The type IIb SN 2008ax: the nature of the progenitor

A source coincident with the position of the type IIb supernova (SN) 2008ax is identified in pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations in three optical filters. We identify and constrain two possible progenitor systems: (i) a single massive star that lost...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Letters 2008-11, Vol.391 (1), p.L5-L9
Main Authors: Crockett, R. M., Eldridge, J. J., Smartt, S. J., Pastorello, A., Gal-Yam, A., Fox, D. B., Leonard, D. C., Kasliwal, M. M., Mattila, S., Maund, J. R., Stephens, A. W., Danziger, I. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
galaxies: individual: NGC 4490
supernovae: individual: SN 2008ax
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Summary:A source coincident with the position of the type IIb supernova (SN) 2008ax is identified in pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations in three optical filters. We identify and constrain two possible progenitor systems: (i) a single massive star that lost most of its hydrogen envelope through radiatively driven mass-loss processes, prior to exploding as a helium-rich Wolf–Rayet star with a residual hydrogen envelope, and (ii) an interacting binary in a low-mass cluster producing a stripped progenitor. Late time, high-esolution observations along with detailed modelling of the SN will be required to reveal the true nature of this progenitor star.
ISSN:1745-3925
1745-3933
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00540.x