We present spectropolarimetric observations of the Type IIb SN 2001ig in NGC 7424; conducted with the ESO VLT FORS1 on 2001 Dec 16, 2002 Jan 3 and 2002 Aug 16 or 13, 31 and 256 days post-explosion. These observations are at three different stages of
the SN evolution: (1) The hydrogen-rich photospheric phase, (2) the Type II to Type Ib transitional phase and (3) the nebular phase. At each of these stages, the observations show remarkably different polarization properties as a function of wavelength. We show that the degree of interstellar polarization is 0.17%. The low intrinsic polarization (~0.2%) at the first epoch is consistent with an almost spherical (<10% deviation from spherical symmetry) hydrogen dominated ejecta. Similar to SN 1987A and to Type IIP SNe, a sharp increase in the degree of the polarization (~1%) is observed when the outer hydrogen layer becomes optically thin by day 31; only at this epoch is the polarization well described by a ``dominant axis. The polarization angle of the data shows a rotation through ~40 degrees between the first and second epochs, indicating that the asymmetries of the first epoch were not directly coupled with those observed at the second epoch. For the most polarized lines, we observe wavelength-dependent loop structures in addition to the dominant axis on the Q-U plane. We show that the polarization properties of Type IIb SNe are roughly similar to one another, but with significant differences arising due to line blending effects especially with the high velocities observed for SN 2001ig. This suggests that the geometry of SN 2001ig is related to SN 1993J and that these events may have arisen from a similar binary progenitor system.
We present spectropolarimetric observations of the peculiar Type Ib/c SN 2005bf, in MCG+00-27-005, from 3600-8550AA. The SN was observed on 2005 April 30.9, 18 days after the first B-band light-curve maximum and 6 days before the second B-band light-
curve maximum. The degree of the Interstellar Polarization, determined from depolarized emission lines in the spectrum, is found to be large with $p_{max}(ISP)=1.6%$ and $theta(ISP)=149$fdg$7pm4.0$, but this may be an upper limit on the real value of the ISP. After ISP subtraction, significant polarization is observed over large wavelength regions, indicating a significant degree of global asymmetry, $gtrsim 10%$. Polarizations of 3.5% and 4% are observed for absorption components of Ca II H&K and IR triplet, and 1.3% for He I 5876AA and Fe II. On the $Q-U$ plane clear velocity-dependent loop structure is observed for the He I 5876AA line, suggestive of departures from an axial symmetry and possible clumping of the SN ejecta. Weak High Velocity components of $mathrm{Halpha}$, $mathrm{Hbeta}$ and $mathrm{Hgamma}$ are observed, with velocities of -15 000kms. The low degree of polarization observed at H$beta$ suggests that the polarization observed for the other Balmer lines ($sim 0.4%$ above the background polarization) may rather be due to blending of $mathrm{Halpha}$ and $mathrm{Hgamma}$ with polarized Si II and Fe II lines, respectively. We suggest a model in which a jet of material, that is rich in $mathrm{^{56}Ni}$, has penetrated the C-O core, but not the He mantle. The jet axis is tilted with respect to the axis of the photosphere. This accounts for the lack of significant polarization of O I 7774AA, the delayed excitation and, hence, observability of He I and, potentially, the varied geometries of He and Ca.
