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Published February 10, 2007 | Published
Journal Article Open

On the Progenitor of SN 2005gl and the Nature of Type IIn Supernovae

Abstract

We present a study of the Type IIn supernova (SN) 2005gl, in the relatively nearby (d ≈ 66 Mpc) galaxy NGC 266. Photometry and spectroscopy of the SN indicate that it is a typical member of its class. Pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of the location of the SN, along with a precise localization of this event using the laser guide star assisted adaptive optics (LGS-AO) system at Keck Observatory, are combined to identify a luminous (M_V = -10.3 mag) point source as the possible progenitor of SN 2005gl. If the source is indeed a single star, it was likely a member of the class of luminous blue variable stars (LBVs). This finding leads us to consider the possible general association of SNe IIn with LBV progenitors; it is indeed supported by observations of other SNe, and the known properties of LBV stars. For example, we argue that should the prototypical Galactic LBV η Carina explode in a phase similar to its current state, it will likely produce a SN IIn. We discuss our findings in the context of current ideas about the evolution of massive stars and review the census of SNe with identified progenitors. The concept of the progenitor-SN map is introduced as a convenient means to discuss the present status and future prospects of direct searches for SN progenitors. We conclude that this field has matured considerably in recent years, and the transition from anecdotal information about rare single events to robust associations of progenitor classes with specific SN types has already begun.

Additional Information

© 2007 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2006 August 1; accepted 2006 October 16. We are grateful to V. Dwarkadas, J. Eldridge, R. de Grijs, R. Kirshner, D. Maoz, P. Nugent, E. O. Ofek, and N. Smith for useful advice. K. Dawson and K. Barbary are thanked for assistance with LRIS observations at Keck. This research has made use of the NASA/ IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A. G. acknowledges support by NASA through Hubble Fellowship grant HST-HF-01158.01-A awarded by STScI, which is operated by AURA, Inc., for NASA, under contract NAS 5-26555. A. G. further acknowledges the hospitality of the community of Cefalu and the efforts of the organizers of the 2006 Cefalu international astronomy conference, during which this work has come to fruition. D. C. L. acknowledges support from a National Science Foundation (NSF) Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship (award AST 0-401479), under which part of this work was completed. D. J. S. acknowledges support provided by NASA through Chandra Postdoctoral Fellowship grant number PF5-60041. The work of A. V. F.'s group at UC Berkeley is supported by NSF grants AST 03-07894 and AST 0607485, as well as by NASA grant AR-10690 from STScI. KAIT and its ongoing research were made possible by generous donations from Sun Microsystems, Inc., the Hewlett- Packard Company, AutoScope Corporation, Lick Observatory, NSF, the University of California, the Sylvia and Jim Katzman Foundation, and the TABASGO Foundation. This work was supported in part by the Director, Office of Science, Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics, of the US Department of Energy under contract DE-FG02-92ER40704, with additional support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the CNRS/ IN2P3, CNRS/INSU, and PNC agencies in France.

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August 22, 2023
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