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The Type Ic Supernova 1994I in M51: Detection of Helium and Spectral Evolution

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© 1995. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
, , Citation Alexei V. Filippenko et al 1995 ApJ 450 L11 DOI 10.1086/309659

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Author affiliations

1 Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

2 Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

3 Downs Laboratory of Physics, 320-47 Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125

4 Current address: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721

5 Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218

6 Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093

7 Current address: Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027

8 Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064

9 Current address: Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218

10 Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-413, Livermore, CA 94550

11 Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

Dates

  1. Received 1995 May 19
  2. Accepted 1995 June 14
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1538-4357/450/1/L11

Abstract

We present a series of spectra of SN 1994I in M51, starting 1 week prior to maximum brightness. The nebular phase began about 2 months after the explosion; together with the rapid decline of the optical light, this suggests that the ejected mass was small. Although lines of He I in the optical region are weak or absent, consistent with the Type Ic classification, we detect strong He I λ10830 absorption during the first month past maximum. Thus, if SN 1994I is a typical Type Ic supernova, the atmospheres of these objects cannot be completely devoid of helium. The emission-line widths are smaller than predicted by the model of Nomoto and coworkers, in which the iron core of a low-mass carbon-oxygen star collapses. They are, however, larger than in Type Ib supernovae.

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10.1086/309659