Progenitor and close-in circumstellar medium of type II supernova 2020fqv from high-cadence photometry and ultra-rapid UV spectroscopy

Journal Article · Tue Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab2887· OSTI ID:1860285

Tinyanont, Samaporn ; Ridden-Harper, R. ; Foley, R. J. ; Morozova, V. ; Kilpatrick, C. D. ; Dimitriadis, G. ; DeMarchi, L. ; Gagliano, A. ; Jacobson-Galán, W. V. ; Messick, A. ; Pierel, J. D. R. ; Piro, A. L. ; Ramirez-Ruiz, E. ; Siebert, M. R. ; Chambers, K. C. ; Clever, K. E.; Coulter, D. A. ; De, K. ; Hankins, M. ; Hung, T. ; Jha, S. W. ; Jimenez Angel, C. E. ; Jones, D. O. ; Kasliwal, M. M. ; Lin, C-C ; Marques-Chaves, R. ; Margutti, R. ; Moore, A. ; Pérez-Fournon, I. ; Poidevin, F. ; Rest, A. ; Shirley, R. ; Smith, C. S.; Strasburger, E. ; Swift, J. J. ; Wainscoat, R. J. ; Wang, Q. ; Zenati, Y.

ABSTRACT We present observations of SN 2020fqv, a Virgo-cluster type II core-collapse supernova (CCSN) with a high temporal resolution light curve from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) covering the time of explosion; ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) starting 3.3 d post-explosion; ground-based spectroscopic observations starting 1.1 d post-explosion; along with extensive photometric observations. Massive stars have complicated mass-loss histories leading up to their death as CCSNe, creating circumstellar medium (CSM) with which the SNe interact. Observations during the first few days post-explosion can provide important information about the mass-loss rate during the late stages of stellar evolution. Model fits to the quasi-bolometric light curve of SN 2020fqv reveal  0.23 M⊙ of CSM confined within  1450 R⊙ (1014 cm) from its progenitor star. Early spectra (<4 d post-explosion), both from HST and ground-based observatories, show emission features from high-ionization metal species from the outer, optically thin part of this CSM. We find that the CSM is consistent with an eruption caused by the injection of ∼5 × 1046 erg into the stellar envelope ∼300 d pre-explosion, potentially from a nuclear burning instability at the onset of oxygen burning. Light-curve fitting, nebular spectroscopy, and pre-explosion HST imaging consistently point to a red supergiant (RSG) progenitor with $$M_{\rm ZAMS}\approx 13.5\!-\!15 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$$, typical for SN II progenitor stars. This finding demonstrates that a typical RSG, like the progenitor of SN 2020fqv, has a complicated mass-loss history immediately before core collapse.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 1860285
• Journal Information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 512 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English