No progenitor detected to M_V ~ -7 mag for Type-Ic SN 2012cw
ATel #4199; Or Graur (Tel-Aviv Univ., AMNH), Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv Univ.)
on 21 Jun 2012; 18:32 UT
Credential Certification: Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University) (maoz@astro.tau.ac.il)
Subjects: Optical, Supernovae
Analyzing an archival Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 300 s image of NGC 3166
in F547M (~ V band) obtained on October 23 1994, we detect no point
sources within a 2'' radius of the location of the Type-Ic SN 2012cw
(CBET 3148, R.A.=10h13m47.95s, Decl.=+03d26'02.6") to a 3-sigma limit of
24.3 mag. NGC 3166 is likely interacting with NGC 3169, which hosted the
type-Ia SN 2003cg, indicating a distance modulus of 31.25+/-0.44
(Amanullah et al. 2010, ApJ, 716, 712). The progenitor of SN 2012cw
was therefore fainter than absolute magnitude M_V ~ -7. This limit is
consistent with those reported for other type-Ic supernovae (Smartt 2009, ARA&A, 47, 63).
An image showing the searched region of the HST data is at http://www.astro.tau.ac.il/~orgraur/sn2012cw.jpg
HST image of SN location
