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arXiv · 1309.6496

Direct evidence for a supernova interacting with a large amount of hydrogen-free circumstellar material

Sagi Ben-Ami·Avishay Gal-Yam·Paolo A. Mazzali·Maryam Modjaz·Itay Rabinak·Mark Sullivan·Lars Bildsten·Dovi Poznanski·Ofer Yaron·Iair Arcavi·Joshua S. Bloom·Assaf Horesh·Mansi M. Kasliwal·Shrinivas R. Kulkarni·Peter E. Nugent·Eran O. Ofek·Daniel Perley·Robert Quimby·Dong Xu
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Abstract

We present our observations of SN 2010mb, a Type Ic SN lacking spectroscopic signatures of H and He. SN 2010mb has a slowly-declining light curve ($\sim600\,$days) that cannot be powered by $^{56}$Ni/$^{56}$Co radioactivity, the common energy source for Type Ic SNe. We detect signatures of interaction with hydrogen-free CSM including a blue quasi-continuum and, uniquely, narrow oxygen emission lines that require high densities ($\sim10^9$cm$^{-3}$). From the observed spectra and light curve we estimate that the amount of material involved in the interaction was $\sim3$M$_{\odot}$. Our observations are in agreement with models of pulsational pair-instability SNe described in the literature.

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Sagi Ben-Ami, Avishay Gal-Yam, Paolo A. Mazzali, Maryam Modjaz, Itay Rabinak, Mark Sullivan, Lars Bildsten, Dovi Poznanski, Ofer Yaron, Iair Arcavi, Joshua S. Bloom, Assaf Horesh, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Shrinivas R. Kulkarni, Peter E. Nugent, Eran O. Ofek, Daniel Perley, Robert Quimby, Dong Xu. 2013-09-25. Direct evidence for a supernova interacting with a large amount of hydrogen-free circumstellar material. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/785/1/37

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