Spectropolarimetric Evolution of SN 2023ixf: An Asymmetric Explosion in a Confined Aspherical Circumstellar Medium

Abstract We present complete spectropolarimetric coverage of the Type II supernova (SN) 2023ixf, ranging from 1 to 120 days after explosion. Polarimetry was obtained with the Kast double spectrograph on the Shane 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory. As the ejecta interact with circumstellar material (CSM) during the first week, the intrinsic polarization of SN 2023ixf is initially high at ≲1%, dropping steeply within days down to ∼0.4% when the ejecta sweep up the optically thick CSM. The continuum polarization stays low at ∼0.2% thereafter, until it rises again to ∼0.6% as the ejecta transition to the nebular phase. We model this evolution using a combination of archival and newly computed two-dimensional polarized radiative transfer models. In this context, we interpret the early-time polarization as arising from an aspherical CSM with a pole-to-equator density contrast of ≳3. We propose that the surge in polarization at late times originates from an asymmetric distribution of 56 Ni deep in the ejecta. The distinct sources of asymmetries at early and late times are consistent with the temporal evolution of the observed polarization and the polarization angle in SN 2023ixf.