The Massive Progenitor of the Type II-linear Supernova 2009kr

We present early-time photometric and spectroscopic observations of supernova (SN) 2009kr in NGC 1832. We find that its properties to date support its classification as Type II-linear (SN II-L), a relatively rare subclass of core-collapse supernovae (SNe). We have also identified a candidate for the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2010-05, Vol.714 (2), p.L254-L259
Main Authors: Elias-Rosa, Nancy, Van Dyk, Schuyler D, Li, Weidong, Miller, Adam A, Silverman, Jeffrey M, Ganeshalingam, Mohan, Boden, Andrew F, Kasliwal, Mansi M, Vinkó, József, Cuillandre, Jean-Charles, Filippenko, Alexei V, Steele, Thea N, Bloom, Joshua S, Griffith, Christopher V, Kleiser, Io K. W, Foley, Ryan J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BINARY STARS
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
EVOLUTION
EXPLOSIONS
GALAXIES
MASS
Physics
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
SUPERNOVAE
TELESCOPES
VARIABLE STARS
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Summary:We present early-time photometric and spectroscopic observations of supernova (SN) 2009kr in NGC 1832. We find that its properties to date support its classification as Type II-linear (SN II-L), a relatively rare subclass of core-collapse supernovae (SNe). We have also identified a candidate for the SN progenitor star through comparison of pre-explosion, archival images taken with WFPC2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope with SN images obtained using adaptive optics plus NIRC2 on the 10 m Keck-II telescope. Although the host galaxy's substantial distance (~26 Mpc) results in large uncertainties in the relative astrometry, we find that if this candidate is indeed the progenitor, it is a highly luminous (M 0 V = -7.8 mag) yellow supergiant with initial mass ~18-24 M sun. This would be the first time that an SN II-L progenitor has been directly identified. Its mass may be a bridge between the upper initial mass limit for the more common Type II-plateau SNe and the inferred initial mass estimate for one Type II-narrow SN.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/714/2/L254