DISCOVERY OF MOLECULAR HYDROGEN IN SN 1987A

Both CO and SiO have been observed at early and late phases in SN 1987A. H-2 was predicted to form at roughly the same time as these molecules, but was not detected at early epochs. Here, we report the detection of NIR lines from H-2 at 2.12 and 2.40 mu m in VLT/SINFONI spectra obtained between days 6489 and 10,120. The emission is concentrated to the core of the SN in contrast to Ha and approximately coincides with the [Si I]/[Fe II] emission detected previously in the ejecta. Different excitation mechanisms and power sources of the emission are discussed. From the nearly constant H-2 luminosities, we favor excitation resulting from the Ti-44 decay.