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26 April 2024 |
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Article overview
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The Nature of SN 1961V | You-Hua Chu
; Robert A. Gruendl
; Christopher J. Stockdale
; Michael P. Rupen
; John J. Cowan
; Scott W. Teare
; | Date: |
19 Feb 2004 | Subject: | astro-ph | Affiliation: | UIUC), Robert A. Gruendl (UIUC), Christopher J. Stockdale (Marquette U.), Michael P. Rupen (NRAO), John J. Cowan (Univ of Oklahoma), and Scott W. Teare (New Mexico Tech | Abstract: | The nature of SN 1961V has been uncertain. Its peculiar optical light curve and slow expansion velocity are similar to those of super-outbursts of luminous blue variables (LBVs), but its nonthermal radio spectral index and declining radio luminosity are consistent with decades-old supernovae (SNe). We have obtained Hubble Space Telescope STIS images and spectra of the stars in the vicinity of SN 1961V, and find Object 7 identified by Filippenko et al. to be the closest to the optical and radio positions of SN 1961V. Object 7 is the only point source detected in our STIS spectra and only its H-alpha emission is detected; it cannot be the SN or its remnant because of the absence of forbidden lines. While the H-alpha line profile of Object 7 is remarkably similar to that of eta Car, the blue color (similar to an A2Ib supergiant) and lack of appreciable variability are unlike known post-outburst LBVs. We have also obtained Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of SN 1961V at 18 cm. The non-detection of SN 1961V places a lower limit on the size of the radio-emitting region, 7.6 mas or 0.34 pc, which implies an average expansion velocity in excess of 4,400 km/s, much higher than the optical expansion velocity measured in 1961. We conclude the following: (1) A SN occurred in the vicinity of SN 1961V a few decades ago. (2) If the SN 1961V light maximum originates from a giant eruption of a massive star, Object 7 is the most probable candidate for the survivor, but its blue color and lack of significant variability are different from a post-outburst eta Car. (3) The radio SN and Object 7 could be physically associated with each other through a binary system. (4) Object 7 needs to be monitored to determine its nature and relationship to SN 1961V. | Source: | arXiv, astro-ph/0402473 | Services: | Forum | Review | PDF | Favorites |
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