The Candidate Progenitor Companion Star of the Type Ib/c SN 2013ge

Ori D. Fox, Schuyler D. Van Dyk, Benjamin F. Williams, Maria Drout, Emmanouil Zapartas, Nathan Smith, Dan Milisavljevic, Jennifer E. Andrews, K. Azalee Bostroem, Alexei V. Filippenko, Sebastian Gomez, Patrick L. Kelly, S. E. De Mink, Justin Pierel, Armin Rest, Stuart Ryder, Niharika Sravan, Lou Strolger, Qinan Wang, Kathryn E. Weil

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

This Letter presents the detection of a source at the position of the Type Ib/c supernova (SN) 2013ge more than four years after the radioactive component is expected to have faded. This source could mark the first post-SN direct detection of a surviving companion to a stripped-envelope Type Ib/c explosion. We test this hypothesis and find the shape of the source's spectral energy distribution is most consistent with that of a B5 I supergiant. While binary models tend to predict OB-type stars for stripped-envelope companions, the location of the source on a color-magnitude diagram places it redward of its more likely position on the main sequence (MS). The source may be temporarily out of thermal equilibrium, or a cool and inflated non-MS companion, which is similar to the suggested companion of Type Ib SN 2019yvr that was constrained from pre-SN imaging. We also consider other possible physical scenarios for the source, including a fading SN, circumstellar shock interaction, line-of-sight coincidence, and an unresolved host star cluster, all of which will require future observations to more definitively rule out. Ultimately, the fraction of surviving companions ("binary fraction") will provide necessary constraints on binary evolution models and the underlying physics.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberL15
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume929
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Candidate Progenitor Companion Star of the Type Ib/c SN 2013ge'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this