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arxiv: 0809.0206 · v2 · submitted 2008-09-01 · 🌌 astro-ph

VLT detection of a red supergiant progenitor of the type IIP supernova 2008bk

classification 🌌 astro-ph
keywords sourceimagespre-explosioncoincidentconsistentnear-infraredopticalpoint
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We report the identification of a source coincident with the position of the nearby type II-P supernova (SN) 2008bk in high quality optical and near-infrared pre-explosion images from the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). The SN position in the optical and near-infrared pre-explosion images is identified to within about +-70 and +-40 mas, respectively, using post-explosion Ks-band images obtained with the NAOS CONICA adaptive optics system on the VLT. The pre-explosion source detected in four different bands is precisely coincident with SN 2008bk and is consistent with being dominated by a single point source. We determine the nature of the point source using the STARS stellar evolutionary models and find that its colours and luminosity are consistent with the source being a red supergiant progenitor of SN 2008bk with an initial mass of 8.5 +- 1.0 Msun.

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