SN 2018hfm: a low-energy Type II supernova with prominent signatures of circumstellar interaction and dust formation

ABSTRACT We present multiband optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of an unusual Type II supernova, SN 2018hfm, which exploded in the nearby (d ≈ 34.67 Mpc) dwarf galaxy PGC 1297331 with a very low star formation rate (0.0270 M⊙ yr−1) and a subsolar metallicity environment (∼0.5 Z⊙). The V-band light curve of SN 2018hfm reaches a peak with value of −18.69 ± 0.64 mag, followed by a fast decline (4.42 ± 0.13 mag (100 d)−1). After about 50 d, it is found to experience a large flux drop (∼3.0 mag in V), and then enters into an unusually faint tail, which indicates a relatively small amount of 56Ni synthesized during the explosion. From the bolometric light curve, SN 2018hfm is estimated to have low ejecta mass (∼1.3 M⊙) and low explosion energy (∼1050 erg) compared with typical SNe II. The photospheric spectra of SN 2018hfm are similar to those of other SNe II, with P Cygni profiles of the Balmer series and metal lines, while at late phases the spectra are characterized by box-like profiles of H α emission, suggesting significant interaction between the SN ejecta and circumstellar matter. These box-like emission features are found to show increasing asymmetry with time, with the red-side component becoming gradually weaker, indicating that dust is continuously formed in the ejecta. Based on the dust-estimation tool damocles, we find that the dust increases from ∼10−6 M⊙ to 10−4–10−3 M⊙ between +66.7 d and +389.4 d after explosion.