SN 2023zcu: A Type IIP SN with Early Flash Features

Abstract We present a detailed photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the Type IIP supernova (SN) SN 2023zcu, which exploded in the galaxy NGC 2139 (redshift z = 0.006). SN 2023zcu exhibits a well-sampled light curve covering the rise, plateau, and nebular phases. It has an optically thick phase of 100.6 ± 0.6 days with a magnitude drop of ∼1.7 mag in the V band during the transition between the plateau and nebular phases. Weak emission features in the early-time spectra indicate a low-level interaction between circumstellar material and the SN ejecta. The spectral evolution is well sampled and exhibits a prominent P Cygni profile of H α , a defining characteristic of Type IIP SNe. Signatures of metal-line formation (e.g., Fe ii , Ca ii near-infrared triplet) are also evident in the spectra as the SN evolves. Spectral modeling with the radiative transfer code TARDIS during the early photospheric phase (8.7–35.5 days since explosion) yields photospheric temperatures decreasing from ∼9000 to ∼6000 K and expansion velocities declining from ∼10,000 to ∼5400 km s −1 . A tailored expanding photosphere method fit based on the TARDIS models provides a distance estimate of 27.8 ± 2.0 Mpc. Nebular-phase spectra and bolometric light-curve modeling suggest a progenitor mass in the range 12–15 M ⊙ . This thorough analysis helps to constrain progenitor properties and explosion parameters, thereby strengthening our understanding of Type IIP SNe.

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Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2026-02-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae3c7e
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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article

SN 2023zcu: A Type IIP SN with Early Flash Features

Raya Dastidar, E. Born, G. Csörnyei, Collin T. Christy et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
article

SN 2023zcu: A Type IIP SN with Early Flash Features

Raya Dastidar, E. Born, G. Csörnyei, Collin T. Christy, Aravind P. Ravi, P. J. Brown, K. D. Alexander, Jennifer E. Andrews, G. Hosseinzadeh, Estefania Padilla Gonzalez, Noah Franz, William Wu, Joseph Farah, Naveen Dukiya, Darshana Mehta, G. Terreran, Bhagya Subrayan, Brian Hsu, Megan Newsome, Manisha Shrestha, W. Zheng, Neil Pichay, Colin W. Macrie, Kate B. Bostow, N. D. Smith, Sophia Risin, Elma Chuang, Kuntal Misra, Moira Andrews, Stefano Valenti, Katie Mora, Dre Betz, Andrew Mchaty, Jeniveve Pearson, Saurabh W. Jha, Emily Hoang, Yize Dong, Curtis McCully, K. Azalee Bostroem, David J. Sand, M. J. Lundquist, Thomas G. Brink, Sea’n J. Brennan, Monalisa Dubey, Joshua Haislip, Jesper Sollerman, Ajay Kumar Singh, Daniel E. Reichart, D. Andrew Howell, Connor Jennings, Alexei V. Filippenko
article en

Abstract

Abstract We present a detailed photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the Type IIP supernova (SN) SN 2023zcu, which exploded in the galaxy NGC 2139 (redshift z = 0.006). SN 2023zcu exhibits a well-sampled light curve covering the rise, plateau, and nebular phases. It has an optically thick phase of 100.6 ± 0.6 days with a magnitude drop of ∼1.7 mag in the V band during the transition between the plateau and nebular phases. Weak emission features in the early-time spectra indicate a low-level interaction between circumstellar material and the SN ejecta. The spectral evolution is well sampled and exhibits a prominent P Cygni profile of H α , a defining characteristic of Type IIP SNe. Signatures of metal-line formation (e.g., Fe ii , Ca ii near-infrared triplet) are also evident in the spectra as the SN evolves. Spectral modeling with the radiative transfer code TARDIS during the early photospheric phase (8.7–35.5 days since explosion) yields photospheric temperatures decreasing from ∼9000 to ∼6000 K and expansion velocities declining from ∼10,000 to ∼5400 km s −1 . A tailored expanding photosphere method fit based on the TARDIS models provides a distance estimate of 27.8 ± 2.0 Mpc. Nebular-phase spectra and bolometric light-curve modeling suggest a progenitor mass in the range 12–15 M ⊙ . This thorough analysis helps to constrain progenitor properties and explosion parameters, thereby strengthening our understanding of Type IIP SNe.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 999(1)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (US), European Southern Observatory (DE), Adler Planetarium (US), University of Arizona (US), M.J.P. Rohilkhand University (IN), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Invertis University (IN), Johns Hopkins Medicine (US), W.M. Keck Observatory (US), Mitchell Institute (US), Brera Astronomical Observatory (IT), Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (IN), University of California San Diego (US), Gemini North Observatory (US), Catalyst (GB), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (AU), AlbaNova (SE), Fraunhofer Chalmers Research Centre for Industrial Mathematics (SE), Monash University (AU), University of Baltimore (US), University of California, Davis (US), The University of Texas at Austin (US), Texas A&M University (US), University of California, Berkeley (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 44%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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