Polarized Line Profiles as Diagnostics of Circumstellar Geometry in Type IIn Supernovae

Abstract

Supernovae of type IIn possess spectral signatures that indicate an intense interaction between the supernova ejecta and surrounding dense circumstellar material cast off by the star in pre-explosion mass-loss episodes. Studying this interaction can yield clues to the nature of Type IIn progenitors and their mass loss history. In particular, polarization spectra of Type IIn's show complex line polarization and position angle features that arise from a combination of geometrical and optical effects. I have constructed a Monte Carlo code that simulates the transfer of the H alpha line through circumstellar shells with various geometrical configurations and optical characteristics. The superposition of broad and narrow line components produced in different regions of the circumstellar environment and modified by electron and line scattering, hydrogen absorption, thermal emission, and geometrical and viewing angle effects gives rise to a variety of polarized line shapes in the model spectra. Comparison of these results with recent high-quality spectropolarimetric observations of Type IIn supernovae suggests that a model "shock" region between the supernova photosphere and the circumstellar shell is necessary to produce the narrow polarized emission features at the rest wavelength of H alpha seen in some IIn's. Further model results point toward other features in the polarized line profile that can be used to constrain the characteristics of the circumstellar material in these intriguing objects. The code's usefulness will be extended by the treatment of Doppler effects due to expansion of the circumstellar scattering region, such as those that characterize the polarized H alpha profiles of the Type IIn SN 1997eg.