Late-Time HST Photometry of SN 1994I: Hints of Positron Annihilation Energy Deposition

We present multicolor Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2 broadband observations of the Type Ic SN 1994I obtained approximately 280 days after maximum light. We measure the brightness of the SN and, relying on the detailed spectroscopic database of SN 1994I, we transform the ground-based photometry obtained at early times to the HST photometric system, deriving light curves for the WFPC2 F439W, F555W, F675W, and F814W passbands that extend from 7 days before to 280 days after maximum. We use the multicolor photometry to build a quasi-bolometric light curve of SN 1994I, and compare it with similarly constructed light curves of other supernovae. In doing so, we propose and test a scaling in energy and time that allows for a more meaningful comparison of the exponential tails of different events. Through comparison with models, we find that the late-time light curve of SN 1994I is consistent with that of spherically symmetric ejecta in homologous expansion, for which the ability to trap the Gamma-rays produced by the radioactive decay of 56Co diminishes roughly as the inverse of time squared. We also find that by the time of the HST photometry, the light curve was significantly energized by the annihilation of positrons.

Discovery of Four Gravitationally Lensed Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present the discovery of four gravitationally lensed quasars selected from the spectroscopic quasar catalog of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We describe imaging and spectroscopic follow-up observations that support the lensing interpretation of the following four quasars: SDSS J0832+0404 (image separation theta=1.98, source redshift z_s=1.115, lens redshift z_l=0.659); SDSS J1216+3529 (theta=1.49, z_s=2.012); SDSS J1322+1052 (theta=2.00, z_s=1.716); and SDSS J1524+4409 (theta=1.67, z_s=1.210, z_l=0.320). Each system has two lensed images. We find that the fainter image component of SDSS J0832+0404 is significantly redder than the brighter component, perhaps because of differential reddening by the lensing galaxy. The lens potential of SDSS J1216+3529 might be complicated by the presence of a secondary galaxy near the main lensing galaxy.