted Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Snapshot observations of the Type
IIb Supernova (SN) 2011dh in M51 at an age of ~641 days with the Wide Field
Camera 3. We find that the yellow supergiant star, clearly detected in pre-SN
HST images, has disappeared, implying that this star was almost certainly the
progenitor of the SN. Interpretation of the early-time SN data which led to the
inference of a compact nature for the progenitor, and to the expected survival
of this yellow supergiant, is now clearly incorrect. We also present
ground-based UBVRI light curves obtained with the Katzman Automatic Imaging
Telescope (KAIT) at Lick Observatory up to SN age ~70 days. From the
light-curve shape including the very late-time HST data, and from recent
interacting binary models for SN 2011dh, we estimate that a putative surviving
companion star to the now deceased yellow supergiant could be detectable by
late 2013, especially in the ultraviolet. No obvious light echoes are
detectable yet in the SN environment.Comment: 6 pages, new versions of the 3 figures, improved U-band SN
photometry, to appear in ApJ Letter
SN 2015U: A Rapidly Evolving and Luminous Type Ibn Supernova
Supernova (SN) 2015U (also known as PSN J07285387+3349106) was discovered in
NGC 2388 on 2015 Feb. 11. A rapidly evolving and luminous event, it showed
effectively hydrogen-free spectra dominated by relatively narrow helium P-Cygni
spectral features and it was classified as a SN Ibn. In this paper we present
photometric, spectroscopic, and spectropolarimetric observations of SN 2015U,
including a Keck/DEIMOS spectrum (resolution 5000) which fully
resolves the optical emission and absorption features. We find that SN 2015U is
best understood via models of shock breakout from extended and dense
circumstellar material (CSM), likely created by a history of mass loss from the
progenitor with an extreme outburst within 1-2 yr of core collapse (but
we do not detect any outburst in our archival imaging of NGC 2388). We argue
that the high luminosity of SN 2015U was powered not through Ni decay
but via the deposition of kinetic energy into the ejecta/CSM shock interface.
Though our analysis is hampered by strong host-galaxy dust obscuration (which
likely exhibits multiple components), our dataset makes SN 2015U one of the
best-studied Type Ibn supernovae and provides a bridge of understanding to
other rapidly fading transients, both luminous and relatively faint.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, 4 table
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