Supernova 2003ie Was Likely a Faint Type IIP Event

TL;DR

This study analyzes Supernova 2003ie, concluding it was a faint Type IIP event likely originating from a low-mass progenitor, which challenges previous assumptions about high-mass RSG progenitors in such supernovae.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of core collapse SN light curve templates in classifying supernovae with limited data and identifies SN2003ie as a faint Type IIP, expanding understanding of progenitor masses.

Findings

SN2003ie was a faint Type IIP supernova.

It likely originated from a low-mass progenitor (<12 M_sun).

Core collapse SN light curve templates aid in classifying sparse data supernovae.

Abstract

We present new photometric observations of Supernova (SN) 2003ie starting one month before discovery, obtained serendipitously while observing its host galaxy. With only a weak upper limit derived on the mass of its progenitor (<25 M_sun) from pre-explosion studies, this event could be a potential exception to the "red supergiant (RSG) problem" (the lack of high mass RSGs exploding as Type IIP supernovae). However, this is true only if SN2003ie was a Type IP event, something which has never been determined. Using recently derived core collapse SN light curve templates, as well as by comparison to other known SNe, we find that SN2003ie was indeed a likely Type IIP event. However, it is found to be a member of the faint Type IIP class. Previous members of this class have been shown to arise from relatively low mass progenitors (<12 M_sun). It therefore seems unlikely that this SN had a massive RSG progenitor. The use of core collapse SN light curve templates is shown to be helpful in classifying SNe with sparse coverage. These templates are likely to become more robust as large homogeneous samples of core collapse events are collected.