The dusty red supergiant progenitor and the local environment of the Type II SN 2023ixf in M101

2023/08/09 by Zexi Niu, Niu, Ze-Xi, Ning-Chen Sun +9 · 11 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2308.04677

openalex publication_date 2023/08/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

As one of the closest supernovae (SNe) in the last decade, SN 2023ixf is an unprecedented target to investigate the progenitor star that exploded. However, there is still significant uncertainty in the reported progenitor properties. In this work, we present a detailed study of the progenitor of SN 2023ixf with two independent analyses. We first modelled its spectral energy distribution (SED) based on Hubble Space Telescope optical, Spitzer mid-infrared (IR), and ground-based near-IR data. We find that stellar pulsation and circumstellar extinction have great impacts on SED fitting, and the result suggests a relatively massive red supergiant (RSG) surrounded by C-rich dust with an initial mass of 16.2--17.4 Msun. The corresponding rate of mass-loss occurring at least 3 years before the SN explosion is about 2 × 10^-4 M_\odotyr^-1. We also derived the star formation history of the SN environment based on resolved stellar populations, and the most recent star-forming epoch corresponds to a progenitor initial mass of 17--19 Msun, in agreement with that from our SED fitting. Therefore, we conclude that the progenitor of SN 2023ixf is close to the high-mass end for Type II SN progenitors.

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• The Type II SN 2025pht in NGC 1637: A Red Supergiant with Carbon-rich Circumstellar Dust as the First JWST Detection of a Supernova Progenitor Star
• SN 2023ixf in M101: physical parameters from bolometric light curve modeling
• Dance to Demise -- How Massive Stars May Form Dense Circumstellar Shells Before Explosion
• Optical and near-infrared nebular-phase spectroscopy of SN 2024ggi: constraints on the structure of the inner ejecta, progenitor mass, and dust
• A late-time view of the progenitor candidates of the Type II-P SN 2009ib and SN 2012ec
• Red Supergiants as Supernova Progenitors
• Diversity in Hydrogen-rich Envelope Mass of Type II Supernovae. (III). The mass-loss and evolutionary pathways of the red supergiant progenitors
• SN 2023ixf: The Closest Supernova of the Decade

Related

• The SN 2023ixf Progenitor in M101: II. Properties
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• The Progenitor Star of SN 2023ixf: A Massive Red Supergiant with Enhanced, Episodic Pre-Supernova Mass Loss
• The SN 2023ixf Progenitor in M101: I. Infrared Variability
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