Caltech Core-Collapse Project (CCCP) observations of type II supernovae: Evidence for three distinct photometric subtypes

Iair Arcavi, Avishay Gal-Yam, S. Bradley Cenko, Derek B. Fox, Douglas C. Leonard, Dae Sik Moon, David J. Sand, Alicia M. Soderberg, Michael Kiewe, Ofer Yaron, Adam B. Becker, Raphael Scheps, Gali Birenbaum, Daniel Chamudot, Jonathan Zhou

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130 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present R-band light curves of Type II supernovae (SNe) from the Caltech Core-Collapse Project (CCCP). With the exception of interacting (Type IIn) SNe and rare events with long rise times, we find that most light curve shapes belong to one of three apparently distinct classes: plateau, slowly declining, and rapidly declining events. The last class is composed solely of Type IIb SNe which present similar light curve shapes to those of SNe Ib, suggesting, perhaps, similar progenitor channels. We do not find any intermediate light curves, implying that these subclasses are unlikely to reflect variance of continuous parameters, but rather might result from physically distinct progenitor systems, strengthening the suggestion of a binary origin for at least some stripped SNe. We find a large plateau luminosity range for SNe IIP, while the plateau lengths seem rather uniform at approximately 100days. As analysis of additional CCCP data goes on and larger samples are collected, demographic studies of core-collapse SNe will likely continue to provide new constraints on progenitor scenarios.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberL30
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume756
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 10 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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