Massive circumstellar envelope around 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 of the observed bolometric light curve combined with data on the supernova expansion velocity provides an estimate of the density of the CS shell, its mass ($\approx 1 M_{\odot}$), and age ($\approx 8$ years). It is shown that the derived CS gas density does not depend on the assumed mass of the supernova ejecta. This results from the high CS density, which ensures that the forward shock wave is essentially radiative. The derived CS density is consistent with the H$\alpha$ luminosity and with the presence of the apparent effect of Thomson scattering in the red wing of this line. The mass of the CS envelope together with its expansion velocity indicates that the CS envelope was ejected as a result of violent energy release ($\sim 6\times10^{48}$ erg) eight years before the supernova outburst.