In classical P-Cygni profiles, theory predicts emission to peak at zero rest velocity. However, supernova spectra exhibit emission that is generally blue shifted. While this characteristic has been reported in many supernovae, it is rarely discussed in any detail. Here we present an analysis of H-alpha emission-peaks using a dataset of 95 type II supernovae, quantifying their strength and time evolution. Using a post-explosion time of 30d, we observe a systematic blueshift of H-alpha emission, with a mean value of -2000 kms-1. This offset is greatest at early times but vanishes as supernovae become nebular. Simulations of Dessart et al. (2013) match the observed behaviour, reproducing both its strength and evolution in time. Such blueshifts are a fundamental feature of supernova spectra as they are intimately tied to the density distribution of ejecta, which falls more rapidly than in stellar winds. This steeper density structure causes line emission/absorption to be much more confined; it also exacerbates the occultation of the receding part of the ejecta, biasing line emission to the blue for a distant observer. We conclude that blue-shifted emission-peak offsets of several thousand kms-1 are a generic property of observations, confirmed by models, of photospheric-phase type II supernovae.
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