We present imaging and spectroscopic observations with HST and VLT of the ring of SN 1987A from 1994 to 2014. After an almost exponential increase of the shocked emission from the hotspots up to day ~8,000 (~2009), both this and the unshocked emissio
n are now fading. From the radial positions of the hotspots we see an acceleration of these up to 500-1000 km/s, consistent with the highest spectroscopic shock velocities from the radiative shocks. In the most recent observations (2013 and 2014), we find several new hotspots outside the inner ring, excited by either X-rays from the shocks or by direct shock interaction. All of these observations indicate that the interaction with the supernova ejecta is now gradually dissolving the hotspots. We predict, based on the observed decay, that the inner ring will be destroyed by ~2025.
HST and ground based observations of the Type IIn SN 2010jl are analyzed, including photometry, spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, optical and NIR bands, 26-1128 days after first detection. At maximum the bolometric luminosity was $sim 3times10^{43}$ e
rg/s and even at 850 days exceeds $10^{42}$ erg/s. A NIR excess, dominating after 400 days, probably originates in dust in the circumstellar medium (CSM). The total radiated energy is $> 6.5times10^{50}$ ergs, excluding the dust component. The spectral lines can be separated into one broad component due to electron scattering, and one narrow with expansion velocity $sim 100$ km/s from the CSM. The broad component is initially symmetric around zero velocity but becomes blueshifted after $sim 50$ days, while remaining symmetric about a shifted centroid velocity. Dust absorption in the ejecta is unlikely to explain the line shifts, and we attribute the shift instead to acceleration by the SN radiation. From the optical lines and the X-ray and dust properties, there is strong evidence for large scale asymmetries in the CSM. The ultraviolet lines indicate CNO processing in the progenitor, while the optical shows a number of narrow coronal lines excited by the X-rays. The bolometric light curve is consistent with a radiative shock in an $r^{-2}$ CSM with a mass loss rate of $sim 0.1$ M_sun/yr. The total mass lost is $> 3$ M_sun. These properties are consistent with the SN expanding into a CSM characteristic of an LBV progenitor with a bipolar geometry. The apparent absence of nuclear processing is attributed to a CSM still opaque to electron scattering.
We present observations with VLT and HST of the broad emission lines from the inner ejecta and reverse shock of SN 1987A from 1999 until 2012 (days 4381 -- 9100 after explosion). We detect broad lines from H-alpha, H-beta, Mg I], Na I, [O I], [Ca II]
and a feature at 9220 A. We identify the latter line with Mg II 9218, 9244,most likely pumped by Ly-alpha fluorescence. H-alpha, and H-beta both have a centrally peaked component, extending to 4500 km/s and a very broad component extending to 11,000 km/s, while the other lines have only the central component. The low velocity component comes from unshocked ejecta, heated mainly by X-rays from the circumstellar ring collision, whereas the broad component comes from faster ejecta passing through the reverse shock. The reverse shock flux in H-alpha has increased by a factor of 4-6 from 2000 to 2007. After that there is a tendency of flattening of the light curve, similar to what may be seen in soft X-rays and in the optical lines from the shocked ring. The core component seen in H-alpha, [Ca II] and Mg II has experienced a similar increase, consistent with that found from HST photometry. The ring-like morphology of the ejecta is explained as a result of the X-ray illumination, depositing energy outside of the core of the ejecta. The energy deposition in the ejecta of the external X-rays illumination is calculated using explosion models for SN 1987A and we predict that the outer parts of the unshocked ejecta will continue to brighten because of this. We finally discuss evidence for dust in the ejecta from line asymmetries.
