paper

Swift Ultraviolet Observations of Supernova 2014J in M82: Large Extinction from Interstellar Dust

arXiv:1408.2381 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/805/1/74

Abstract

We present optical and ultraviolet (UV) photometry and spectra of the very nearby and highly reddened supernova (SN) 2014J in M82 obtained with the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT). Comparison of the UVOT grism spectra of SN~2014J with Hubble Space Telescope observations of SN2011fe or UVOT grism spectra of SN~2012fr are consistent with an extinction law with a low value of R_V~1.4. The high reddening causes the detected photon distribution in the broadband UV filters to have a much longer effective wavelength than for an unreddened SN. The light curve evolution is consistent with this shift and does not show a flattening due to photons being scattered back into the line of sight. The light curve shapes and color evolution are inconsistent with a contribution scattered into the line of sight by circumstellar dust. We conclude that most or all of the high reddening must come from interstellar dust. We show that even for a single dust composition, there is not a unique reddening law caused by circumstellar scattering. Rather, when considering scattering from a time-variable source, we confirm earlier studies that the reddening law is a function of the dust geometry, column density, and epoch. We also show how an assumed geometry of dust as a foreground sheet in mixed stellar/dust systems will lead to a higher inferred R_V. Rather than assuming the dust around SNe is peculiar, SNe may be useful probes of the interstellar reddening laws in other galaxies.

arXiv comment14 pages including 8 figures

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