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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 ∼0.015M_⊙. 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 near-infrared (NIR) and optical observations of the Type Ic supernova (SN Ic) SN 2021krf obtained between days 13 and 259 at several ground-based telescopes. The NIR spectrum at day 68 exhibits a rising K -band continuum flux density longward of ∼2.0 μ m, and a late-time optical spectrum at day 259 shows strong [O i ] 6300 and 6364 Å emission-line asymmetry, both indicating the presence of dust, likely formed in the SN ejecta. We estimate a carbon-grain dust mass of ∼2 × 10 −5 M ⊙ and a dust temperature of ∼900–1200 K associated with this rising continuum and suggest the dust has formed in SN ejecta. Utilizing the one-dimensional multigroup radiation-hydrodynamics code STELLA, we present two degenerate progenitor solutions for SN 2021krf, characterized by C–O star masses of 3.93 and 5.74 M ⊙ , but with the same best-fit 56 Ni mass of 0.11 M ⊙ for early times (0–70 days). At late times (70–300 days), optical light curves of SN 2021krf decline substantially more slowly than those expected from 56 Co radioactive decay. Lack of H and He lines in the late-time SN spectrum suggests the absence of significant interaction of the ejecta with the circumstellar medium. We reproduce the entire bolometric light curve with a combination of radioactive decay and an additional powering source in the form of a central engine of a millisecond pulsar with a magnetic field smaller than that of a typical magnetar. 

We report on analysis using the JWST to identify a candidate progenitor star of the Type II-plateau (II-P) supernova SN 2022acko in the nearby, barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. To our knowledge, our discovery represents the first time JWST has been used to localize a progenitor system in pre-explosion archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. We astrometrically registered a JWST NIRCam image from 2023 January, in which the SN was serendipitously captured, to pre-SN HST F160W and F814W images from 2017 and 2004, respectively. An object corresponding precisely to the SN position has been isolated with reasonable confidence. That object has a spectral energy distribution (SED) and overall luminosity consistent with a single-star model having an initial mass possibly somewhat less than the canonical 8 M⊙ theoretical threshold for core collapse (although masses as high as 9 M⊙ for the star are also possible); however, the star’s SED and luminosity are inconsistent with that of a super-asymptotic giant branch star that might be a forerunner of an electron-capture SN. The properties of the progenitor alone imply that SN 2022acko is a relatively normal SN II-P, albeit most likely a low-luminosity one. The progenitor candidate should be confirmed with follow-up HST imaging at late times, when the SN has sufficiently faded. This potential use of JWST opens a new era of identifying SN progenitor candidates at high spatial resolution.

 

Abstract We present the photometry of 16 91T/99aa-like Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) observed by the Las Cumbres Observatory. We also use an additional set of 21 91T/99aa-like SNe Ia and 87 normal SNe Ia from the literature for an analysis of the standardizability of the luminosity of 91T/99aa-like SNe. We find that 91T/99aa-like SNe are 0.2 mag brighter than normal SNe Ia, even when fully corrected by the light-curve shapes and colors. The weighted rms of the 91T/99aa-like SNe (with z CMB > 0.01) Hubble residuals is 0.25 ± 0.03 mag, suggesting that 91T/99aa-like SNe are also excellent relative distance indicators to ±12%. We compare the Hubble residuals with the pseudo-equivalent width (pEW) of Si ii λλ 6355 around the date of maximum brightness. We find that there is a broken linear correlation between those two measurements for our sample including both 91T/99aa-like and normal SNe Ia. As the pEW max (Si ii λλ 6355) increases, the Hubble residual increases when pEW max (Si ii λλ 6355) < 55.6 Å. However, the Hubble residual stays constant beyond this. Given that 91T/99aa-like SNe possess shallower Si ii lines than normal SNe Ia, the linear correlation at pEW max (Si ii λλ 6355) < 55.6 Å can account for the overall discrepancy of Hubble residuals derived from the two subgroups. Such a systematic effect needs to be taken into account when using SNe Ia to measure luminosity distances. 

We analyze pre-explosion near- and mid-infrared (IR) imaging of the site of SN 2023ixf in the nearby spiral galaxy M101 and characterize the candidate progenitor star. The star displays compelling evidence of variability with a possible period of ≈1000 days and an amplitude of Δm≈ 0.6 mag in extensive monitoring with the Spitzer Space Telescope since 2004, likely indicative of radial pulsations. Variability consistent with this period is also seen in the near-IRJandK_sbands between 2010 and 2023, up to just 10 days before the explosion. Beyond the periodic variability, we do not find evidence for any IR-bright pre-supernova outbursts in this time period. The IR brightness ($M_{K_s}=-10.7$mag) and color (J−K_s= 1.6 mag) of the star suggest a luminous and dusty red supergiant. Modeling of the phase-averaged spectral energy distribution (SED) yields constraints on the stellar temperature ($T_{\mathrm{eff}}={3500}_{-1400}^{+800}$K) and luminosity ($\log L/L_{\odot }=5.1\pm 0.2$). This places the candidate among the most luminous Type II supernova progenitors with direct imaging constraints, with the caveat that many of these rely only on optical measurements. Comparison with stellar evolution models gives an initial mass ofM_init= 17 ± 4M_⊙. We estimate the pre-supernova mass-loss rate of the star between 3 and 19 yr before explosion from the SED modeling at$\dot{M}\approx 3\times {10}^{-5}$to 3 × 10⁻⁴M_⊙yr⁻¹for an assumed wind velocity ofv_w= 10 km s⁻¹, perhaps pointing to enhanced mass loss in a pulsation-driven wind.

