Late-time Observations of Calcium-Rich Transient SN 2019ehk Reveal a Pure Radioactive Decay Power Source

TL;DR

Late-time Hubble observations of SN 2019ehk show its luminosity is mainly powered by radioactive decay of cobalt-56, with no evidence of incomplete positron trapping, supporting a white dwarf merger origin.

Contribution

First late-time photometric analysis of a Calcium-rich transient revealing radioactive decay as the dominant power source.

Findings

Bolometric light curve consistent with ${}^{56}$Co decay.

Derived ${}^{56}$Co mass of approximately 0.028 solar masses.

No statistical evidence for incomplete positron trapping.

Abstract

We present $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$ imaging of the Calcium-rich supernova (SN) 2019ehk at 276 - 389 days after explosion. These observations represent the latest photometric measurements of a Calcium-rich transient to date and allows for the first opportunity to analyze the late-time evolution of an object in this observational SN class. We find that the late-time bolometric light curve of SN 2019ehk can be described predominantly through the radioactive decay of ${}^{56}\textrm{Co}$ for which we derive a mass of $M({}^{56}\textrm{Co}) = (2.8 \pm 0.1) \times 10^{-2}$$\rm{M}_\odot$. Furthermore, the rate of decline in bolometric luminosity requires the leakage of $\gamma$-rays on timescale $t_{\gamma} = 53.9 \pm 1.30$ days, but we find no statistical evidence for incomplete positron trapping in the SN ejecta. While our observations cannot constrain the exact masses of other radioactive isotopes synthesized in SN 2019ehk, we estimate a mass ratio limit of $M({}^{57}\textrm{Co}) / M({}^{56}\textrm{Co}) \leq 0.030$. This limit is consistent with the explosive nucleosynthesis produced in the merger of low-mass white dwarfs, which is one of the favored progenitor scenarios in early-time studies of SN 2019ehk.