Observations of the M82 SN 2014J with the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope

TL;DR

This paper presents high-cadence observations of supernova 2014J in M82 using KELT, providing detailed light curve data that constrains explosion timing, smoothness, and limits on additional energy sources.

Contribution

It offers the first high-cadence, high S/N light curve data for SN 2014J, enabling new constraints on explosion characteristics and circumstellar environment.

Findings

Determined the supernova's explosion and peak times.

Placed upper limits on additional luminosity sources.

Analyzed light curve smoothness on short timescales.

Abstract

We report observations of the bright M82 supernova 2014J serendipitously obtained with the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT). The SN was observed at high cadence for over 100 days, from pre-explosion, to early rise and peak times, through the secondary bump. The high cadence KELT data with high S/N is completely unique for SN 2014J and for any other SNIa, with the exception of the (yet) unpublished Kepler data. Here, we report determinations of the SN explosion time and peak time. We also report measures of the "smoothness" of the light curve on timescales of minutes/hours never before probed, and we use this to place limits on energy produced from short-lived isotopes or inhomogeneities in the explosion or the circumstellar medium. From the non-observation of significant perturbations of the light curves, we derive a 3sigma upper-limit corresponding to 8.7 x 10^36 erg/s for any such extra sources of luminosity at optical wavelengths.