Core-collapse supernova subtypes in luminous infrared galaxies

¹ Tuorla Observatory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
e-mail: erkki.kankare@utu.fi
² School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Diogenes Street, Engomi, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus
³ The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
⁴ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
⁵ Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
⁶ South African Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9 Observatory, 7935 Cape Town, South Africa
⁷ Southern African Large Telescope, PO Box 9 Observatory, 7935 Cape Town, South Africa
⁸ Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
¹⁰ Macquarie University Research Centre for Astronomy, Astrophysics & Astrophotonics, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
¹¹ Parkdale Observatory, 225 Warren Road, RDl Oxford, Canterbury 7495, New Zealand
¹² Backyard Observatory Supernova Search (BOSS), New Zealand
¹³ School of Physics, O’Brien Centre for Science North, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
¹⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico, Vicolo Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
¹⁵ Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
¹⁶ Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
¹⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá di Padova, Vicolo Osservatorio 2, 35122 Padova, Italy
¹⁸ Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA), University of Turku, Vesilinnantie 5, 20014 Turku, Finland
¹⁹ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Glorieta de las Astronomía, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
²⁰ Departamento de Física Teorica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
²¹ Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd, Taipei 10617, Taiwan ROC
²² Aalto University Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Metsähovintie 114, 02540 Kylmälä, Finland
²³ Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
²⁴ Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
²⁵ Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa, Poland
²⁶ School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
²⁷ School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
²⁸ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ, UK
²⁹ Birmingham Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
³⁰ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill EH9 3HJ, UK
³¹ Departamento de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Andrés Bello, Avda. República 252, Santiago, Chile
³² Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, Nuncio Monsenor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, Chile

Received: 23 August 2020
Accepted: 24 February 2021

Abstract

The fraction of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) occurring in the central regions of galaxies is not well constrained at present. This is partly because large-scale transient surveys operate at optical wavelengths, making it challenging to detect transient sources that occur in regions susceptible to high extinction factors. Here we present the discovery and follow-up observations of two CCSNe that occurred in the luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) NGC 3256. The first, SN 2018ec, was discovered using the ESO HAWK-I/GRAAL adaptive optics seeing enhancer, and was classified as a Type Ic with a host galaxy extinction of A_V = 2.1_−0.1^+0.3 mag. The second, AT 2018cux, was discovered during the course of follow-up observations of SN 2018ec, and is consistent with a subluminous Type IIP classification with an A_V = 2.1 ± 0.4 mag of host extinction. A third CCSN, PSN J10275082−4354034 in NGC 3256, was previously reported in 2014, and we recovered the source in late-time archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging. Based on template light curve fitting, we favour a Type IIn classification for it with modest host galaxy extinction of A_V = 0.3_−0.3^+0.4 mag. We also extend our study with follow-up data of the recent Type IIb SN 2019lqo and Type Ib SN 2020fkb that occurred in the LIRG system Arp 299 with host extinctions of A_V = 2.1_−0.3^+0.1 and A_V = 0.4_−0.2^+0.1 mag, respectively. Motivated by the above, we inspected, for the first time, a sample of 29 CCSNe located within a projected distance of 2.5 kpc from the host galaxy nuclei in a sample of 16 LIRGs. We find, if star formation within these galaxies is modelled assuming a global starburst episode and normal IMF, that there is evidence of a correlation between the starburst age and the CCSN subtype. We infer that the two subgroups of 14 H-poor (Type IIb/Ib/Ic/Ibn) and 15 H-rich (Type II/IIn) CCSNe have different underlying progenitor age distributions, with the H-poor progenitors being younger at 3σ significance. However, we note that the currently available sample sizes of CCSNe and host LIRGs are small, and the statistical comparisons between subgroups do not take into account possible systematic or model errors related to the estimated starburst ages.