Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Yuan, F
• Quimby, R. M
• Wheeler, J. C
• Vinkó, J
• Chatzopoulos, E
• Akerlof, C. W
• Kulkarni, S
• Miller, J. M
• McKay, T. A
• Aharonian, F

Titel

The Exceptionally Luminous Type Ia Supernova 2007if

Ist Teil von

• The Astrophysical journal, 2010-06, Vol.715 (2), p.1338-1343

Ort / Verlag

United States: IOP Publishing

Erscheinungsjahr

2010

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• SN 2007if was the third over-luminous Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) detected after 2003fg and 2006gz. We present the photometric and spectroscopic observations of the SN and its host by ROTSE-III, HET, and Keck. From the H{sub {alpha}} line identified in the host spectra, we determine a redshift of 0.0736. At this distance, the SN reached an absolute magnitude of -20.4, brighter than any other SNe Ia ever observed. If the source of luminosity is radioactive decay, a large amount of radioactive nickel ({approx}1.5 M {sub sun}) is required to power the peak luminosity, more than can be produced realistically in a Chandrasekhar mass progenitor. Low expansion velocity, similar to that of 2003fg, is also measured around the maximum light. The observations may suggest that SN 2007if was from a massive white dwarf progenitor, plausibly exploding with mass well beyond 1.4 M {sub sun}. Alternatively, we investigate circumstellar interaction that may contribute to the excess luminosity.