Journal
PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC
Volume 117, Issue 828, Pages 121-131Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1086/428278
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Supernova (SN) 2004et is the eighth historical SN in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946. Here we report on early photometric and spectroscopic monitoring of this object. SN 2004et is a Type II event, exhibiting a plateau in its light curves, but its spectral and color evolution appear to differ significantly from those of other, more normal Type II plateau (II-P) SNe. We have analyzed Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope images of the host galaxy taken prior to the SN explosion, identifying a candidate progenitor for the SN. The star's absolute magnitude and intrinsic color imply that it was a yellow, rather than red, supergiant star, with an estimated zero-age main-sequence mass of 15(-2)(+5) M-circle dot. Although this mass estimate is consistent with estimates and upper limits for the progenitors of other, more normal SNe II-P, the SN 2004 et progenitor's unusual color could further imply a preexplosion evolutionary history analogous to, but less extreme than, that for the progenitors of the peculiar Type II-P SN 1987A or the Type IIb SN 1993J. The identity of the progenitor candidate needs to be verified when the SN has significantly dimmed.
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