A massive circumstellar envelope around the type-IIn supernova SN 1995G

Abstract

We model the interaction of the supernova SN 1995G with a dense circumstellar (CS) gas in a thin-shell approximation. A model fit to the observed bolometric light curve combined with data on the supernova expansion velocity gives estimates for the density, mass (≈1 M⊙), and age (≈8 yr) of the CS envelope. The determined CS-envelope density is shown to be virtually independent of the assumed mass of the supernova envelope because of the high CS-gas density at which the forward shock wave is essentially radiative. The derived CS-envelope density is consistent with the Hα luminosity and with the presence of distinct Thomson scattering in the red wing of this line. The mass of the CS envelope together with its expansion velocity and age indicate that the CS envelope was ejected by the presupernova eight years before the supernova explosion through violent energy release (∼6×1048 erg).