Igor M. Volkov

SN 2008S: an electron‐capture SN from a super‐AGB progenitor?

We present comprehensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of the faint transient SN 2008S discovered in the nearby galaxy NGC 6946. SN 2008S exhibited slow photometric evolution and almost no spectral variability during the first nine months, implying a long photon diffusion time and a high-density circumstellar medium. Its bolometric luminosity (≃10^(41) erg s^(−)1 at peak) is low with respect to most core-collapse supernovae but is comparable to the faintest Type II-P events. Our quasi-bolometric light curve extends to 300 d and shows a tail phase decay rate consistent with that of ^(56)Co. We propose that this is evidence for an explosion and formation of ^(56)Ni (0.0014 ± 0.0003 M_⊙). Spectra of SN 2008S show intense emission lines of Hα, [Ca ii] doublet and Ca ii near-infrared (NIR) triplet, all without obvious P-Cygni absorption troughs. The large mid-infrared (MIR) flux detected shortly after explosion can be explained by a light echo from pre-existing dust. The late NIR flux excess is plausibly due to a combination of warm newly formed ejecta dust together with shock-heated dust in the circumstellar environment. We reassess the progenitor object detected previously in Spitzer archive images, supplementing this discussion with a model of the MIR spectral energy distribution. This supports the idea of a dusty, optically thick shell around SN 2008S with an inner radius of nearly 90 au and outer radius of 450 au, and an inferred heating source of 3000 K. The luminosity of the central star is L ≃ 10^(4.6) L_⊙ . All the nearby progenitor dust was likely evaporated in the explosion leaving only the much older dust lying further out in the circumstellar environment. The combination of our long-term multiwavelength monitoring data and the evidence from the progenitor analysis leads us to support the scenario of a weak electron-capture supernova explosion in a super-asymptotic giant branch progenitor star (of initial mass 6–8 M_⊙ ) embedded within a thick circumstellar gaseous envelope. We suggest that all of main properties of the electron-capture SN phenomenon are observed in SN 2008S and future observations may allow a definitive answer.

Ellipsoidal Variable V1197 Orionis: Absolute Light-Velocity Analysis for Known Distance

V1197 Orionis light curves from a long-term observing program for red giant binaries show ellipsoidal variation of small amplitude in the V and RC bands, although not clearly in U and B. Eclipses are not detected. All four bands show large irregular intrinsic variations, including fleeting quasi-periodicities identified by power spectra, that degrade analysis and may be caused by dynamical tides generated by orbital eccentricity. To deal with the absence of eclipses and consequent lack of astrophysical and geometrical information, direct use is made of the Hipparcos parallax distance while the V and RC light curves and (older) radial velocity curves are analyzed simultaneously in terms of absolute flux. The red giants temperature is estimated from new spectra. This type of analysis, called Inverse Distance Estimation for brevity, is new and can also be applied to other ellipsoidal variables. Advantages gained by utilization of definite distance and temperature are discussed in regard to how radius, fractional lobe filling, and mass ratio information are expressed in the observations. The advantages were tested in solutions of noisy synthetic data. Also discussed and tested by simulations are ideas on the optimal number of light curves to be solved simultaneously under various conditions. The dim companion has not been observed or discussed in the literature but most solutions find its mass to be well below that of the red giant. Solutions show red giant masses that are too low for evolution to the red giant stage within the age of the Galaxy, although that result is probably an artifact of the intrinsic brightness fluctuations.

Apsidal motion in the eclipsing binary GG Ori

AbstractHigh-precision WBVR photoelectric observations of the eclipsing binary GG Ori (B9.5V+B9.5V), which has an eccentric orbit (e=0.22), were carried out in 1988–2001 at the Moscow and high-altitude Tian-Shan Observatories of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute. The aim of these observations was investigation of the apsidal motion of the system. Analysis of the resulting 12-year series of observations enabled us for the first time to accurately (to within 11%) measure the rate of rotation of the orbit

Physical parameters and orbit of the eclipsing binary BD +66 1663 = GSC 4479 412

\dot \omega _{obs} = 0.046 \pm 0.005^\circ /yr

Multiplicity and apsidal motion in the eclipsing binary EQ Boo

and to appreciably improve estimates of the photometric and absolute parameters. The observed value of

Light Curves of the Type II-P Supernova SN 2017eaw: The First 200 Days

\dot \omega _{obs}