The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem
Analysis of pre-explosion imaging has confirmed red supergiants (RSGs) as the progenitors to Type II-P supernovae (SNe). However, extracting an RSG's luminosity requires assumptions regarding the star’s temperature or spectral type and the corresponding bolometric correction, circumstellar exti...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8f3f |
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| author | Emma R. Beasor Nathan Smith Jacob E. Jencson |
| author_facet | Emma R. Beasor Nathan Smith Jacob E. Jencson |
| author_sort | Emma R. Beasor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Analysis of pre-explosion imaging has confirmed red supergiants (RSGs) as the progenitors to Type II-P supernovae (SNe). However, extracting an RSG's luminosity requires assumptions regarding the star’s temperature or spectral type and the corresponding bolometric correction, circumstellar extinction, and possible variability. The robustness of these assumptions is difficult to test since we cannot go back in time and obtain additional pre-explosion imaging. Here, we perform a simple test using the RSGs in M31, which have been well observed from optical to mid-IR. We ask the following: By treating each star as if we only had single-band photometry and making assumptions typically used in SN progenitor studies, what bolometric luminosity would we infer for each star? How close is this to the bolometric luminosity for that same star inferred from the full optical-to-IR spectral energy distribution (SED)? We find common assumptions adopted in progenitor studies systematically underestimate the bolometric luminosity by a factor of 2, typically leading to inferred progenitor masses that are systematically too low. Additionally, we find a much larger spread in luminosity derived from single-filter photometry compared to SED-derived luminosities, indicating uncertainties in progenitor luminosities are also underestimated. When these corrections and larger uncertainties are included in the analysis, even the most luminous known RSGs are not ruled out at the 3 σ level, indicating there is currently no statistically significant evidence that the most luminous RSGs are missing from the observed sample of II-P progenitors. The proposed correction also alleviates the problem of having progenitors with masses below the expected lower-mass bound for core collapse. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4a9951501aa7411cb6e1974829e25782 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-4a9951501aa7411cb6e1974829e257822025-01-21T11:30:12ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01979211710.3847/1538-4357/ad8f3fThe Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity ProblemEmma R. Beasor0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4666-4606Nathan Smith1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5510-2424Jacob E. Jencson2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5754-4007Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USAIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAAnalysis of pre-explosion imaging has confirmed red supergiants (RSGs) as the progenitors to Type II-P supernovae (SNe). However, extracting an RSG's luminosity requires assumptions regarding the star’s temperature or spectral type and the corresponding bolometric correction, circumstellar extinction, and possible variability. The robustness of these assumptions is difficult to test since we cannot go back in time and obtain additional pre-explosion imaging. Here, we perform a simple test using the RSGs in M31, which have been well observed from optical to mid-IR. We ask the following: By treating each star as if we only had single-band photometry and making assumptions typically used in SN progenitor studies, what bolometric luminosity would we infer for each star? How close is this to the bolometric luminosity for that same star inferred from the full optical-to-IR spectral energy distribution (SED)? We find common assumptions adopted in progenitor studies systematically underestimate the bolometric luminosity by a factor of 2, typically leading to inferred progenitor masses that are systematically too low. Additionally, we find a much larger spread in luminosity derived from single-filter photometry compared to SED-derived luminosities, indicating uncertainties in progenitor luminosities are also underestimated. When these corrections and larger uncertainties are included in the analysis, even the most luminous known RSGs are not ruled out at the 3 σ level, indicating there is currently no statistically significant evidence that the most luminous RSGs are missing from the observed sample of II-P progenitors. The proposed correction also alleviates the problem of having progenitors with masses below the expected lower-mass bound for core collapse.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8f3fCore-collapse supernovaeType II supernovaeMassive stars |
| spellingShingle | Emma R. Beasor Nathan Smith Jacob E. Jencson The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem The Astrophysical Journal Core-collapse supernovae Type II supernovae Massive stars |
| title | The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem |
| title_full | The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem |
| title_fullStr | The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem |
| title_short | The Red Supergiant Progenitor Luminosity Problem |
| title_sort | red supergiant progenitor luminosity problem |
| topic | Core-collapse supernovae Type II supernovae Massive stars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8f3f |
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