ABSTRACT A rare class of supernovae (SNe) is characterized by strong interaction between the ejecta and several solar masses of circumstellar matter (CSM) as evidenced by strong Balmer-line emission. Within the first few weeks after the explosion, they may display spectral features similar to overluminous Type Ia SNe, while at later phase their observation properties exhibit remarkable similarities with some extreme case of Type IIn SNe that show strong Balmer lines years after the explosion. We present polarimetric observations of SN 2018evt obtained by the ESO Very Large Telescope from 172 to 219 d after the estimated time of peak luminosity to study the geometry of the CSM. The non-zero continuum polarization decreases over time, suggesting that the mass-loss of the progenitor star is aspherical. The prominent H α emission can be decomposed into a broad, time-evolving component and an intermediate-width, static component. The former shows polarized signals, and it is likely to arise from a cold dense shell (CDS) within the region between the forward and reverse shocks. The latter is significantly unpolarized, and it is likely to arise from shocked, fragmented gas clouds in the H-rich CSM. We infer that SN 2018evt exploded inside a massive and aspherical circumstellar cloud. The symmetry axes of the CSM and the SN appear to be similar. SN 2018evt shows observational properties common to events that display strong interaction between the ejecta and CSM, implying that they share similar circumstellar configurations. Our preliminary estimate also suggests that the circumstellar environment of SN 2018evt has been significantly enriched at a rate of ∼0.1 M⊙ yr−1 over a period of >100 yr.
more »
« less
SN 2014C: VLBI image shows a shell structure and decelerated expansion
ABSTRACT We report on new Very Long Baseline Interferometry radio measurements of supernova (SN) 2014C in the spiral galaxy NGC 7331, made with the European VLBI Network ∼5 yr after the explosion, as well as on flux density measurements made with the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). SN 2014C was an unusual SN, initially of Type Ib, but over the course of ∼1 yr, it developed strong H α lines, implying the onset of strong interaction with some H-rich circumstellar medium (CSM). The expanding shock-front interacted with a dense shell of circumstellar material during the first year, but has now emerged from the dense shell and is expanding into the lower density CSM beyond. Our new VLBI observations show a relatively clear shell structure and continued expansion with some deceleration, with a suggestion that the deceleration is increasing at the latest times. Our multifrequency VLA observations show a relatively flat power-law spectrum with Sν ∝ ν−0.56 ± 0.03, and show no decline in the radio luminosity since t ∼ 1 yr.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1944985
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10285092
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 502
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1694 to 1701
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
more » « less
Abstract We present extensive multifrequency Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the radio-bright supernova (SN) IIb SN 2004C that span ∼40–2793 days post-explosion. We interpret the temporal evolution of the radio spectral energy distribution in the context of synchrotron self-absorbed emission from the explosion’s forward shock as it expands in the circumstellar medium (CSM) previously sculpted by the mass-loss history of the stellar progenitor. VLBA observations and modeling of the VLA data point to a blastwave with average velocity ∼0.06
c that carries an energy of ≈1049erg. Our modeling further reveals a flat CSM density profileρ CSM∝R −0.03±0.22up to a break radiusR br≈ (1.96 ± 0.10) × 1016cm, with a steep density gradient followingρ CSM∝R −2.3±0.5at larger radii. We infer that the flat part of the density profile corresponds to a CSM shell with mass ∼0.021M ☉, and that the progenitor’s effective mass-loss rate varied with time over the range (50–500) × 10−5M ☉yr−1for an adopted wind velocityv w = 1000 km s−1and shock microphysical parametersϵ e = 0.1,ϵ B = 0.01. These results add to the mounting observational evidence for departures from the traditional single-wind mass-loss scenarios in evolved, massive stars in the centuries leading up to core collapse. Potentially viable scenarios include mass loss powered by gravity waves and/or interaction with a binary companion. -
more » « less
ABSTRACT We present broad-band radio flux-density measurements supernova (SN) 1996cr, made with MeerKAT, ATCA, and ALMA, and images made from very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations with the Australian Long Baseline Array. The spectral energy distribution of SN 1996cr in 2020, at age t ∼8700 d, is a power-law, with flux density, S ∝ ν−0.588 ± 0.011 between 1 and 34 GHz, but may steepen at >35 GHz. The spectrum has flattened since t = 5370 d (2010). Also since t = 5370 d, the flux density has declined rapidly, with $S_{\rm 9 \, GHz} \propto t^{-2.9}$. The VLBI image at t = 8859 d shows an approximately circular structure with a central minimum reminiscent of an optically-thin spherical shell of emission. For a distance of 3.7 Mpc, the average outer radius of the radio emission at t = 8859 d was (5.1 ± 0.3) × 1017 cm, and SN 1996cr has been expanding with a velocity of 4650 ± 1060 km s−1 between t = 4307 and 8859 d. It must have undergone considerable deceleration before t = 4307 d. Deviations from a circular shell structure in the image suggest a range of velocities up to ∼7000 km s−1, and hint at the presence of a ring- or equatorial-belt-like structure rather than a complete spherical shell.
