We searched through roughly 12 years of archival survey data acquired by the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) as part of the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) in order to detect or place limits on possible progenitor outbursts of Typ
e IIn supernovae (SNe~IIn). The KAIT database contains multiple pre-SN images for 5 SNe~IIn (plus one ambiguous case of a SN IIn/imposter) within 50 Mpc. No progenitor outbursts are found using the false discovery rate (FDR) statistical method in any of our targets. Instead, we derive limiting magnitudes (LMs) at the locations of the SNe. These limiting magnitudes (typically reaching $m_R approx 19.5,mathrm{mag}$) are compared to outbursts of SN 2009ip and $eta$ Car, plus additional simulated outbursts. We find that the data for SN 1999el and SN 2003dv are of sufficient quality to rule out events $sim40$ days before the main peak caused by initially faint SNe from blue supergiant (BSG) precursor stars, as in the cases of SN 2009ip and SN 2010mc. These SNe~IIn may thus have arisen from red supergiant progenitors, or they may have had a more rapid onset of circumstellar matter interaction. We also estimate the probability of detecting at least one outburst in our dataset to be $gtrsim60%$ for each type of the example outbursts, so the lack of any detections suggests that such outbursts are either typically less luminous (intrinsically or owing to dust) than $sim -13,mathrm{mag}$, or not very common among SNe~IIn within a few years prior to explosion.
In this third paper in a series we compare spectral feature measurements to photometric properties of 108 low-redshift (z < 0.1) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) with optical spectra within 5 d of maximum brightness. We find the pseudo-equivalent width (p
EW) of the Si II 4000 line to be a good indicator of light-curve width, and the pEWs of the Mg II and Fe II complexes are relatively good proxies for SN colour. We also employ a combination of light-curve parameters (specifically the SALT2 stretch and colour parameters x_1 and c, respectively) and spectral measurements to calculate distance moduli. The residuals from these models are then compared to the standard model which uses only light-curve stretch and colour. Our investigations show that a distance model that uses x_1, c, and the velocity of the Si II 6355 feature does not lead to a decrease in the Hubble residuals. We also find that distance models with flux ratios alone or in conjunction with light-curve information rarely perform better than the standard (x_1,c) model. However, when adopting a distance model which combines the ratio of fluxes near ~3750 Ang. and ~4550 Ang. with both x_1 and c, the Hubble residuals are decreased by ~10 per cent, which is found to be significant at about the 2-sigma level. The weighted root-mean-square of the residuals using this model is 0.130 +/- 0.017 mag (as compared with 0.144 +/- 0.019 mag when using the same sample with the standard model). This Hubble diagram fit has one of the smallest scatters ever published and at the highest significance ever seen in such a study. Finally, these results are discussed with regard to how they can improve the cosmological accuracy of future, large-scale SN Ia surveys. [Abridged]
We have identified a luminous star at the position of supernova (SN) 2011dh/PTF11eon, in pre-SN archival, multi-band images of the nearby, nearly face-on galaxy Messier 51 (M51) obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope with the Advanced Camera for Surv
eys. This identification has been confirmed, to the highest available astrometric precision, using a Keck-II adaptive-optics image. The available early-time spectra and photometry indicate that the SN is a stripped-envelope, core-collapse Type IIb, with a more compact progenitor (radius ~1e11 cm) than was the case for the well-studied SN IIb 1993J. We infer that the extinction to SN 2011dh and its progenitor arises from a low Galactic foreground contribution, and that the SN environment is of roughly solar metallicity. The detected object has absolute magnitude M_V^0 ~ -7.7 and effective temperature ~6000 K. The stars radius, ~1e13 cm, is more extended than what has been inferred for the SN progenitor. We speculate that the detected star is either an unrelated star very near the position of the actual progenitor, or, more likely, the progenitors companion in a mass-transfer binary system. The position of the detected star in a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is consistent with an initial mass of 17--19 Msun. The light of this star could easily conceal, even in the ultraviolet, the presence of a stripped, compact, very hot (~1e5 K), nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet star progenitor.
