Long-Term Radio Monitoring of SN 1993J

Abstract

We present our extensive observations of the radio emission from supernova (SN) 1993J, in M81 (NGC 3031), made with the Very Large Array, at 90, 20, 6, 3.6, 2, 1.2, and 0.7 cm, as well as numerous measurements from other telescopes and at other wavelengths. The combined data set constitutes probably the most detailed set of measurements ever established for any SN outside of the Local Group in any wavelength range. The radio emission evolves regularly in both time and frequency, and the usual interpretation in terms of shock interaction with a circumstellar medium (CSM) formed by a pre-supernova stellar wind describes the observations rather well. However, (1) The highest frequency measurements at 85-110 GHz at early times (<40 days) are not well fitted by the parameterization which describes the centimeter wavelength measurements. (2) At midcentimeter wavelengths there is often deviation from the fitted radio light curves. (3) At a time ~3100 days after shock breakout, the decline rate of the radio emission steepens from (t^(+β)) β ~ − 0.7 to –2.7 without change in the spectral index (ν^(+α); α ~ − 0.81); however, this decline is best described not as a power-law, but as an exponential decay with an e-folding time of ~1100 days. (4) The best overall fit to all of the data is a model including both nonthermal synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) and thermal free-free absorbing (FFA) components at early times, evolving to a constant spectral index, optically thin decline rate until the break. (5) The radio and X-ray light curves display quite similar behavior and both suggest a sudden increase in the supernova progenitor mass-loss rate occurred at ~8000 yr prior to shock breakout.

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