-
Abstract We present a population of 19 radio-luminous supernovae (SNe) with emission reaching L ν ∼ 10 26 –10 29 erg s −1 Hz −1 in the first epoch of the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) at 2–4 GHz. Our sample includes one long gamma-ray burst, SN 2017iuk/GRB 171205A, and 18 core-collapse SNe detected at ≈1–60 yr after explosion. No thermonuclear explosion shows evidence for bright radio emission, and hydrogen-poor progenitors dominate the subsample of core-collapse events with spectroscopic classification at the time of explosion (79%). We interpret these findings in the context of the expected radio emission from the forward shock interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM). We conclude that these observations require a departure from the single wind–like density profile (i.e., ρ CSM ∝ r −2 ) that is expected around massive stars and/or from a spherical Newtonian shock. Viable alternatives include the shock interaction with a detached, dense shell of CSM formed by a large effective progenitor mass-loss rate, M ̇ ∼ 10 − 4 – 10 − 1 M ⊙ yr −1 (for an assumed wind velocity of 1000 km s −1 ); emission from an off-axis relativistic jet entering our line of sight; or the emergence of emission from a newly born pulsar-wind nebula. The relativistic SN 2012ap that is detected 5.7 and 8.5 yr after explosion with L ν ∼ 10 28 erg s −1 Hz −1 might constitute the first detections of an off-axis jet+cocoon system in a massive star. However, none of the VLASS SNe with archival data points are consistent with our model off-axis jet light curves. Future multiwavelength observations will distinguish among these scenarios. Our VLASS source catalogs, which were used to perform the VLASS cross-matching, are publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4895112 .more » « less
-
more » « less
ABSTRACT We present photometry and spectroscopy of the slowly evolving superluminous Type IIn supernova (SN) 2015da. SN 2015da is extraordinary for its very high peak luminosity, and also for sustaining a high luminosity for several years. Even at 8 yr after explosion, SN 2015da remains as luminous as the peak of a normal SN II-P. The total radiated energy integrated over this time period (with no bolometric correction) is at least $1.6 \times 10^{51}$ erg (or 1.6 FOE). Including a mild bolometric correction, adding kinetic energy of the expanding cold dense shell of swept-up circumstellar material (CSM), and accounting for asymmetry, the total explosion kinetic energy was likely 5–10 FOE. Powering the light curve with CSM interaction requires an energetic explosion and 20 M$_{\odot }$ of H-rich CSM, which in turn implies a massive progenitor system $\gt $30 M$_{\odot }$. Narrow P Cyg features show steady CSM expansion at 90 km s$^{-1}$, requiring a high average mass-loss rate of $\sim$0.1 M$_{\odot }$ yr$^{-1}$ sustained for two centuries before explosion (although ramping up toward explosion time). No current theoretical model for single-star pre-SN mass-loss can account for this. The slow CSM, combined with broad wings of H $\alpha$ indicating H-rich material in the unshocked ejecta, disfavours a pulsational pair instability model for the pre-SN mass-loss. Instead, violent pre-SN binary interaction is a likely culprit. Finally, SN 2015da exhibits the characteristic asymmetric blueshift in its emission lines from shortly after peak until the present epoch, adding another well-studied superluminous SNe IIn with unambiguous evidence of post-shock dust formation.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa4003
