Title: SN 2017ein and the Possible First Identification of a Type Ic Supernova Progenitor

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [9];  [1];  [1];  [10]
  1. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Astronomy
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Astronomy and Miller Inst. for Basic Research
  4. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
  5. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Steward Observatory
  6. Universit´a di Pisa, Pisa (Italy). Dipartimento di Fisica; National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) (Italy)
  7. Space Telescope Science Inst., Baltimore, MD (Italy)
  8. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). School of Physics and Astronomy
  9. Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Astronomy
  10. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States). Dept. of Physics
+ Show Author Affiliations

We have identified a progenitor candidate in archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images for the Type Ic supernova (SN Ic) SN 2017ein in NGC 3938, pinpointing the candidate's location via HST Target of Opportunity imaging of the SN itself. This would be the first identification of a stellar-like object as a progenitor candidate for any SN Ic to date. We also present observations of SN 2017ein during the first ~49 days since explosion. We find that SN 2017ein most resembles the well-studied SN Ic SN 2007gr. We infer that SN 2017ein experienced a total visual extinction of $$A_V$$ ≈ 1.0–1.9 mag, predominantly because of dust within the host galaxy. Although the distance is not well known, if this object is the progenitor, it was likely of high initial mass, ~47–48 $$M_⊙$$ if a single star, or ~60–80 $$M_⊙$$ if in a binary system. However, we also find that the progenitor candidate could be a very blue and young compact cluster, further implying a very massive (>65 $$M_⊙$$) progenitor. Furthermore, the actual progenitor might not be associated with the candidate at all and could be far less massive. From the immediate stellar environment, we find possible evidence for three different populations; if the SN progenitor was a member of the youngest population, this would be consistent with an initial mass of ~57 $$M_⊙$$. After it has faded, the SN should be reobserved at high spatial resolution and sensitivity, to determine whether the candidate is indeed the progenitor.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1544061
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 860; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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The disappearance of the helium-giant progenitor of the type Ib supernova iPTF13bvn and constraints on its companion text January 2016
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Optimal Classification and Outlier Detection for Stripped-envelope Core-collapse Supernovae journal July 2019
Black hole spins in coalescing binary black holes text January 2017
Measurement of the core-collapse progenitor mass distribution of the Small Magellanic Cloud text January 2018
Progenitors of Type IIb Supernovae: I. Evolutionary Pathways and Rates text January 2018
Investigating the properties of stripped-envelope supernovae, what are the implications for their progenitors? text January 2018
Observational properties of a Type Ib Supernova MASTER OT J120451.50+265946.6 in NGC 4080 text January 2019
Optimal Classification and Outlier Detection for Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse Supernovae text January 2019
SN 2017czd: A Rapidly Evolving Supernova from a Weak Explosion of a Type IIb Supernova Progenitor text January 2019
The Masses of Supernova Remnant Progenitors in M83 text January 2019
SN 2016coi (ASASSN-16fp): an energetic H-stripped core-collapse supernova from a massive stellar progenitor with large mass loss text January 2019
The radial distribution of supernovae compared to star formation tracers text January 2019

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