The host galaxy and late-time evolution of the superluminous supernova PTF12dam

Chen, T.-W., Smartt, S. J., Jerkstrand, A., Nicholl, M., Bresolin, F., Kotak, R., Polshaw, J., Rest, A., Kudritzki, R., Zheng, Z., Elias-Rosa, N., Smith, K., Inserra, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3968-4409, Wright, D., Kankare, E., Kangas, T. and Fraser, M. 2015. The host galaxy and late-time evolution of the superluminous supernova PTF12dam. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 452 (2) , pp. 1567-1586. 10.1093/mnras/stv1360

Preview

PDF - Published Version Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) of Type Ic have a tendency to occur in faint host galaxies which are likely to have low mass and low metallicity. PTF12dam is one of the closest and best-studied superluminous explosions that has a broad and slowly fading light curve similar to SN 2007bi. Here we present new photometry and spectroscopy for PTF12dam from 200–500 d (rest frame) after peak and a detailed analysis of the host galaxy (SDSS J142446.21+461348.6 at z = 0.107). Using deep templates and image subtraction we show that the light curve can be fit with a magnetar model if escape of high-energy gamma rays is taken into account. The full bolometric light curve from −53 to +399 d (with respect to peak) cannot be fit satisfactorily with the pair-instability models. An alternative model of interaction with a dense circumstellar material (CSM) produces a good fit to the data although this requires a very large mass (∼13 M⊙) of hydrogen-free CSM. The host galaxy is a compact dwarf (physical size ∼1.9 kpc) and with Mg = −19.33 ± 0.10, it is the brightest nearby SLSN Ic host discovered so far. The host is a low-mass system (2.8 × 108 M⊙) with a star formation rate (5.0 M⊙ yr−1), which implies a very high specific star formation rate (17.9 Gyr−1). The remarkably strong nebular emission provide detections of the [O iii] λ4363 and [O ii] λλ7320, 7330auroral lines and an accurate oxygen abundance of 12 + log (O/H) = 8.05 ± 0.09. We show here that they are at the extreme end of the metallicity distribution of dwarf galaxies and propose that low metallicity is a requirement to produce these rare and peculiar SNe

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0035-8711
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 January 2019
Date of Acceptance:	17 June 2015
Last Modified:	06 May 2023 09:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/118733

Citation Data

Cited 74 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item