Supernova 2012ec : identification of the progenitor and early monitoring with PESSTO

• We present the identification of the progenitor of the Type IIP SN 2012ec in archival pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and Advanced Camera for Surveys Wide Field Channel F814W images. The properties of the progenitor are further constrained by non-detections in pre-explosion WFPC2 F450W and F606W images. We report a series of early photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2012ec. The r' -band light curve shows a plateau with M-r' = -17.0. The early spectrum is similar to the Type IIP SN 1999em, with the expansion velocity measured at Ha absorption minimum of -11 700 km s(-1) (at 1 d post-discovery). The photometric and spectroscopic evolution of SN 2012ec shows it to be a Type IIP SN, discovered only a few days post-explosion (<6 d). We derive a luminosity for the progenitor, in comparison with MARCS model spectral energy distributions, of log L/L-circle dot = 5.15 +/- 0.19, from which we infer an initial mass range of 14-22M(circle dot). This is the first SN with an identified progenitor to be followed by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO).

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

supernovae: general

supernovae: individual: 2012ec

galaxies: individual: NGC 1084

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