The Blue Supergiant Progenitor of the Supernova Imposter AT 2019krl
Article
Article Title | The Blue Supergiant Progenitor of the Supernova Imposter AT 2019krl |
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ERA Journal ID | 1057 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Andrews, Jennifer E., Jencson, Jacob E., Van Dyk, Schuyler D., Smith, Nathan, Neustadt, Jack M. M., Sand, David J., Kreckel, K., Kochanek, C. S., Valenti, S., Strader, Jay, Bersten, M. C., Blanc, Guillermo A., Bostroem, K. Azalee, Brink, Thomas G., Emsellem, Eric, Filippenko, Alexei V., Folatelli, Gastón, Kasliwal, Mansi M., Masci, Frank J., McElroy, Rebecca, Milisavljevic, Dan, Santoro, Francesco and Szalai, Tamás |
Journal Title | The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics |
Journal Citation | 917 (2) |
Article Number | 63 |
Number of Pages | 16 |
Year | 2021 |
Publisher | IOP Publishing |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 0004-637X |
1538-4357 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac09e1 |
Web Address (URL) | https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ac09e1 |
Abstract | Extensive archival Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Large Binocular Telescope imaging of the recent intermediate-luminosity transient, AT 2019krl in M74, reveal a bright optical and mid-infrared progenitor star. While the optical peak of the event was missed, a peak was detected in the infrared with an absolute magnitude of M4.5 μm = −18.4 mag, leading us to infer a visual-wavelength peak absolute magnitude of −13.5 to −14.5. The pre-discovery light curve indicated no outbursts over the previous 16 yr. The colors, magnitudes, and inferred temperatures of the progenitor best match a 13–14 M⊙ yellow or blue supergiant (BSG) if only foreground extinction is taken into account, or a hotter and more massive star if any additional local extinction is included. A pre-eruption spectrum of the star reveals strong Hα and [N ii] emission with wings extending to ±2000 km s−1. The post-eruption spectrum is fairly flat and featureless with only Hα, Na i D, [Ca ii], and the Ca ii triplet in emission. As in many previous intermediate-luminosity transients, AT 2019krl shows remarkable observational similarities to luminous blue variable (LBV) giant eruptions, SN 2008S-like events, and massive-star mergers. However, the information about the pre-eruption star favors either a relatively unobscured BSG or a more extinguished LBV with M > 20 M⊙ likely viewed pole-on. |
Keywords | Massive stars; Supergiant stars; Evolved stars; Eruptive variable |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510102. Astronomical instrumentation |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions, but may be accessed online. Please see the link in the URL field. |
Byline Affiliations | University of Arizona, United States |
Gemini Observatory, United States | |
NSF's National Optical Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), United States | |
California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States | |
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), United States | |
Ohio State University, United States | |
Heidelberg University, Germany | |
University of California Davis, United States | |
Michigan State University, United States | |
Astrophysics Institute of La Plata, Argentina | |
University of Tokyo, Japan | |
Carnegie Institution for Science, United States | |
University of Chile, Chile | |
University of California Berkeley, United States | |
European Southern Observatory (ESO), Chile | |
University of Lyon, France | |
National University of La Plata, Argentina | |
University of Sydney | |
Purdue University, United States | |
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany | |
University of Szeged, Hungary | |
Konkoly Observatory, Hungary |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z75v7/the-blue-supergiant-progenitor-of-the-supernova-imposter-at-2019krl
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