 

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of the site of SN 2015bh in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2770 taken between 2017 and 2019, nearly four years after the peak of the explosion. In 2017–2018, the transient fades steadily in optical filters before declining more slowly toF814W= −7.1 mag in 2019, ≈4 mag below the level of its eruptive luminous blue variable (LBV) progenitor observed with HST in 2008–2009. The source fades at a constant color ofF555W−F814W= 0.4 mag until 2018, similar to SN 2009ip and consistent with a spectrum dominated by interaction of the ejecta with circumstellar material (CSM). A deep optical spectrum obtained in 2021 lacks signatures of ongoing interaction (L_Hα≲ 10³⁸erg s⁻¹for broadened emission ≲2000 km s⁻¹), but indicates the presence of a nearby Hiiregion (≲300 pc). The color evolution of the fading source makes it unlikely that emission from a scattered-light echo or binary OB companion of the progenitor contributes significantly to the flattening of the late-time light curve. The remaining emission in 2019 may plausibly be attributed an evolved/inflated companion or an unresolved (≲3 pc), young stellar cluster. Importantly, the color evolution of SN 2015bh rules out scenarios in which the surviving progenitor is obscured by nascent dust and does not clearly indicate a transition to a hotter, optically faint state. The simplest explanation is that the massive progenitor did not survive. SN 2015bh likely represents a remarkable example of the terminal explosion of a massive star preceded by decades of end-stage eruptive variability.

 

Abstract We present the discovery of an exceptional dimming event in a cool supergiant star in the Local Volume spiral M51. The star, dubbed M51-DS1, was found as part of a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) search for failed supernovae (SNe). The supergiant, which is plausibly associated with a very young (≲6 Myr) stellar population, showed clear variability (amplitude Δ F 814 W ≈ 0.7 mag) in numerous HST images obtained between 1995 and 2016, before suddenly dimming by >2 mag in F 814 W sometime between late 2017 and mid-2019. In follow-up data from 2021, the star rebrightened, ruling out a failed supernova. Prior to its near-disappearance, the star was luminous and red ( M F 814 W ≲ − 7.6 mag, F 606 W − F 814 W = 1.9–2.2 mag). Modeling of the pre-dimming spectral energy distribution of the star favors a highly reddened, very luminous ( log [ L / L ⊙ ] = 5.4 –5.7) star with T eff ≈ 3700–4700 K, indicative of a cool yellow or post-red supergiant (RSG) with an initial mass of ≈26–40 M ⊙ . However, the local interstellar extinction and circumstellar extinction are uncertain, and could be lower: the near-IR colors are consistent with an RSG, which would be cooler ( T eff ≲ 3700 K) and slightly less luminous ( log [ L / L ⊙ ] = 5.2 –5.3), giving an inferred initial mass of ≈19–22 M ⊙ . In either case, the dimming may be explained by a rare episode of enhanced mass loss that temporarily obscures the star, potentially a more extreme counterpart to the 2019–2020 “Great Dimming” of Betelgeuse. Given the emerging evidence that massive evolved stars commonly exhibit variability that can mimic a disappearing star, our work highlights a substantial challenge in identifying true failed SNe. 

We present the densely sampled early light curve of the Type II supernova (SN) 2023ixf, first observed within hours of explosion in the nearby Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101; 6.7 Mpc). Comparing these data to recently updated models of shock-cooling emission, we find that the progenitor likely had a radius of 410 ± 10R_⊙. Our estimate is model dependent but consistent with a red supergiant. These models provide a good fit to the data starting about 1 day after the explosion, despite the fact that the classification spectrum shows signatures of circumstellar material around SN 2023ixf during that time. Photometry during the first day after the explosion, provided almost entirely by amateur astronomers, does not agree with the shock-cooling models or a simple power-law rise fit to data after 1 day. We consider the possible causes of this discrepancy, including precursor activity from the progenitor star, circumstellar interaction, and emission from the shock before or after it breaks out of the stellar surface. The very low luminosity (−11 mag >M> −14 mag) and short duration of the initial excess lead us to prefer a scenario related to prolonged emission from the SN shock traveling through the progenitor system.

 

We present near- and mid-infrared (0.9–18μm) photometry of supernova (SN) 2021afdx, which was imaged serendipitously with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as part of its Early Release Observations of the Cartwheel Galaxy. Our ground-based optical observations show it is likely to be a Type IIb SN, the explosion of a yellow supergiant, and its infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) ≈200 days after explosion shows two distinct components, which we attribute to hot ejecta and warm dust. By fitting models of dust emission to the SED, we derive a dust mass of$({3.8}_{-0.3}^{+0.5})\times {10}^{-3}{M}_{\odot }$, which is the highest yet observed in a Type IIb SN but consistent with other Type II SNe observed by the Spitzer Space Telescope. We also find that the radius of the dust is significantly larger than the radius of the ejecta, as derived from spectroscopic velocities during the photospheric phase, which implies that we are seeing an infrared echo off of preexisting dust in the progenitor environment, rather than dust newly formed by the SN. Our results show the power of JWST to address questions of dust formation in SNe, and therefore the presence of dust in the early universe, with much larger samples than have been previously possible.

 

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.