The Massive Progenitor of the Possible Type II-Linear Supernova 2009hd in Messier 66

Abstract

We present observations of SN2009hd in the nearby galaxy M66. This SN is one of the closest to us in recent years but heavily obscured by dust, rendering it unusually faint in the optical, given its proximity. We find that the observed properties of SN2009hd support its classification as a possible Type II-L SN, a relatively rare subclass of CC-SNe. High-precision relative astrometry has been employed to attempt to identify a SN progenitor candidate, based on a pixel-by-pixel comparison between HST F555W and F814W images of the SN site prior to explosion and at late times. A progenitor candidate is identified in the F814W images only; this object is undetected in F555W. Significant uncertainty exists in the astrometry, such that we cannot definitively identify this object as the SN progenitor. Via insertion of artificial stars into the pre-SN HST images, we are able to constrain the progenitor's properties to those of a possible supergiant, with M(F555W)0>-7.6 mag and (V-I) 0>0.99 mag. The magnitude and color limits are consistent with a luminous RSG; however, they also allow for the possibility that the star could have been more yellow than red. From a comparison with theoretical massive-star evolutionary tracks, which include rotation and pulsationally enhanced mass loss, we can place a conservative upper limit on the initial mass for the progenitor of <20 M_sun. If the actual mass of the progenitor is near the upper range allowed by our derived mass limit, then it would be consistent with that for the identified progenitors of the SNII-L 2009kr and the high-luminosity SNII-P 2008cn. The progenitors of these three SNe may possibly bridge the gap between lower-mass RSG that explode as SNeII-P and LBV, or more extreme RSG, from which the more exotic SNeII-n may arise. Very late-time imaging of the SN2009hd site may provide us with more clues regarding the true nature of its progenitor.

19 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (9)

• The death of massive stars - I. Observational constraints on the progenitors of type II-P supernovae
• The MagE Spectrograph
• The Standardized Candle Method for Type II Plateau Supernovae
• SN 2008S: A Cool Super-Eddington Wind in a Supernova Impostor
• Low-Resolution Sodium D Absorption is a Bad Proxy for Extinction
• The Distance to NGC 1316 (Fornax A) From Observations of Four Type Ia Supernovae
• The He-rich Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse Supernova 2008ax
• Optical and infrared observations of the Type IIP SN2002hh from day 3 to 397
• An Upper Mass Limit on a Red Supergiant Progenitor for the Type II-Plateau Supernova SN 2006my

Cited by in corpus (53)

• Observational constraints on the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae : the case for missing high mass stars
• An Open Catalog for Supernova Data
• Characterizing the V-band light-curves of hydrogen-rich type II supernovae
• The diversity of Type II supernova versus the similarity in their progenitors
• Unifying Type II Supernova Light Curves with Dense Circumstellar Material
• Towards Characterization of the Type IIP Supernova Progenitor Population: a Statistical Sample of Light Curves from Pan-STARRS1
• The Search for Failed Supernovae with The Large Binocular Telescope: First Candidates
• Progenitor mass constraints for core-collapse supernovae from correlations with host galaxy star formation
• Fundamental properties of core-collapse Supernova and GRB progenitors: predicting the look of massive stars before death
• The Initial Masses of the Red Supergiant Progenitors to Type-II Supernovae
• The impact of mass-loss on the evolution and pre-supernova properties of red supergiants
• Core-collapse supernovae missed by optical surveys
• The early detection and follow-up of the highly obscured Type II supernova 2016ija/DLT16am
• The Search for Failed Supernovae with the Large Binocular Telescope: Constraints from 7 Years of Data
• Supernova 2013by: A Type IIL Supernova with a IIP-like light curve drop
• The multi-faceted Type II-L supernova 2014G from pre-maximum to nebular phase
• A comparative study of Type II-P and II-L supernova rise times as exemplified by the case of LSQ13cuw
• Diagnosing the time-dependence of active region core heating from the emission measure: I. Low-frequency nanoflares
• Statistical studies of supernova environments
• Integral field spectroscopy of supernova explosion sites: constraining mass and metallicity of the progenitors - I. Type Ib and Ic supernovae
• The Rate of Supernovae at Redshift 0.1-1.0 - the Stockholm VIMOS Supernova Survey IV
• Type II supernova spectral diversity II: Spectroscopic and photometric correlations
• The Dusty Progenitor Star of the Type II Supernova 2017eaw
• Gone without a bang: An archival HST survey for disappearing massive stars
• A Systematic Study of Mid-Infrared Emission from Core-Collapse Supernovae with SPIRITS
• Integral field spectroscopy of supernova explosion sites: constraining mass and metallicity of the progenitors -- II. Type II-P and II-L supernovae
• Supernova Progenitors, Their Variability, and the Type IIP Supernova ASASSN-16fq in M66
• A Hubble diagram from Type II Supernovae based solely on photometry: the Photometric-Colour Method
• On the nature of rapidly fading Type II supernovae
• Nearby supernova host galaxies from the CALIFA Survey: II. SN environmental metallicity
• The Iron Yield of Normal Type II Supernovae
• A Central Excess of Stripped-Envelope Supernovae within Disturbed Galaxies
• Luminosity distribution of Type II supernova progenitors
• Giga-Year Evolution of Jupiter Trojans and the Asymmetry Problem
• Hydrogen-rich Core Collapse Supernovae
• Discovery and Rapid Follow-up Observations of the Unusual Type II SN 2018ivc in NGC 1068
• Supernova 2013fc in a circumnuclear ring of a luminous infrared galaxy: the big brother of SN 1998S
• Core-collapse supernova progenitor constraints using the spatial distributions of massive stars in local galaxies
• Discovery of Variability of the Progenitor of SN 2011dh in M51 Using the Large Binocular Telescope
• Orbital elements and individual component masses from joint spectroscopic and astrometric data of double-line spectroscopic binaries
• Explodability criteria for the neutrino-driven supernova mechanism
• ASASSN-14dq: A fast-declining type II-P Supernova in a low-luminosity host galaxy
• The Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances to Type Ia Supernova Host Galaxies. II. M66 and M96 in the Leo I Group
• Observational signature of circumstellar interaction and ${}^{56}$Ni-mixing in the Type II Supernova 2016gfy
• SN 2016gsd: An unusually luminous and linear type II supernova with high velocities
• The Late Time Optical Evolution of Twelve Core-Collapse Supernovae: Detection of Normal Stellar Winds
• SN 2016esw: a luminous Type II supernova observed within the first day after the explosion
• Neutron stars formation and Core Collapse Supernovae
• SN 2024abfo: a partially stripped SN II from a yellow supergiant
• Metallicity Estimation of Core-Collapse Supernova HII Regions in Galaxies within 30 Mpc
• SN 2019nyk: A rapidly declining Type II supernova with early interaction signatures
• The Red Supergiant Progenitor of the Type II Supernova 2024abfl
• The Type II-P Supernova 2019mhm and Constraints on Its Progenitor System