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Progenitor and close-in circumstellar medium of type II supernova 2020fqv from high-cadence photometry and ultra-rapid UV spectroscopy

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  • Samaporn Tinyanont
  • R Ridden-Harper
  • R J Foley
  • V Morozova
  • C D Kilpatrick
  • L DeMarchi
  • A Gagliano
  • W V Jacobson-Galán
  • A Messick
  • J D R Pierel
  • A L Piro
  • E Ramirez-Ruiz
  • M R Siebert
  • K C Chambers
  • K E Clever
  • D A Coulter
  • K De
  • M Hankins
  • T Hung
  • S W Jha
  • C E Jimenez Angel
  • D O Jones
  • M M Kasliwal
  • C-C Lin
  • R Marques-Chaves
  • R Margutti
  • A Moore
  • I Pérez-Fournon
  • F Poidevin
  • A Rest
  • R Shirley
  • C S Smith
  • E Strasburger
  • J J Swift
  • R J Wainscoat
  • Q Wang
  • Y Zenati
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/05/2022
<mark>Journal</mark>Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Issue number2
Volume512
Number of pages21
Pages (from-to)2777-2797
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

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⊙ (1014 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 × 1046 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 MZAMS ≈ 13.5-15 M⊙, 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.