ON THE PROGENITOR AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE TYPE II SUPERNOVA 2009kr
: Fraser M, Takats K, Pastorello A, Smartt SJ, Mattila S, Botticella MT, Valenti S, Ergon M, Sollerman J, Arcavi I, Benetti S, Bufano F, Crockett RM, Danziger IJ, Gal-Yam A, Maund JR, Taubenberger S, Turatto M
Publisher: IOP PUBLISHING LTD
: 2010
: Astrophysical Journal Letters
: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
: ASTROPHYS J LETT
: 2
: 714
: 2
: L280
: L284
: 5
: 2041-8205
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/714/2/L280
We identify a source coincident with SN 2009kr in Hubble Space Telescope pre-explosion images. The object appears to be a single point source with an intrinsic color V - I = 1.1 +/- 0.25 and M(V) = -7.6 +/- 0.6. If this is a single star, it would be a yellow supergiant of log L/L(circle dot) similar to 5.1 and a mass of 15(-4)(+5) M(circle dot). The spatial resolution does not allow us yet to definitively determine if the progenitor object is a single star, a binary system, or a compact cluster. We show that the early light curve is similar to a Type IIL SN, but the prominent H alpha P-Cygni profiles and the signature of the end of a recombination phase are reminiscent of a Type IIP. The evolution of the expanding ejecta will play an important role in understanding the progenitor object.