We present UV and/or optical observations and models of SN 2023ixf, a type II supernova (SN) located in Messier 101 at 6.9 Mpc. Early time (
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We present the discovery of the Type II supernova SN 2023ixf in M101 and follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations, respectively, in the first month and week of its evolution. Our discovery was made within a day of estimated first light, and the following light curve is characterized by a rapid rise (≈5 days) to a luminous peak (
- Award ID(s):
- 2019786
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10472321
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Astronomical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Volume:
- 955
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-8205
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- L8
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract flash ) spectroscopy of SN 2023ixf, obtained primarily at Lick Observatory, reveals emission lines of Hi , Hei/ii , Civ , and Niii/iv/v with a narrow core and broad, symmetric wings arising from the photoionization of dense, close-in circumstellar material (CSM) located around the progenitor star prior to shock breakout. These electron-scattering broadened line profiles persist for ∼8 days with respect to first light, at which time Doppler broadened the features from the fastest SN ejecta form, suggesting a reduction in CSM density atr ≳ 1015cm. The early time light curve of SN 2023ixf shows peak absolute magnitudes (e.g.,M u = −18.6 mag,M g = −18.4 mag) that are ≳2 mag brighter than typical type II SNe, this photometric boost also being consistent with the shock power supplied from CSM interaction. Comparison of SN 2023ixf to a grid of light-curve and multiepoch spectral models from the non-LTE radiative transfer codeCMFGEN and the radiation-hydrodynamics codeHERACLES suggests dense, solar-metallicity CSM confined tor = (0.5–1) × 1015cm, and a progenitor mass-loss rate of yr−1. For the assumed progenitor wind velocity ofv w = 50 km s−1, this corresponds to enhanced mass loss (i.e.,superwind phase) during the last ∼3–6 yr before explosion. -
Abstract We present high-cadence optical and ultraviolet (UV) observations of the Type II supernova (SN), SN 2022jox which exhibits early spectroscopic high-ionization flash features of H
i , Heii , Civ , and Niv that disappear within the first few days after explosion. SN 2022jox was discovered by the Distance Less Than 40 Mpc survey ∼0.75 day after explosion with follow-up spectra and UV photometry obtained within minutes of discovery. The SN reached a peak brightness ofM V ∼ −17.3 mag, and has an estimated56Ni mass of 0.04M ⊙, typical values for normal Type II SNe. The modeling of the early light curve and the strong flash signatures present in the optical spectra indicate interaction with circumstellar material (CSM) created from a progenitor with a mass-loss rate of . There may also be some indication of late-time CSM interaction in the form of an emission line blueward of Hα seen in spectra around 200 days. The mass-loss rate of SN 2022jox is much higher than the values typically associated with quiescent mass loss from red supergiants, the known progenitors of Type II SNe, but is comparable to inferred values from similar core-collapse SNe with flash features, suggesting an eruptive event or a superwind in the progenitor in the months or years before explosion. -
Abstract We perform a comprehensive search for optical precursor emission at the position of SN 2023ixf using data from the DLT40, ZTF, and ATLAS surveys. By comparing the current data set with precursor outburst hydrodynamical model light curves, we find that the probability of a significant outburst within 5 yr of explosion is low, and the circumstellar material (CSM) ejected during any possible precursor outburst is likely smaller than ∼0.015
M ⊙. By comparing to a set of toy models, we find that, if there was a precursor outburst, the duration must have been shorter than ∼100 days for a typical brightness ofM r ≃ −9 mag or shorter than 200 days forM r ≃ −8 mag; brighter, longer outbursts would have been discovered. Precursor activity like that observed in the normal Type II SN 2020tlf (M r ≃ −11.5) can be excluded in SN 2023ixf. If the dense CSM inferred by early flash spectroscopy and other studies is related to one or more precursor outbursts, then our observations indicate that any such outburst would have to be faint and only last for days to months, or it occurred more than 5 yr prior to the explosion. Alternatively, any dense, confined CSM may not be due to eruptive mass loss from a single red supergiant progenitor. Taken together, the results of SN 2023ixf and SN 2020tlf indicate that there may be more than one physical mechanism behind the dense CSM inferred around some normal Type II supernovae. -
Abstract We present six epochs of optical spectropolarimetry of the Type II supernova (SN) 2023ixf ranging from ∼2 to 15 days after the explosion. Polarimetry was obtained with the Kast double spectrograph on the Shane 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory, representing the earliest such observations ever captured for an SN. We observe a high continuum polarization
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Abstract We present a series of high-resolution echelle spectra of SN 2023ixf in M101, obtained nightly during the first week or so after discovery using PEPSI on the Large Binocular Telescope. Na
i D absorption in these spectra indicates a host reddening ofE (B −V ) = 0.031 mag and a systemic velocity of +7 km s−1relative to the average redshift of M101. Dramatic changes are seen in the strength and shape of strong emission lines emitted by circumstellar material (CSM), including Heii λ 4686, Civ λλ 5801,5811, Hα , and Niv λλ 7109,7123. In general, these narrow lines broaden to become intermediate-width lines before disappearing from the spectrum within a few days, indicating a limited extent to the dense CSM of around 20–30 au (or ≲1014.7cm). Hα persists in the spectrum for about a week as an intermediate-width emission line with P Cyg absorption at 700–1300 km s−1arising in the post-shock shell of swept-up CSM. Early narrow emission lines are blueshifted and indicate an expansion speed in the pre-shock CSM of about 115 km s−1, but with even broader emission in higher-ionization lines. This is faster than the normal winds of red supergiants, suggesting some mode of eruptive mass loss from the progenitor or radiative acceleration of the CSM. A lack of narrow blueshifted absorption suggests that most of the CSM is not along our line of sight. This and several other clues indicate that the CSM of SN 2023ixf is significantly aspherical. We find that CSM lines disappear after a few days because the asymmetric CSM is engulfed by the supernova photosphere.