ON THE PROGENITOR SYSTEM OF THE TYPE Iax SUPERNOVA 2014dt IN M61

Journal Article · Sat Jan 10 04:00:00 EST 2015 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/798/2/L37· OSTI ID:22364656

Foley, Ryan J. ^[1]; Van Dyk, Schuyler D. ^[2]; Jha, Saurabh W. ^[3]; Clubb, Kelsey I.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Mauerhan, Jon C. ^[4]; Miller, Adam A. ^[5]; Smith, Nathan ^[6]

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1. Astronomy Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)
2. IPAC/Caltech, Mail Code 100-22, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States)
4. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
5. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 169-506, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
6. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

We present pre-explosion and post-explosion Hubble Space Telescope images of the Type Iax supernova (SN Iax) 2014dt in M61. After astrometrically aligning these images, we do not detect any stellar sources at the position of the SN in the pre-explosion images to relatively deep limits (3σ limits of M {sub F438W} > –5.0 mag and M {sub F814W} > –5.9 mag). These limits are similar to the luminosity of SN 2012Z's progenitor system (M {sub F435W} = –5.43 ± 0.15 and M {sub F814W} = –5.24 ± 0.16 mag), the only probable detected progenitor system in pre-explosion images of a SN Iax, and indeed, of any white-dwarf supernova. SN 2014dt is consistent with having a C/O white-dwarf primary/helium-star companion progenitor system, as was suggested for SN 2012Z, although perhaps with a slightly smaller or hotter donor. The data are also consistent with SN 2014dt having a low-mass red giant or main-sequence star companion. The data rule out main-sequence stars with M {sub init} ≳ 16 M {sub ☉} and most evolved stars with M {sub init} ≳ 8 M {sub ☉} as being the progenitor of SN 2014dt. Hot Wolf-Rayet stars are also allowed, but the lack of nearby bright sources makes this scenario unlikely. Because of its proximity (D = 12 Mpc), SN 2014dt is ideal for long-term monitoring, where images in ∼2 yr may detect the companion star or the luminous bound remnant of the progenitor white dwarf.

• OSTI ID: 22364656
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 798; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
GALAXIES
HELIUM
IMAGES
LUMINOSITY
MASS
SPACE
SUPERNOVAE
TELESCOPES
WHITE DWARF STARS
WOLF-RAYET STARS