Caltech Core-Collapse Project (CCCP) Observations of Type II Supernovae:
  Evidence for Three Distinct Photometric Subtypes
  We present R-Band light curves of Type II supernovae (SNe) from the Caltech
Core Collapse Project (CCCP). With the exception of interacting (Type IIn) SNe
and rare events with long rise times, we find that most light curve shapes
belong to one of three distinct classes: plateau, slowly declining and rapidly
declining events. The last class is composed solely of Type IIb SNe which
present similar light curve shapes to those of SNe Ib, suggesting, perhaps,
similar progenitor channels. We do not find any intermediate light curves,
implying that these subclasses are unlikely to reflect variance of continuous
parameters, but rather might result from physically distinct progenitor
systems, strengthening the suggestion of a binary origin for at least some
stripped SNe. We find a large plateau luminosity range for SNe IIP, while the
plateau lengths seem rather uniform at approximately 100 days. As analysis of
additional CCCP data goes on and larger samples are collected, demographic
studies of core collapse SNe will likely continue to provide new constraints on
progenitor scenarios.