This is the third paper of a series in which we present new measurements of the observed rates of supernovae (SNe) in the local Universe, determined from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS). We have considered a sample of about 1000 SNe and
used an optimal subsample of 726 SNe (274 SNe Ia, 116 SNe Ibc, and 324 SNe II) to determine our rates. We study the trend of the rates as a function of a few quantities available for our galaxy sample, such as luminosity in the B and K bands, stellar mass, and morphological class. We discuss different choices (SN samples, input SN luminosity functions, inclination correction factors) and their effect on the rates and their uncertainties. A comparison between our SN rates and the published measurements shows that they are consistent with each other to within uncertainties when the rate calculations are done in the same manner. Nevertheless, our data demonstrate that the rates cannot be adequately described by a single parameter using either galaxy Hubble types or B - K colours. A secondary parameter in galaxy size, expressed by luminosity or stellar mass, is needed to adequately describe the rates in the rate-size relation: the galaxies of smaller sizes have higher SN rates per unit mass or per unit luminosity. The trends of the SN rates in galaxies of different Hubble types and colours are discussed. We examine possible causes for the rate-size relation. Physically, such a relation for the core-collapse SNe is probably linked to the correlation between the specific star-formation rate and the galaxy sizes, but it is not clear whether the same link can be established for SNe Ia. We discuss the two-component (tardy and prompt) model for SN Ia rates, and find that the SN Ia rates in young stellar populations might have a strong correlation with the core-collapse SN rates. We derive volumetric and Milky Way rates ... (abridged)
This is the second paper of a series in which we present new measurements of the observed rates of supernovae (SNe) in the local Universe, determined from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS). In this paper, a complete SN sample is constructe
d, and the observed (uncorrected for host-galaxy extinction) luminosity functions (LFs) of SNe are derived. These LFs solve two issues that have plagued previous rate calculations for nearby SNe: the luminosity distribution of SNe and the host-galaxy extinction. We select a volume-limited sample of 175 SNe, collect photometry for every object, and fit a family of light curves to constrain the peak magnitudes and light-curve shapes. The volume-limited LFs show that they are not well represented by a Gaussian distribution. There are notable differences in the LFs for galaxies of different Hubble types (especially for SNe Ia). We derive the observed fractions for the different subclasses in a complete SN sample, and find significant fractions of SNe II-L (10%), IIb (12%), and IIn (9%) in the SN II sample. Furthermore, we derive the LFs and the observed fractions of different SN subclasses in a magnitude-limited survey with different observation intervals, and find that the LFs are enhanced at the high-luminosity end and appear more standard with smaller scatter, and that the LFs and fractions of SNe do not change significantly when the observation interval is shorter than 10 days. We also discuss the LFs in different galaxy sizes and inclinations, and for different SN subclasses. Some notable results are ... (abridged).
This is the first paper of a series in which we present new measurements of the observed rates of supernovae (SNe) in the local Universe, determined from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS). We have obtained 2.3 million observations of 14,88
2 sample galaxies over an interval of 11 years (March 1998 through Dec. 2008). We considered 1036 SNe detected in our sample and used an optimal subsample of 726 SNe (274 SNe~Ia, 116 SNe~Ibc, 324 SNe~II) to determine our SN rates. This is the largest and most homogeneous set of nearby SNe ever assembled for this purpose, and ours is the first local SN rate analysis based on CCD imaging and modern image-subtraction techniques. In this paper, we lay the foundation of the study. We derive the recipe for the control-time calculation for SNe with a known luminosity function, and provide details on the construction of the galaxy and SN samples used in the calculations. Compared with a complete volume-limited galaxy sample, our sample has a deficit of low-luminosity galaxies but still provides enough statistics for a reliable rate calculation. There is a strong Malmquist bias, so the average size (luminosity or mass) of the galaxies increases monotonically with distance, and this trend is used to showcase a correlation between SN rates and galaxy sizes. Very few core-collapse SNe are found in early-type galaxies, providing strong constraints on the amount of recent star formation within these galaxies. The small average observation interval ($sim 9$ days) of our survey ensures that our control-time calculations can tolerate a reasonable amount of uncertainty in the luminosity functions of SNe. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to determine the limiting magnitude of each image and the SN detection efficiency as a function of galaxy Hubble type ... (abridged)
In this paper, we present and analyse optical photometry and spectra of the extremely luminous and slowly evolving Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2009dc, and offer evidence that it is a super-Chandrasekhar mass (SC) SN Ia and thus had a SC white dwarf (WD
) progenitor. Optical spectra of SN 2007if, a similar object, are also shown. SN 2009dc had one of the most slowly evolving light curves ever observed for a SN Ia, with a rise time of ~23 days and Delta m_15(B) = 0.72 mag. We calculate a lower limit to the peak bolometric luminosity of ~2.4e43 erg/s, though the actual value is likely almost 40% larger. Optical spectra of SN 2009dc and SN 2007if obtained near maximum brightness exhibit strong C II features (indicative of a significant amount of unburned material), and the post-maximum spectra are dominated by iron-group elements. All of our spectra of SN 2009dc and SN 2007if also show low expansion velocities. However, we see no strong evidence in SN 2009dc for a velocity plateau near maximum light like the one seen in SN 2007if (Scalzo et al. 2010). The high luminosity and low expansion velocities of SN 2009dc lead us to derive a possible WD progenitor mass of more than 2 M_Sun and a Ni-56 mass of about 1.4-1.7 M_Sun. We propose that the host galaxy of SN 2009dc underwent a gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy in the relatively recent past. This may have led to a sudden burst of star formation which could have produced the SC WD progenitor of SN 2009dc and likely turned the neighboring galaxy into a post-starburst galaxy. No published model seems to match the extreme values observed in SN 2009dc, but simulations do show that such massive progenitors can exist (likely as a result of the merger of two WDs) and can possibly explode as SC SNe Ia.
