EVLA Radio Observations of SN 2011fe
ATel #3597; Laura Chomiuk (CfA/NRAO) & Alicia Soderberg (Harvard)
on 26 Aug 2011; 13:13 UT
Credential Certification: Laura Chomiuk (lchomiuk@cfa.harvard.edu)
Subjects: Radio, Supernovae, Transient
We observed SN 2011fe, a probable Type Ia SN in M101, with the EVLA on 25.8 Aug 2011 UT. Our observations yielded a non-detection of -5 +/- 6 microJy at the SN position (ATel #3581). While no radio emission has ever been detected from a SN Ia, the majority of all core-collapse SNe within 10 Mpc are well detected in the radio band shortly after explosion, thus supporting the Ia classification for SN 2011fe. At a distance of 6.4 Mpc, our measurement corresponds to a 3 sigma upper limit of 9 x 10^23 erg/s/Hz, constituting the deepest limit ever obtained on the radio luminosity from a SN Ia.
Additional EVLA observations are scheduled to place unprecedentedly deep constraints on the density of the circumstellar material surrounding a SN Ia. We are grateful to the EVLA commissioning team for scheduling this observation promptly.
