SN 1988A in M58 - A type II-P supernova with a high late-time luminosity

Supernova 1988A is (with exception of the well-observed SN 1987A) the only Type II supernova for which observations of the late tail of the light curve are presently available. This supernova showed a brief spike in the early visual light curve followed by a long plateau lasting for about 3 months. Spectra taken during both the plateau and the postplateau phases confirm its being also a "classical" event of the Type II-P class, very similar to SN 1969L and to SN 1986I. In this paper, the visual light curve up to 500 days after maximum is reconstructed, and the possible mechanisms that can contribute to the very late luminosity are reviewed. Radioactive decay of ^56^Co seems to be the main contributor to very late luminosity. The brief spike present in the eariy visual light curve is consistent with the behavior predicted by Falk and Arnett's compact models for the supernova progenitor (red supergiant without any significant circumstellar shell).