We present extensive photometry at ultraviolet (UV), optical, and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, as well as dense sampling of optical spectra, for the normal type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2005cf. From the well-sampled light curves, we find that SN 2005
cf reached a B-band maximum at 13.63+/-0.02 mag, with an observed luminosity decline rate dm_15(B) = 1.05+/-0.03 mag. The correlations between the decline rate and various color indexes, recalibrated on the basis of an expanded SN Ia sample, yielded E(B-V)_host=0.09+/-0.03 mag for SN2005cf. The UV photometry was obtained with the HST and the Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope, and the results match each other to within 0.1-0.2 mag. The UV light curves show similar evolution to the broadband U, with an exception in the 2000-2500 Angstrom spectral range (corresponding to the F220W/uvm2 filters), where the light curve appears broader and much fainter than that on either side (likely owing to the intrinsic spectral evolution). Combining the UV data with the ground-based optical and NIR data, we establish the generic UV-optical-NIR bolometric light curve for SN 2005cf and derive the bolometric corrections in the absence of UV and/or NIR data. The overall spectral evolution of SN 2005cf is similar to that of a normal SN Ia, but with variety in the strength and profile of the main feature lines. The spectra at early times displayed strong, detached high-velocity (HV) features in the Ca II H&K doublet and NIR triplet. Similar HV features may exist in the SiII 6355 absorption line which evolved rapidly from a flat-bottomed feature in the earliest phase to a triangular shape one week before maximum, and may be common in other normal SNe Ia. The possible origin of the HV absorption features is briefly discussed (abridged).
SN2006tf is the third most luminous SN discovered so far, after SN2005ap and SN2006gy. SN2006tf is valuable because it provides a link between two regimes: (1) luminous type IIn supernovae powered by emission directly from interaction with circumstel
lar material (CSM), and (2) the most extremely luminous SNe where the CSM interaction is so optically thick that energy must diffuse out from an opaque shocked shell. As SN2006tf evolves, it slowly transitions from the second to the first regime as the clumpy shell becomes more porous. This link suggests that the range in properties of the most luminous SNe is largely determined by the density and speed of H-rich material ejected shortly before they explode. The total energy radiated by SN2006tf was at least 7e50 ergs. If the bulk of this luminosity came from the thermalization of shock kinetic energy, then the star needs to have ejected ~18 Msun in the 4-8 yr before core collapse, and another 2-6 Msun in the decades before that. A Type Ia explosion is therefore excluded. From the H-alpha emission-line profile, we derive a blast-wave speed of 2,000 km/s that does not decelerate, and from the narrow P Cygni absorption from pre-shock gas we deduce that the progenitors wind speed was ~190 km/s. This is reminiscent of the wind speeds of LBVs, but not of RSGs or WR stars. We propose that like SN2006gy, SN2006tf marked the death of a very massive star that retained its H envelope until the end of its life, and suffered extreme LBV-like mass loss in the decades before it exploded.
We report the discovery of a light echo (LE) from the Type Ia supernova (SN) 2006X in the nearby galaxy M100. The presence of the LE is supported by analysis of both the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) images taken with the {it Hubble Space Telesco
pe (HST)} at $sim$300 d after maximum brightness and the Keck optical spectrum obtained at a similar phase. In the image procedure, both the radial-profile analysis and the point-spread-function (PSF) subtraction method resolve significant excess emission at 2--5 ACS pixels ($sim0.05-0.13$) from the center. In particular, the PSF-subtracted ACS images distinctly appear to have an extended, ring-like echo. Due to limitations of the image resolution, we cannot confirm any structure or flux within 2 ACS pixels from the SN. The late-time spectrum of SN 2006X can be reasonably fit with two components: a nebular spectrum of a normal SN Ia and a synthetic LE spectrum. Both image and spectral analysis show a rather blue color for the emission of the LE, suggestive of a small average grain size for the scattering dust. Using the Cepheid distance to M100 of 15.2 Mpc, we find that the dust illuminated by the resolved LE is $sim$27--170 pc from the SN. The echo inferred from the nebular spectrum appears to be more luminous than that resolved in the images (at the $sim2sigma$ level), perhaps suggesting the presence of an inner echo at $<$2 ACS pixels ($sim0.05$). It is not clear, however, whether this possible local echo was produced by a distinct dust component (i.e., the local circumstellar dust) or by a continuous, larger distribution of dust as with the outer component. Nevertheless, our detection of a significant echo in SN 2006X confirms that this supernova was produced in a dusty environment having unusual dust properties.
