No Arabic abstract
We present extensively dense observations of the super-Chandrasekhar supernova (SC SN) candidate SN 2012dn from $-11$ to $+140$ days after the date of its $B$-band maximum in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths conducted through the OISTER ToO program. The NIR light curves and color evolutions up to 35 days after the $B$-band maximum provided an excellent match with those of another SC SN 2009dc, providing a further support to the nature of SN 2012dn as a SC SN. We found that SN 2012dn exhibited strong excesses in the NIR wavelengths from $30$ days after the $B$-band maximum. The $H$ and $K_{s}$-band light curves exhibited much later maximum dates at $40$ and $70$ days after the $B$-band maximum, respectively, compared with those of normal SNe Ia. The $H$ and $K_{s}$-band light curves subtracted by those of SN 2009dc displayed plateaued evolutions, indicating a NIR echo from the surrounding dust. The distance to the inner boundary of the dust shell is limited to be $4.8 - 6.4times10^{-2}$ pc. No emission lines were found in its early phase spectrum, suggesting that the ejecta-CSM interaction could not occur. On the other hand, we found no signature that strongly supports the scenario of dust formation. The mass loss rate of the pre-explosion system is estimated to be $10^{-6}-10^{-5}$ M$_{odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, assuming that the wind velocity of the system is $10-100$ km~s$^{-1}$, which suggests that the progenitor of SN 2012dn could be a recurrent nova system. We conclude that the progenitor of this SC SN could be explained by the single-degenerate scenario.
We report observations of the Type Iax supernova (SN Iax) 2012Z at optical and near-infrared wavelengths from immediately after the explosion until $sim$ $260$ days after the maximum luminosity using the Optical and Infrared Synergetic Telescopes for Education and Research (OISTER) Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) program and the Subaru telescope. We found that the near-infrared (NIR) light curve evolutions and color evolutions are similar to those of SNe Iax 2005hk and 2008ha. The NIR absolute magnitudes ($M_{J}sim-18.1$ mag and $M_{H}sim-18.3$ mag) and the rate of decline of the light curve ($Delta$ $m_{15}$($B$)$=1.6 pm 0.1$ mag) are very similar to those of SN 2005hk ($M_{J}sim-17.7$ mag, $M_{H}sim$$-18.0$ mag, and $Delta$ $m_{15}$($B$)$sim1.6$ mag), yet differ significantly from SNe 2008ha and 2010ae ($M_{J}sim-14 - -15$ mag and $Delta$ $m_{15}$($B$)$sim2.4-2.7$ mag). The estimated rise time is $12.0 pm 3.0$ days, which is significantly shorter than that of SN 2005hk or any other Ia SNe. The rapid rise indicates that the $^{56}$Ni distribution may extend into the outer layer or that the effective opacity may be lower than that in normal SNe Ia. The late-phase spectrum exhibits broader emission lines than those of SN 2005hk by a factor of 6--8. Such high velocities of the emission lines indicate that the density profile of the inner ejecta extends more than that of SN 2005hk. We argue that the most favored explosion scenario is a `failed deflagration model, although the pulsational delayed detonations is not excluded.
We present complicated dust structures within multiple regions of the candidate supernova remnant (SNR) the `Tornado (G357.7-0.1) using observations with Spitzer and Herschel. We use Point Process Mapping, PPMAP, to investigate the distribution of dust in the Tornado at a resolution of 8, compared to the native telescope beams of 5-36. We find complex dust structures at multiple temperatures within both the head and the tail of the Tornado, ranging from 15 to 60K. Cool dust in the head forms a shell, with some overlap with the radio emission, which envelopes warm dust at the X-ray peak. Akin to the terrestrial sandy whirlwinds known as `Dust Devils, we find a large mass of dust contained within the Tornado. We derive a total dust mass for the Tornado head of 16.7 solar masses, assuming a dust absorption coefficient of kappa_300 =0.56m^2 kg^1, which can be explained by interstellar material swept up by a SNR expanding in a dense region. The X-ray, infra-red, and radio emission from the Tornado head indicate that this is a SNR. The origin of the tail is more unclear, although we propose that there is an X-ray binary embedded in the SNR, the outflow from which drives into the SNR shell. This interaction forms the helical tail structure in a similar manner to that of the SNR W50 and microquasar SS433.
