Abstract
Abstract
We present extensive multifrequency Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the radio-bright supernova (SN) IIb SN 2004C that span ∼40–2793 days post-explosion. We interpret the temporal evolution of the radio spectral energy distribution in the context of synchrotron self-absorbed emission from the explosion’s forward shock as it expands in the circumstellar medium (CSM) previously sculpted by the mass-loss history of the stellar progenitor. VLBA observations and modeling of the VLA data point to a blastwave with average velocity ∼0.06 c that carries an energy of ≈1049 erg. Our modeling further reveals a flat CSM density profile ρ
CSM ∝ R
−0.03±0.22 up to a break radius R
br ≈ (1.96 ± 0.10) × 1016 cm, with a steep density gradient following ρ
CSM ∝ R
−2.3±0.5 at larger radii. We infer that the flat part of the density profile corresponds to a CSM shell with mass ∼0.021 M
☉, and that the progenitor’s effective mass-loss rate varied with time over the range (50–500) × 10−5
M
☉ yr−1 for an adopted wind velocity v
w
= 1000 km s−1 and shock microphysical parameters ϵ
e
= 0.1, ϵ
B
= 0.01. These results add to the mounting observational evidence for departures from the traditional single-wind mass-loss scenarios in evolved, massive stars in the centuries leading up to core collapse. Potentially viable scenarios include mass loss powered by gravity waves and/or interaction with a binary companion.
Funder
National Science Foundation
Heising-Simons Foundation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Subject
Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cited by
4 articles.
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