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Aims. We add four warmer late-type supergiants to our previous spectro-interferometric studies of red giants and supergiants. Methods. We measure the near-continuum angular diameter, derive fundamental parameters, discuss the evolutionary stage, and study extended atmospheric atomic and molecular layers. Results. V766 Cen (=HR 5171 A) is found to be a high-luminosity (log L=L⊙ = 5.8 ± 0.4) source of effective temperature 4290 ± 760K and radius 1490 ± 540 R⊙, located in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram close to both the Hayashi limit and Eddington limit; this source is consistent with a 40 M⊙ evolutionary track without rotation and current mass 27-36 M⊙ . V766 Cen exhibits Na I in emission arising from a shell of radius 1.5 RPhot and a photocenter displacement of about 0.1 RPhot. It shows strong extended molecular (CO) layers and a dusty circumstellar background component. The other three sources are found to have lower luminosities of about log L=L⊙ = 3:4-3.5, corresponding to 5-9 M⊙ evolutionary tracks. They cover effective temperatures of 3900K to 5300K and radii of 60-120 R⊙. They do not show extended molecular layers as observed for higher luminosity RSGs of our sample. BM Sco shows an unusually strong contribution by an over-resolved circumstellar dust component. Conclusions. V766 Cen is a red supergiant located close to the Hayashi limit instead of a yellow hypergiant already evolving back toward warmer effective temperatures as discussed in the literature. Our observations of the Na i line and the extended molecular layers suggest an optically thick pseudo-photosphere at about 1.5 RPhot at the onset of the wind. The stars σ Oph, BM Sco, and HD 206859 are more likely high-mass red giants instead of RSGs as implied by their luminosity class Ib. This leaves us with an unsampled locus in the HR diagram corresponding to luminosities log L=L⊙ ∼ 3. 8-4.8 or masses 10-13 M⊙, possibly corresponding to the mass region where stars explode as (type II-P) supernovae during the red supergiant stage. With V766 Cen, we now confirm that our previously found relation of increasing strength of extended molecular layers with increasing luminosities extends to double our previous luminosities and up to the Eddington limit. This might further point to steadily increasing radiative winds with increasing luminosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supernova SN 1993J in M 81 is the most extensively studied young radio-luminous supernova in the northern hemisphere. We recently reported results from the analysis of a complete set of very-long-baseline-interferometry (VLBI) observations of this supernova at 1.7, 2.3, 5.0, and 8.4 GHz, covering a time baseline of more than one decade. These results focused on the kinematics of the expanding shock, the particulars of its evolving non-thermal emission, the density profile of the circumstellar medium, and the evolving free-free opacity by the supernova ejecta. In the present paper, we complete our analysis by performing a search for any possible signal from a compact source (i.e., a stellar-mass black hole or a young pulsar nebula) at the center of the expanding shell. We have performed a stacking of all our VLBI images at each frequency, after subtraction of our best-fit shell model at each epoch, and measured the peak intensity in the stacked residual image. Given the large amount of available global VLBI observations, the stacking of all the residual images allows us to put upper limits to the eventual emission of a putative compact central source at the level of ~102 μJy at 5 GHz (or, more conservatively, ~192 μJy, if we make a further correction for the ejecta opacity) and somewhat larger at other wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on 8.4-GHz very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of SN 2001gd in the spiral galaxy NGC 5033 made on 2002 June 26 (2002.48) and 2003 April 8 (2003.27). We used the interferometric visibility data to estimate angular diameter sizes for the supernova by model fitting. Our data nominally suggest a relatively strong deceleration for the expansion of SN 2001gd, but we cannot dismiss the possibility of a free supernova expansion. From our VLBI observations on 2003 April 8, we inferred a minimum total energy in relativistic particles and magnetic fields in the supernova shell of, and a corresponding equipartition average magnetic field of. We also present multiwavelength Very Large Array (VLA) measurements of SN 2001gd made at our second VLBI epoch at frequencies of 1.4, 4.9, 8.4, 15.0, 22.5 and 43.3 GHz. The VLA data are well fitted by an optically thin, synchrotron spectrum, partially absorbed by thermal plasma. We obtain a supernova flux density of at the observing frequency of 8.4 GHz for the second epoch, which results in an isotropic radio luminosity of between 1.4 and 43.3 GHz, at an adopted distance of 13.1 Mpc. Finally, we report on an XMM–Newton X-ray detection of SN 2001gd on 2002 December 18. The supernova X-ray spectrum is consistent with optically thin emission from a soft component (associated with emission from the reverse shock) at a temperature of around 1 keV. The observed