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The massive binary companion star to the progenitor of supernova 1993J

Nature volume 427, pages 129–131 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The massive star that underwent a collapse of its core to produce supernova (SN)1993J was subsequently identified as a non-variable red supergiant star in images of the galaxy M81 taken before explosion1,2. It showed an excess in ultraviolet and B-band colours, suggesting either the presence of a hot, massive companion star or that it was embedded in an unresolved young stellar association1. The spectra of SN1993J underwent a remarkable transformation from the signature of a hydrogen-rich type II supernova to one of a helium-rich (hydrogen-deficient) type Ib3,4. The spectral and photometric peculiarities were best explained by models in which the 13–20 solar mass supergiant had lost almost its entire hydrogen envelope to a close binary companion5,6,7, producing a ‘type IIb’ supernova, but the hypothetical massive companion stars for this class of supernovae have so far eluded discovery. Here we report photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN1993J ten years after the explosion. At the position of the fading supernova we detect the unambiguous signature of a massive star: the binary companion to the progenitor.

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Figure 1: An HST ACS High Resolution Camera (HRC) F330W (∼ U-band) image of SN1993J.
Figure 2: Near-ultraviolet spectra of SN1993J.
Figure 3: Hertzsprung–Russell diagram illustrating the evolution of the progenitor binary of SN1993J.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the University of Hawaii. We thank R. Ryans for providing us with new TLUSTY calculations of the hydrogen line spectra for B-type supergiants. J.R.M. and S.J.S. thank PPARC for financial support and thank A. D. Mackey and J. Mack for advice concerning photometric data analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, CB3 0HA, Cambridge, UK

    Justyn R. Maund, Stephen J. Smartt & Gerard F. Gilmore

  2. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2860 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, 96822, Hawaii, USA

    Rolf P. Kudritzki

  3. University of Oxford, Astrophysics, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK

    Philipp Podsiadlowski

Authors
  1. Justyn R. Maund
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  2. Stephen J. Smartt
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  4. Philipp Podsiadlowski
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  5. Gerard F. Gilmore
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Correspondence to Justyn R. Maund.

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Maund, J., Smartt, S., Kudritzki, R. et al. The massive binary companion star to the progenitor of supernova 1993J. Nature 427, 129–131 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02161

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