Did the progenitor of SN2011dh have a binary companion?

Abstract

We present late-time Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ultraviolet (UV) and optical observations of the site of SN 2011dh in the galaxy M51, ~1164 days post-explosion. At the SN location, we observe a point source that is visible at all wavelengths, that is significantly fainter than the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the Yellow Supergiant progenitor observed prior to explosion. The previously reported photometry of the progenitor is, therefore, completely unaffected by any sources that may persist at the SN location after explosion. In comparison with the previously reported late-time photometric evolution of SN 2011dh, we find that the light curve has plateaued at all wavelengths. The SED of the late-time source is clearly inconsistent with a SED of stellar origin. Although the SED is bright at UV wavelengths, there is no strong evidence that the late-time luminosity originates solely from a stellar source corresponding to the binary companion, although a partial contribution to the observed UV flux from a companion star can not be ruled out.

7 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS accepted

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