DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PROGENITOR OF SUPERNOVA IPTF13BVN

FOLATELLI, GASTÓN; VAN DYK ; H. KUNCARAYAKTI; K. MAEDA; BERSTEN MELINA

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL

IOP PUBLISHING LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016

0004-637X

Supernova (SN) iPTF13bvn in NGC 5806 was the first Type Ib SN to have been tentatively associatedwith a progenitor candidate in pre-explosion images. We performed deep ultraviolet (UV) and opticalHubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the SN site ∼ 740 days after explosion. We detect anobject in the optical bands that is fainter than the pre-explosion object. This dimming is likely notproduced by dust absorption in the ejecta; thus, our finding confirms the connection of the progenitorcandidate with the SN. The object in our data is likely dominated by the fading SN, which impliesthat the pre-SN flux is mostly due to the progenitor. We compare our revised pre-SN photometry withpreviously proposed progenitor models. Although binary progenitors are favored, models need to berefined. In particular, to comply with our deep UV detection limit, any companion star must be lessluminous than a late-O star or substantially obscured by newly formed dust. A definitive progenitorcharacterization will require further observations to disentangle the contribution of a much fainter SNand its environment.