Shock Cooling and Possible Precursor Emission in the Early Light Curve of the Type II SN 2023ixf

Abstract

We present the densely sampled early light curve of the Type II supernova (SN) 2023ixf, first observed within hours of explosion in the nearby Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101; 6.7 Mpc). Comparing these data to recently updated models of shock-cooling emission, we find that the progenitor likely had a radius of $410\pm 10R_{\odot }$. Our estimate is model dependent but consistent with a red supergiant. These models provide a good fit to the data starting about 1 day after the explosion, despite the fact that the classification spectrum shows signatures of circumstellar material around SN 2023ixf during that time. Photometry during the first day after the explosion, provided almost entirely by amateur astronomers, does not agree with the shock-cooling models or a simple power-law rise fit to data after 1 day. We consider the possible causes of this discrepancy, including precursor activity from the progenitor star, circumstellar interaction, and emission from the shock before or after it breaks out of the stellar surface. The very low luminosity ($-11\mathrm{mag}>M>-14\mathrm{mag}$) and short duration of the initial excess lead us to prefer a scenario related to prolonged emission from the SN shock traveling through the progenitor system.

updated to match accepted version

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Cited by in corpus (22)

• From Discovery to the First Month of the Type II Supernova 2023ixf: High and Variable Mass Loss in the Final Year before Explosion
• Early Spectroscopy and Dense Circumstellar Medium Interaction in SN 2023ixf
• A Shock Flash Breaking Out of a Dusty Red Supergiant
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• Progenitor mass and ejecta asymmetry of SN 2023ixf from nebular spectroscopy
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• Early emission lines in SN 2024ggi revealed by high-resolution spectroscopy
• SN 2023ixf -- an average-energy explosion with circumstellar medium and a precursor
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• Search for gravitational waves emitted from SN 2023ixf
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• SN 2023ixf: interaction signatures in the spectrum at 445 days
• An unexplored regime of shock breakout with a distinct spectral signature
• Multimessenger Constraints on the Central Engine in SN 2023ixf: Neutron Star or Black Hole?