We present the densely sampled early light curve of the Type II supernova (SN) 2023ixf, first observed within hours of explosion in the nearby Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101; 6.7 Mpc). Comparing these data to recently updated models of shock-cooling emission, we find that the progenitor likely had a radius of 410 ± 10 R ⊙. Our estimate is model dependent but consistent with a red supergiant. These models provide a good fit to the data starting about 1 day after the explosion, despite the fact...
Authors
Manisha Shrestha, Iair Arcavi, Joshua Haislip, Daichi Hiramatsu, Emily Hoang, Daryl Janzen, Jacob E. Jencson, Vladimir Kouprianov, Michael Lundquist, Nicolas E. Meza Retamal, Maryam Modjaz, Megan Newsome, Estefania Padilla Gonzalez, Jeniveve Pearson, Craig Pellegrino, Aravind P. Ravi, Daniel E. Reichart, Nathan Smith, Giacomo Terreran, József Vinkó