The disappearance of the blue and luminous progenitor of the Type IIn SN 2010jl

TL;DR

This study analyzes the progenitor of Type IIn SN 2010jl, revealing it was a luminous, blue star possibly in outburst, with its environment suggesting a complex evolutionary history.

Contribution

It provides a detailed re-evaluation of the progenitor's nature and environment using new Hubble data, clarifying previous blending issues and progenitor properties.

Findings

Progenitor was a luminous, blue star with high temperature and luminosity.

Progenitor's luminosity exceeds expectations from local stellar populations.

Progenitor likely in outburst at the time of observation.

Abstract

Type IIn supernovae (SNe) exhibit narrow hydrogen lines that arise from the strong interaction between ejecta and circumstellar material. It remains poorly understood, however, what progenitor stars give rise to these explosions. In this work, we perform a detailed analysis of the progenitor and environment of the nearby Type IIn SN 2010jl. With newer images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, we confirm that the previously reported progenitor candidate is a blend of the progenitor itself and a field star cluster in its close vicinity. SN 2010jl has now become much fainter than the progenitor. The progenitor is very blue and luminous with an effective temperature of log $T_{\rm eff}/{\rm K}$=4.26$^{+0.11}_{-0.09}$ and a luminosity of log $L/L_{\odot}$ =6.52$^{+0.20}_{-0.16}$. It is located in a very young star-forming region, but its luminosity is much higher than that expected from the environmental stellar populations. We suggest that the progenitor was in outburst when observed. Its nature and evolutionary history remain to be investigated.