The Progenitor of Supernova 2004dj in a Star Cluster

Abstract

The progenitor of type II-plateau supernova (SN) 2004dj is identified with a supergiant in a compact star cluster known as "Sandage Star 96" (S96) in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403, which was fortuitously imaged as part of the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut (BATC) Multicolor Sky Survey from Feb 1995 to Dec 2003 prior to SN 2004dj. The superior photometry of BATC images for S96, taken with 14 intermediate-band filters covering 3000-10000Å, unambiguously establishes the star cluster nature of S96 with an age of $\sim 20$Myr, a reddening of $E(B-V)\sim 0.35$ mag and a total mass of $\sim 96,000$M${}_{\odot }$. The compact star cluster nature of S96 is also consistent with the lack of light variations in the past decade. The SN progenitor is estimated to have a main-sequence mass of $\sim$12M${}_{\odot }$. The comparison of our intermediate-band data of S96 with the post-outburst photometry obtained as the SN has significantly dimmed, may hopefully conclusively establish the nature of the progenitor.

arXiv comment4 pages; 3 figures. To accept for Publications in ApJ Letters, but slightly longer in this perprint

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