flux corresponds to an isotropic X-ray luminosity of in the 0.3–5 keV band. We suggest that both radio and X-ray observations of SN 2001gd indicate that a circumstellar interaction similar to that displayed by SN 1993J in M 81 is taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on phase-referenced 23 GHz Very-Long-Baseline-Interferometry (VLBI) observations of the type IIb supernova SN 2008ax, made with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) on 2 April 2008 (33 days after explosion). These observations resulted in a marginal detection of the supernova. The total flux density recoveredfrom our VLBI image is \(0.8 \pm 0.3 mJy\) (one standard deviation). As it appears, the structure may be interpreted as either a core-jet or a double source. However, the supernova structure could be somewhat confused with a possible close by noise peak. In such a case, the recovered flux density would decrease to \(0.48 \pm 0.12 mJy\), compatible with the flux densities measured with the VLA at epochs close in time to our VLBI observations. The lowest average expansion velocities derived from our observations are \((1.90 \pm 0.30) \times 10^{5} km\) \(s^{-1}\) (case of a double source) and \((5.2 \pm 1.3) \times 10^{4} km\) \(s^{-1}\) (taking the weaker source component as a spurious, close by, noise peak, which is the more likely interpretation). These velocities are 7.3 and 2 times higher, respectively, than the maximum ejecta velocity inferred from optical-line observations., Astronomy

We report deep EVN and eMERLIN observations of the Type Ia SN 2014J in the nearby galaxy M82. Our observations represent, together with JVLA observations of SNe 2011fe and 2014J, the most sensitive radio studies of Type Ia SNe ever. By combining data and a proper modeling of the radio emission, we constrain the mass-loss rate from the progenitor system of SN 2014J to (for a wind speed of 100 km s–1). If the medium around the supernova is uniform, then nISM ≲ 1.3 cm–3, which is the most stringent limit for the (uniform) density around a Type Ia SN. Our deep upper limits favor a double-degenerate (DD) scenario—involving two WD stars—for the progenitor system of SN 2014J, as such systems have less circumstellar gas than our upper limits. By contrast, most single-degenerate (SD) scenarios, i.e., the wide family of progenitor systems where a red giant, main-sequence, or sub-giant star donates mass to an exploding WD, are ruled out by our observations. (While completing our work, we noticed that a paper by Margutti et al. was submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. From a non-detection of X-ray emission from SN 2014J, the authors obtain limits of M☼ yr–1 (for a wind speed of 100 km s–1) and nISM ≲ 3.5 cm–3, for the ρ∝r–2 wind and constant density cases, respectively. As these limits are less constraining than ours, the findings by Margutti et al. do not alter our conclusions. The X-ray results are, however, important to rule out free-free and synchrotron self-absorption as a reason for the radio non-detections.) Our estimates on the limits on the gas density surrounding SN2011fe, using the flux density limits from Chomiuk et al., agree well with their results. Although we discuss the possibilities of an SD scenario passing observational tests, as well as uncertainties in the modeling of the radio emission, the evidence from SNe 2011fe and 2014J points in the direction of a DD scenario for both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here on 5-GHz global very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of SN 1986J, 16 yr after its explosion. We obtained a high-resolution image of the supernova, which shows a distorted shell of radio emission, indicative of a deformation of the shock front. The angular size of the shell is ∼4.7 mas, corresponding to a linear size of ∼6.8 × 10[sup 17] cm for a distance of 9.6 Mpc to NGC 891. The average speed of the shell has decreased from ∼ 7400 km s[sup -1] in 1988.74 down to about 6300 km s[sup -1] in 1999.14, indicative of a mild deceleration in the expansion of SN 1986J. Assuming a standard density profile for the progenitor wind (ρ[sub cs] ∝ r[sup -s], s = 2), the swept-up mass by the shock front is ∼2.2 M.... This large swept-up mass, coupled with the mild deceleration suffered by the supernova, suggests that the mass of the hydrogen-rich envelope ejected at explosion was ...12 M.... Thus, the supernova progenitor must have kept intact most of its hydrogen-rich envelope by the time of explosion, which favours a single, massive star progenitor scenario. We find a flux density for SN 1986J of ∼ 7.2 mJy at the observing frequency of 5 GHz, which results in a radio luminosity of ∼1.4 × 10[sup 37] erg s[sup -1] for the frequency range 10[sup 7]-10[sup 10] Hz (α = -0.69; S[sub v] ∝ v[sup α]). We detect four bright knots that delineate the shell structure, and an absolute minimum of emission, which we tentatively identify with the centre of the supernova explosion. If this is the case, SN 1986J has then suffered an asymmetric expansion. We suggest that this asymmetry is due to the collision of the supernova ejecta with an anisotropic, clumpy (or filamentary) medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]