TY - JOUR
T1 - The massive progenitor of the type II-linear supernova 2009kr
AU - Elias-Rosa, Nancy
AU - Van Dyk, Schuyler D.
AU - Li, Weidong
AU - Miller, Adam A.
AU - Silverman, Jeffrey M.
AU - Ganeshalingam, Mohan
AU - Boden, Andrew F.
AU - Kasliwal, Mansi M.
AU - Vinkó, József
AU - Cuillandre, Jean Charles
AU - Filippenko, Alexei V.
AU - Steele, Thea N.
AU - Bloom, Joshua S.
AU - Griffith, Christopher V.
AU - Kleiser, Io K.W.
AU - Foley, Ryan J.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - We present early-time photometric and spectroscopic observations of supernova (SN) 2009kr in NGC 1832. We find that its properties to date support its classification as Type II-linear (SN II-L), a relatively rare subclass of core-collapse supernovae (SNe). We have also identified a candidate for the SN progenitor star through comparison of pre-explosion, archival images taken with WFPC2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope with SN images obtained using adaptive optics plus NIRC2 on the 10 m Keck-II telescope. Although the host galaxy's substantial distance (∼26 Mpc) results in large uncertainties in the relative astrometry, we find that if this candidate is indeed the progenitor, it is a highly luminous (M0V = -7.8 mag) yellow supergiant with initial mass ∼18-24 M⊙. This would be the first time that an SN II-L progenitor has been directly identified. Its mass may be a bridge between the upper initial mass limit for the more common Type II-plateau SNe and the inferred initial mass estimate for one Type II-narrow SN.
AB - We present early-time photometric and spectroscopic observations of supernova (SN) 2009kr in NGC 1832. We find that its properties to date support its classification as Type II-linear (SN II-L), a relatively rare subclass of core-collapse supernovae (SNe). We have also identified a candidate for the SN progenitor star through comparison of pre-explosion, archival images taken with WFPC2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope with SN images obtained using adaptive optics plus NIRC2 on the 10 m Keck-II telescope. Although the host galaxy's substantial distance (∼26 Mpc) results in large uncertainties in the relative astrometry, we find that if this candidate is indeed the progenitor, it is a highly luminous (M0V = -7.8 mag) yellow supergiant with initial mass ∼18-24 M⊙. This would be the first time that an SN II-L progenitor has been directly identified. Its mass may be a bridge between the upper initial mass limit for the more common Type II-plateau SNe and the inferred initial mass estimate for one Type II-narrow SN.
KW - Galaxies: individual (NGC 1832)
KW - Stars: evolution
KW - Supernovae: general
KW - Supernovae: individual (SN 2009kr)
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U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/714/2/L254
DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/714/2/L254
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77952849199
SN - 2041-8205
VL - 714
SP - L254-L259
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
IS - 2 PART 2
ER -