Evidence for Asymmetric Ejecta and Circumstellar Material in SN 2023ixf Inferred from Extensive Nebular-phase Observations

Abstract

We present extensive optical and near-infrared (NIR) observations of the nearby Type II supernova (SN II) 2023ixf in the nebular phase from +89 days to +749 days after explosion, supplemented with NIR and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy from the James Webb Space Telescope. The H$\hat{I}\pm$ emission profile shows complex evolution, with the emergence of high-velocity components consistent with the outer ejecta interacting with extended, low-density circumstellar material (CSM). We find that the H$\hat{I}\pm$ profile at an intermediate epoch (around +375 d) can be reconstructed by scaling an earlier decay-powered component and a later-phase shock-powered component, which revealed an additional intermediate-width component. This is consistent with the ejecta crashing into the initially aspherical dense CSM that has been swept-up by the forward shock. In the NIR, we find double-peaked emission from Mg I $1.504\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$, Na I $2.206\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$, and [Ni I] $3.12\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$ between +200 d and +374 d, consistent with an asymmetric distribution of Ni-rich material that heats the ejecta inhomogeneously. We posit a disk-like CSM geometry and an ejecta geometry in which at least two large Ni-rich plumes lead to the observed line-profile diversity.

36 pages, 15 figures, submitted to ApJ