Progenitor and close-in circumstellar medium of type II supernova 2020fqv from high-cadence photometry and ultra-rapid UV spectroscopy. Issue 2 (26th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tinyanont, Samaporn; Ridden-Harper, R; Foley, R J; Morozova, V; Kilpatrick, C D; Dimitriadis, G; DeMarchi, L; Gagliano, A; Jacobson-Galán, W V; Messick, A; Pierel, J D R; Piro, A L; Ramirez-Ruiz, E; Siebert, M R; Chambers, K C; Clever, K E; Coulter, D A; De, K; Hankins, M; Hung, T; Jha, S W; Jimenez Angel, C E; Jones, D O; Kasliwal, M M; Lin, C-C; Marques-Chaves, R; Margutti, R; Moore, A; Pérez-Fournon, I; Poidevin, F; Rest, A; Shirley, R; Smith, C S; Strasburger, E; Swift, J J; Wainscoat, R J; Wang, Q; Zenati, Y;
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 512:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 2777
• Page End: 2797
• Publication Date: 2021-10-26
• Subjects: stars: massive -- stars: mass-loss -- supernovae: individual: SN 2020fqv; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stab2887
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We present observations of SN 2020fqv, a Virgo-cluster type II core-collapse supernova (CCSN) with a high temporal resolution light curve from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite ( TESS ) covering the time of explosion; ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) starting 3.3 d post-explosion; ground-based spectroscopic observations starting 1.1 d post-explosion; along with extensive photometric observations. Massive stars have complicated mass-loss histories leading up to their death as CCSNe, creating circumstellar medium (CSM) with which the SNe interact. Observations during the first few days post-explosion can provide important information about the mass-loss rate during the late stages of stellar evolution. Model fits to the quasi-bolometric light curve of SN 2020fqv reveal 0.23 M⊙ of CSM confined within 1450 R⊙ (10 14 cm) from its progenitor star. Early spectra (<4 d post-explosion), both from HST and ground-based observatories, show emission features from high-ionization metal species from the outer, optically thin part of this CSM. We find that the CSM is consistent with an eruption caused by the injection of ∼5 × 10 46 erg into the stellar envelope ∼300 d pre-explosion, potentially from a nuclear burning instability at the onset of oxygen burning. Light-curve fitting, nebular spectroscopy, and pre-explosion HST imaging consistently point to a red supergiant (RSG) progenitor with $M_{\rm ZAMS}\approx 13.5\!-\!15 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$, typical for SN II progenitor stars. This finding demonstrates that a typical RSG, like the progenitor of SN 2020fqv, has a complicated mass-loss history immediately before core collapse.