$R_V$ from multi-waveband galaxy polarimetry in supernovae vicinity

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rino-Silvestre, João, González-Gaitán, Santiago, Mourão, Ana, Duarte, João, Pereira, Beatriz
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915624794456064
author Rino-Silvestre, João
González-Gaitán, Santiago
Mourão, Ana
Duarte, João
Pereira, Beatriz
author_facet Rino-Silvestre, João
González-Gaitán, Santiago
Mourão, Ana
Duarte, João
Pereira, Beatriz
contents Peculiar dust extinction laws have been reported for some type Ia supernovae (SNe) with the parameter $R_V$ much lower than the average value for the Milky Way (MW) of 3.1. Using optical photopolarimetry of supernova (SN) host galaxies, a few years after the explosion, we estimate $R_V$ in the vicinity of each SN and compare it with the extinction law calculated directly from SN observations. Multiband photopolarimetric data of nine galaxies, hosts of eleven SNe, acquired with VLT-FORS2 in IPOL mode, are used to map the polarization angle and the polarization degree in each galaxy. Data are processed with a custom-built reduction pipeline that corrects for instrumental, background, and MW interstellar polarization effects. The validity of Serkowski relations is tested at different locations in the galaxy to extract the wavelength of the maximum polarization λmax and obtain 2D maps for RV . When the fit to λmax at the SN location is poor, or impossible, an approximate Bayesian spatial inference method is employed to obtain an estimate of λmax using well-fitted neighboring locations. The estimated local $R_V$ for each SN is compared with published values from the SN light curves. We find $R_V$ values from optical photopolarimetry at SNe locations consistent with the average MW value and a median difference of > 3σ with the low peculiar $R_V$ obtained from the analysis of some reddened SN Ia light curves. The $R_V$ estimates obtained with BVRI photopolarimetry for the SNe vicinity are statistically similar to the hosts global $R_V$. Conclusions. The discrepancy between the local $R_V$, inferred from photopolarimetry in the SN vicinity, and RV obtained from SNe light curves suggests that the extinction laws obtained directly from the SNe may be driven by more local effects, perhaps from the interaction of light from the SN with very nearby material.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_09875
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle $R_V$ from multi-waveband galaxy polarimetry in supernovae vicinity
Rino-Silvestre, João
González-Gaitán, Santiago
Mourão, Ana
Duarte, João
Pereira, Beatriz
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Peculiar dust extinction laws have been reported for some type Ia supernovae (SNe) with the parameter $R_V$ much lower than the average value for the Milky Way (MW) of 3.1. Using optical photopolarimetry of supernova (SN) host galaxies, a few years after the explosion, we estimate $R_V$ in the vicinity of each SN and compare it with the extinction law calculated directly from SN observations. Multiband photopolarimetric data of nine galaxies, hosts of eleven SNe, acquired with VLT-FORS2 in IPOL mode, are used to map the polarization angle and the polarization degree in each galaxy. Data are processed with a custom-built reduction pipeline that corrects for instrumental, background, and MW interstellar polarization effects. The validity of Serkowski relations is tested at different locations in the galaxy to extract the wavelength of the maximum polarization λmax and obtain 2D maps for RV . When the fit to λmax at the SN location is poor, or impossible, an approximate Bayesian spatial inference method is employed to obtain an estimate of λmax using well-fitted neighboring locations. The estimated local $R_V$ for each SN is compared with published values from the SN light curves. We find $R_V$ values from optical photopolarimetry at SNe locations consistent with the average MW value and a median difference of > 3σ with the low peculiar $R_V$ obtained from the analysis of some reddened SN Ia light curves. The $R_V$ estimates obtained with BVRI photopolarimetry for the SNe vicinity are statistically similar to the hosts global $R_V$. Conclusions. The discrepancy between the local $R_V$, inferred from photopolarimetry in the SN vicinity, and RV obtained from SNe light curves suggests that the extinction laws obtained directly from the SNe may be driven by more local effects, perhaps from the interaction of light from the SN with very nearby material.
title $R_V$ from multi-waveband galaxy polarimetry in supernovae vicinity
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.09875