Spectropolarimetry of the Type Ib Supernova iPTF 13bvn: revealing the complex explosion geometry of a stripped-envelope core-collapse supernova

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2016-03, Vol.457 (1), p.288-303
• Main Authors: Reilly, Emma, Maund, Justyn R., Baade, Dietrich, Wheeler, J. Craig, Silverman, Jeffrey M., Clocchiatti, Alejandro, Patat, Ferdinando, Höflich, Peter, Spyromilio, Jason, Wang, Lifan, Zelaya, Paula
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; Continuums; Ejecta; Explosions; Geometry; Nickel; Photosphere; Polarization; Spectrum analysis; Stars & galaxies; Supernovae; Symbols
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv3005

We present six epochs of spectropolarimetric observations and one epoch of spectroscopy of the Type Ib SN iPTF 13bvn. The epochs of these observations correspond to −10 to +61 d with respect to the r-band light-curve maximum. The continuum is intrinsically polarized to the 0.2–0.4 per cent level throughout the observations, implying asphericities of ∼10 per cent in the shape of the photosphere. We observe significant line polarization associated with the spectral features of Ca ii ir3, He i/Na i d, He i λλ6678, 7065, Fe ii λ4924 and O i λ7774. We propose that an absorption feature at ∼6200 Å, usually identified as Si ii λ6355, is most likely to be high-velocity H α at −16 400 km s−1. Two distinctly polarized components, separated in velocity, are detected for both He i/Na i d and Ca ii ir3 , indicating the presence of two discrete line-forming regions in the ejecta in both radial velocity space and in the plane of the sky. We use the polarization of He i λ5876 as a tracer of sources of non-thermal excitation in the ejecta; finding that the bulk of the radioactive nickel was constrained to lie interior to ∼50–65 per cent of the ejecta radius. The observed polarization is also discussed in the context of the possible progenitor system of iPTF 13bvn, with our observations favouring the explosion of a star with an extended, distorted envelope rather than a compact Wolf–Rayet star.