We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2007if, an overluminous (M_V = -20.4), red (B-V = 0.16 at B-band maximum), slow-rising (t_rise = 24 days) type Ia supernova in a very faint (M_g = -14.10) host galaxy. A spectrum at 5 days past B-band maximum light is a direct match to the super-Chandrasekhar-mass candidate SN Ia 2003fg, showing Si II and C II at ~9000 km/s. A high signal-to-noise co-addition of the SN spectral time series reveals no Na I D absorption, suggesting negligible reddening in the host galaxy, and the late-time color evolution has the same slope as the Lira relation for normal SNe Ia. The ejecta appear to be well mixed, with no strong maximum in I-band and a diversity of iron-peak lines appearing in near-maximum-light spectra. SN2007 if also displays a plateau in the Si II velocity extending as late as +10 days, which we interpret as evidence for an overdense shell in the SN ejecta. We calculate the bolometric light curve of the SN and use it and the ion{Si}{2} velocity evolution to constrain the mass of the shell and the underlying SN ejecta, and demonstrate that SN2007 if is strongly inconsistent with a Chandrasekhar-mass scenario. Within the context of a tamped detonation model appropriate for double-degenerate mergers, and assuming no host extinction, we estimate the total mass of the system to be 2.4 +/- 0.2 solar masses, with 1.6 +/- 0.1 solar masses of nickel-56 and with 0.3-0.5 solar masses in the form of an envelope of unburned carbon/oxygen. Our modeling demonstrates that the kinematics of shell entrainment provide a more efficient mechanism than incomplete nuclear burning for producing the low velocities typical of super-Chandrasekhar-mass SNeIa.
Supernova Ia are bright explosive events that can be used to estimate cosmological distances, allowing us to study the expansion of the Universe. They are understood to result from a thermonuclear detonation in a white dwarf that formed from the exhausted core of a star more massive than the Sun. However, the possible progenitor channels leading to an explosion are a long-standing debate, limiting the precision and accuracy of supernova Ia as distance indicators. Here we present HD265435, a binary system with an orbital period of less than a hundred minutes, consisting of a white dwarf and a hot subdwarf -- a stripped core-helium burning star. The total mass of the system is 1.65+/-0.25 solar-masses, exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit (the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf). The system will merge due to gravitational wave emission in 70 million years, likely triggering a supernova Ia event. We use this detection to place constraints on the contribution of hot subdwarf-white dwarf binaries to supernova Ia progenitors.
We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry and spectroscopy of the Type IIb supernova (SN) 2011dh for the first 100 days. We complement our extensive dataset with SWIFT ultra-violet (UV) and Spitzer mid-infrared (MIR) data to build a UV to MIR bolometric lightcurve using both photometric and spectroscopic data. Hydrodynamical modelling of the SN based on this bolometric lightcurve have been presented in Bersten (2012). We find that the absorption minimum for the hydrogen lines is never seen below ~11000 km/s but approaches this value as the lines get weaker. This suggests that the interface between the helium core and hydrogen rich envelope is located near this velocity in agreement with the Bersten et al. (2012) He4R270 ejecta model. Spectral modelling of the hydrogen lines using this ejecta model supports the conclusion and we find a hydrogen mass of 0.01-0.04 solar masses to be consistent with the observed spectral evolution. We estimate that the photosphere reaches the helium core at 5-7 days whereas the helium lines appear between ~10 and ~15 days, close to the photosphere and then move outward in velocity until ~40 days. This suggests that increasing non-thermal excitation due to decreasing optical depth for the gamma-rays is driving the early evolution of these lines. We also provide and discuss pre- and post-explosion observations of the SN site which shows a reduction by 75 percent in flux at the position of the yellow supergiant coincident with SN 2011dh. The B, V and r band decline rates of 0.0073, 0.0090 and 0.0053 mag/day respectively are consistent with the remaining flux being emitted by the SN. Hence we find that the star was indeed the progenitor of SN 2011dh as previously suggested by Maund et al. (2011) and which is also consistent with the results from the hydrodynamical modelling.