An outburst from a massive star 40 days before a supernova explosion.
Nature 2013;
494:65-7. [PMID:
23389540 DOI:
10.1038/nature11877]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2012] [Accepted: 12/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Some observations suggest that very massive stars experience extreme mass-loss episodes shortly before they explode as supernovae, as do several models. Establishing a causal connection between these mass-loss episodes and the final explosion would provide a novel way to study pre-supernova massive-star evolution. Here we report observations of a mass-loss event detected 40 days before the explosion of the type IIn supernova SN 2010mc (also known as PTF 10tel). Our photometric and spectroscopic data suggest that this event is a result of an energetic outburst, radiating at least 6 × 10(47) erg of energy and releasing about 10(-2) solar masses of material at typical velocities of 2,000 km s(-1). The temporal proximity of the mass-loss outburst and the supernova explosion implies a causal connection between them. Moreover, we find that the outburst luminosity and velocity are consistent with the predictions of the wave-driven pulsation model, and disfavour alternative suggestions.
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