Friday, October 21, 2011

1110.1377 (Patrick L. Kelly et al.)

Core-Collapse Supernovae and Host Galaxy Stellar Populations    [PDF]

Patrick L. Kelly, Robert P. Kirshner
We have used images and spectra of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to examine the host galaxies of 519 nearby supernovae. The colors at the sites of the explosions, as well as chemical abundances, and specific star formation rates of the host galaxies provide circumstantial evidence on the origin of each supernova type. We examine separately SN II, SN IIn, SN IIb, SN Ib, SN Ic, and SN Ic with broad lines (SN Ic-BL). Type Ic SN explode at small host offsets, and their hosts have exceptionally strongly star-forming, metal-rich, and dusty stellar populations near their centers. The SN Ic-BL and SN IIb explode in exceptionally blue locations, and we find that their host galaxies have lower oxygen abundance than the hosts of their respective close spectroscopic cousins, SN Ic and SN Ib. The host galaxies of SN Ic-BL also exhibit strong central specific star formation rates. In contrast, we find no strong evidence for different environments for SN IIn compared to the sites of SN II. We take account of the source of the supernova discoveries, whether from targeted searches or from galaxy-impartial surveys, and show that these results are robust.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.1377

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