SN 1991T: Reflections of Past Glory
Abstract
We have obtained photometry and spectra of SN 1991T which extend more than 1000 days past maximum light, by far the longest a SN Ia has been followed. Although SN 1991T exhibited nearly photometric behavior in the first 400 days following maximum, by 600 days its decline had slowed, and by 950 days the supernova brightness was consistent with a constant apparent magnitude of m_B_ = 21.30. Spectra near maximum showed minor variations on the SN Ia theme which grew less conspicuous during the exponential decline. At 270 days the nebular spectrum was composed of Fe and Co lines common to SN Ia. However, by 750 days past maximum light, these lines had shifted in wavelength, and were superposed on a strong blue continuum. The luminosity of SN 1991T at 950 days is more than 9.0 x 10^38^(D/13 Mpc)^2^ ergs s^-1^ with a rate of decline of less than 0.04 mag per 100 days. We show that this emission is likely to be light that was emitted by SN 1991T near maximum light which has reflected from foreground dust, much like the light echos observed around SN 1987A.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 1994
- DOI:
- 10.1086/187562
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/9407097
- Bibcode:
- 1994ApJ...434L..19S
- Keywords:
-
- Astronomical Models;
- Cosmic Dust;
- Light Curve;
- Light Emission;
- Reflection;
- Stellar Luminosity;
- Supernovae;
- Cobalt;
- Iron;
- Line Spectra;
- Point Spread Functions;
- Stellar Evolution;
- Stellar Spectrophotometry;
- Astrophysics;
- STARS: SUPERNOVAE: INDIVIDUAL ALPHANUMERIC: SN 1991T;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 15 pages (includes figures and tables) uuencoded compressed postscript, CfA Preprint - To Appear in ApJL