skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: ON THE PROGENITOR AND SUPERNOVA OF THE SN 2002cx-LIKE SUPERNOVA 2008ge ,

Abstract

We present observations of supernova (SN) 2008ge, which is spectroscopically similar to the peculiar SN 2002cx, and its pre-explosion site indicating that its progenitor was probably a white dwarf. NGC 1527, the host galaxy of SN 2008ge, is an S0 galaxy with no evidence of star formation or massive stars. Astrometrically matching late-time imaging of SN 2008ge to pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we constrain the luminosity of the progenitor star. Since SN 2008ge has no indication of hydrogen or helium in its spectrum, its progenitor must have lost its outer layers before exploding, meaning that it is a white dwarf, a Wolf-Rayet star, or a lower-mass star in a binary system. Observations of the host galaxy show no signs of individual massive stars, star clusters, or H II regions at the SN position or anywhere else, making a Wolf-Rayet progenitor unlikely. Late-time spectroscopy of SN 2008ge shows strong [Fe II] lines with large velocity widths compared to other members of this class at similar epochs. These previously unseen features indicate that a significant amount of the SN ejecta is Fe (presumably the result of the radioactive decay of {sup 56}Ni generated in the SN), further supporting a thermonuclear explosion.more » Placing the observations of SN 2008ge in the context of observations of other objects in the same class of SNe, we suggest that the progenitor was most likely a white dwarf.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]; ;  [5]; ; ;  [6]
  1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics, Harvard University, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
  3. Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen Oe (Denmark)
  4. Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Andres Bello, Avda. Republica 252, Santiago (Chile)
  5. Departamento de AstronomIa, Universidad de Chile, Santiago (Chile)
  6. Carnegie Observatories, Las Campanas Observatory, Casilla 601, La Serena (Chile)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21443202
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 140; Journal Issue: 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-6256/140/5/1321; Journal ID: ISSN 1538-3881
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; GALAXIES; HELIUM; HYDROGEN; LUMINOSITY; NICKEL 56; NUCLEAR DECAY; SPECTROSCOPY; STAR CLUSTERS; STAR EVOLUTION; SUPERNOVAE; TELESCOPES; THERMONUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; WHITE DWARF STARS; WOLF-RAYET STARS; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BINARY STARS; DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; DECAY; DWARF STARS; ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES; ELEMENTS; ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; EVOLUTION; EXPLOSIONS; FLUIDS; GASES; INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI; ISOTOPES; MAIN SEQUENCE STARS; NICKEL ISOTOPES; NONMETALS; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; NUCLEI; OPTICAL PROPERTIES; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; RADIOISOTOPES; RARE GASES; STARS; VARIABLE STARS

Citation Formats

Foley, Ryan J, Rest, Armin, Stritzinger, Maximilian, Pignata, Giuliano, Anderson, Joseph P, Hamuy, Mario, Morrell, Nidia I, Phillips, Mark M, and Salgado, Francisco. ON THE PROGENITOR AND SUPERNOVA OF THE SN 2002cx-LIKE SUPERNOVA 2008ge ,. United States: N. p., 2010. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/140/5/1321.
Foley, Ryan J, Rest, Armin, Stritzinger, Maximilian, Pignata, Giuliano, Anderson, Joseph P, Hamuy, Mario, Morrell, Nidia I, Phillips, Mark M, & Salgado, Francisco. ON THE PROGENITOR AND SUPERNOVA OF THE SN 2002cx-LIKE SUPERNOVA 2008ge ,. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/140/5/1321
Foley, Ryan J, Rest, Armin, Stritzinger, Maximilian, Pignata, Giuliano, Anderson, Joseph P, Hamuy, Mario, Morrell, Nidia I, Phillips, Mark M, and Salgado, Francisco. 2010. "ON THE PROGENITOR AND SUPERNOVA OF THE SN 2002cx-LIKE SUPERNOVA 2008ge ,". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/140/5/1321.
@article{osti_21443202,
title = {ON THE PROGENITOR AND SUPERNOVA OF THE SN 2002cx-LIKE SUPERNOVA 2008ge ,},
author = {Foley, Ryan J and Rest, Armin and Stritzinger, Maximilian and Pignata, Giuliano and Anderson, Joseph P and Hamuy, Mario and Morrell, Nidia I and Phillips, Mark M and Salgado, Francisco},
abstractNote = {We present observations of supernova (SN) 2008ge, which is spectroscopically similar to the peculiar SN 2002cx, and its pre-explosion site indicating that its progenitor was probably a white dwarf. NGC 1527, the host galaxy of SN 2008ge, is an S0 galaxy with no evidence of star formation or massive stars. Astrometrically matching late-time imaging of SN 2008ge to pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we constrain the luminosity of the progenitor star. Since SN 2008ge has no indication of hydrogen or helium in its spectrum, its progenitor must have lost its outer layers before exploding, meaning that it is a white dwarf, a Wolf-Rayet star, or a lower-mass star in a binary system. Observations of the host galaxy show no signs of individual massive stars, star clusters, or H II regions at the SN position or anywhere else, making a Wolf-Rayet progenitor unlikely. Late-time spectroscopy of SN 2008ge shows strong [Fe II] lines with large velocity widths compared to other members of this class at similar epochs. These previously unseen features indicate that a significant amount of the SN ejecta is Fe (presumably the result of the radioactive decay of {sup 56}Ni generated in the SN), further supporting a thermonuclear explosion. Placing the observations of SN 2008ge in the context of observations of other objects in the same class of SNe, we suggest that the progenitor was most likely a white dwarf.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-6256/140/5/1321},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21443202}, journal = {Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)},
issn = {1538-3881},
number = 5,
volume = 140,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2010},
month = {Mon Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2010}
}