Speaker
Mr
Jason Dittmann
(Harvard University)
Description
We present time series radio data of the type Ic supernova SN 2004C taken with the
VLA from January 2004 through April 2009 at 4.9 GHz, 8.5 GHz, 15 GHz, and 22
GHz. We also present 3 epochs of Chandra data taken 110, 170, and 1150 days after
the initial explosion. We model our radio data for each epoch with a synchrotron self
absorbed spectrum, and apply the dynamical model of Chevalier (1998) to infer the
properties of the forward shock as well the the mass loss rate of the progenitor star
prior to the explosion. We find an abnormally high mass loss rate for the star, $\sim
7 * 10^{-4} M_\sun per yr. We further find that shortly before the explosion, the
mass loss rate, while still high, was steadily weakening by a factor of a few in the
final decade before the supernova explosion, implying that the rapid changes in the
core of the progenitor star were being communicated to the surface and weakening
the mass loss rate.
Primary author
Mr
Jason Dittmann
(Harvard University)
Co-author
Dr
Alicia Soderberg
(Harvard University)
