The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2025)
A Multiwavelength Autopsy of the Interacting Type IIn Supernova 2020ywx: Tracing Its Progenitor Mass-loss History for 100 Yr Before Death
- Raphael Baer-Way,
- Poonam Chandra,
- Maryam Modjaz,
- Sahana Kumar,
- Craig Pellegrino,
- Roger Chevalier,
- Adrian Crawford,
- Arkaprabha Sarangi,
- Nathan Smith,
- Keiichi Maeda,
- Nayana A. J.,
- Alexei V. Filippenko,
- Jennifer E. Andrews,
- Iair Arcavi,
- K. Azalee Bostroem,
- Thomas G. Brink,
- Yize Dong,
- Vikram Dwarkadas,
- Joseph R. Farah,
- D. Andrew Howell,
- Daichi Hiramatsu,
- Griffin Hosseinzadeh,
- Curtis McCully,
- Nicolas Meza,
- Megan Newsome,
- Estefania Padilla Gonzalez,
- Jeniveve Pearson,
- David J. Sand,
- Manisha Shrestha,
- Giacomo Terreran,
- Stefano Valenti,
- Samuel Wyatt,
- Yi Yang,
- WeiKang Zheng
Affiliations
- Raphael Baer-Way
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA; National Radio Astronomy Observatory , 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
- Poonam Chandra
- ORCiD
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory , 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA; National Centre for Radio Astrophysics , TIFR, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411007, India
- Maryam Modjaz
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- Sahana Kumar
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- Craig Pellegrino
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- Roger Chevalier
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- Adrian Crawford
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- Arkaprabha Sarangi
- ORCiD
- DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 155A, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark; Indian Institute of Astrophysics , 100 Feet Road, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034, India
- Nathan Smith
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
- Keiichi Maeda
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University , Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
- Nayana A. J.
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Alexei V. Filippenko
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Jennifer E. Andrews
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory , 670 North A‘ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720-2700, USA
- Iair Arcavi
- ORCiD
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- K. Azalee Bostroem
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
- Thomas G. Brink
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Yize Dong
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516, USA
- Vikram Dwarkadas
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago , 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, ERC 569, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Joseph R. Farah
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Las Cumbres Observatory , 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117-5575, USA
- D. Andrew Howell
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Las Cumbres Observatory , 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117-5575, USA
- Daichi Hiramatsu
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516, USA; The NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Griffin Hosseinzadeh
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California , San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0424, La Jolla, CA 92093-0424, USA
- Curtis McCully
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Las Cumbres Observatory , 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117-5575, USA
- Nicolas Meza
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
- Megan Newsome
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Las Cumbres Observatory , 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117-5575, USA
- Estefania Padilla Gonzalez
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Las Cumbres Observatory , 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117-5575, USA
- Jeniveve Pearson
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
- David J. Sand
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
- Manisha Shrestha
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
- Giacomo Terreran
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Las Cumbres Observatory , 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117-5575, USA
- Stefano Valenti
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
- Samuel Wyatt
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Mail Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Yi Yang
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- WeiKang Zheng
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc00a
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 983,
no. 2
p. 101
Abstract
While the subclass of interacting supernovae (SNe) with narrow hydrogen emission lines (Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn)) consists of some of the longest-lasting and brightest supernovae (SNe) ever discovered, their progenitors are still not well understood. Investigating SNe IIn as they emit across the electromagnetic spectrum is the most robust way to understand the progenitor evolution before the explosion. This work presents X-ray, optical, infrared, and radio observations of the strongly interacting Type IIn supernova, SN 2020ywx, covering a period >1200 days after discovery. Through multiwavelength modeling, we find that the progenitor of 2020ywx was losing mass at ∼10 ^−2 –10 ^−3 M _⊙ yr ^−1 for at least 100 yr pre-explosion using the circumstellar medium (CSM) speed of 120 km s ^−1 measured from optical and near-infrared (NIR) spectra. Despite the similar magnitude of mass loss measured in different wavelength ranges, we find discrepancies between the X-ray and optical/radio-derived mass-loss evolution, which suggest asymmetries in the CSM. Furthermore, we find evidence for dust formation due to the combination of a growing blueshift in optical emission lines and NIR continuum emission which we fit with blackbodies at ∼1000 K. Based on the observed elevated mass loss over more than 100 yr and the configuration of the CSM inferred from the multiwavelength observations, we invoke binary interaction as the most plausible mechanism to explain the overall mass-loss evolution. SN 2020ywx is thus a case that may support the growing observational consensus that SNe IIn mass loss is explained by binary interaction.
Keywords
- Type II supernovae
- Stellar mass loss
- Radio transient sources
- X-ray transient sources
- Circumstellar matter
