A Six-year Image-subtraction Light Curve of SN 2010jl

Abstract

SN 2010jl was a luminous Type IIn supernova (SN), detected in radio, optical, X-ray and hard X-rays. Here we report on its six-year R- and g-band light curves obtained using the Palomar Transient Factory. The light curve was generated using a pipeline based on the proper image-subtraction method and we discuss the algorithm performances. As noted before, the R-band light curve, up to about 300 days after maximum light is well described by a power-law decline with a power-law index of α ≈ −0.5. Between day 300 and day 2300 after maximum light, it is consistent with a power-law decline, with a power-law index of about α ≈ −3.4. The longevity of the light curve suggests that the massive circumstellar material around the progenitor was ejected on timescales of at least tens of years prior to the progenitor explosion.