The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2023)

Revealing the Progenitor of SN 2021zby through Analysis of the TESS Shock-cooling Light Curve

  • Qinan Wang,
  • Patrick Armstrong,
  • Yossef Zenati,
  • Ryan Ridden-Harper,
  • Armin Rest,
  • Iair Arcavi,
  • Charles D. Kilpatrick,
  • Ryan J. Foley,
  • Brad E. Tucker,
  • Chris Lidman,
  • Thomas L. Killestein,
  • Melissa Shahbandeh,
  • Joseph P Anderson,
  • Rodrigo Angulo,
  • Chris Ashall,
  • Jamison Burke,
  • Ting-Wan Chen,
  • Sophie von Coelln,
  • Kyle A. Dalrymple,
  • Kyle W. Davis,
  • Michael D. Fulton,
  • Lluís Galbany,
  • Estefania Padilla Gonzalez,
  • Bore Gao,
  • Mariusz Gromadzki,
  • D. Andrew Howell,
  • Nada Ihanec,
  • Jacob E. Jencson,
  • David O. Jones,
  • Joseph D. Lyman,
  • Curtis McCully,
  • Tomás E. Müller-Bravo,
  • Megan Newsome,
  • Matt Nicholl,
  • David O’Neill,
  • Craig Pellegrino,
  • Sofia Rest,
  • Stephen J. Smartt,
  • Ken Smith,
  • Shubham Srivastav,
  • Giacomo Terreran,
  • Samaporn Tinyanont,
  • David R. Young,
  • Alfredo Zenteno

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acb0d0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 943, no. 2
p. L15

Abstract

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We present early observations and analysis of the double-peaked Type IIb supernova (SN IIb) SN 2021zby. TESS captured the prominent early shock-cooling peak of SN 2021zby within the first ∼10 days after explosion with a 30 minute cadence. We present optical and near-infrared spectral series of SN 2021zby, including three spectra during the shock-cooling phase. Using a multiband model fit, we find that the inferred properties of its progenitor are consistent with a red supergiant or yellow supergiant, with an envelope mass of ∼0.30–0.65 M _⊙ and an envelope radius of ∼120–300 R _⊙ . These inferred progenitor properties are similar to those of other SNe IIb with a double-peaked feature, such as SNe 1993J, 2011dh, 2016gkg, and 2017jgh. This study further validates the importance of the high cadence and early coverage in resolving the shape of the shock-cooling light curve, while the multiband observations, particularly UV, are also necessary to fully constrain the progenitor properties.

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