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D. D. Smith, T. R. Young, T. A. Johnson (Physics Dept, University of North Dakota)
Bright Linear Type II Supernovae exhibit a light curve that has yet to be fully explained. We have applied techniques currently being used to analyze Gamma-Ray Burst light curves to present a two-component model for the Bright Linear SN 1979C. One component is broken power-law emission like those seen in the optical afterglows of GRBs. In the currently accepted model of GRBs, this emission is explained by a jet of material along the rotation axis of the collapsed core. We believe the same general mechanism occurred in SN 1979C. The second component of the light curve is that of a more common Type II Plateau supernova, which makes itself known by a small bump in the light curve about 100 days after the explosion. We produced two fits using two separate models for the underlying supernova. The first used observational data from SN 1969L, a typical Type II Plateau. The second fit used a numerical simulation of a supernova resulting from a 300 solar radii star ejecting 12 solar masses of material during the explosion. Both techniques fit the data well. This model implies that Bright Linear Type II supernovae have a relativistic jet that produces the afterglow, but is not powerful enough to produce a long-duration gamma-ray burst. This is consistent with theoretical jet simulations and observational radio data.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.