Evidence for a compact Wolf-Rayet progenitor for the Type Ic supernova PTF 10vgv

TL;DR

This paper reports early observations of the Type Ic supernova PTF 10vgv, providing evidence that its progenitor was a compact Wolf-Rayet star with a radius less than about 4.5 solar radii, based on early detection limits and modeling.

Contribution

It offers the first direct observational constraints supporting a Wolf-Rayet star as the progenitor for a Type Ic supernova through early detection analysis.

Findings

Progenitor radius constrained to R .5 Rsun for PTF 10vgv.

Early detection limits support a compact Wolf-Rayet progenitor.

Analysis of SN 1994I suggests a similarly small progenitor radius.

Abstract

We present the discovery of PTF 10vgv, a Type Ic supernova detected by the Palomar Transient Factory, using the Palomar 48-inch telescope (P48). R-band observations of the PTF 10vgv field with P48 probe the supernova emission from its very early phases (about two weeks before R-band maximum), and set limits on its flux in the week prior to the discovery. Our sensitive upper limits and early detections constrain the post-shock-breakout luminosity of this event. Via comparison to numerical (analytical) models, we derive an upper-limit of R \lesssim 4.5 Rsun (R \lesssim 1 Rsun) on the radius of the progenitor star, a direct indication in favor of a compact Wolf-Rayet star. Applying a similar analysis to the historical observations of SN 1994I, yields R \lesssim 1/4 Rsun for the progenitor radius of this supernova.