No Arabic abstract
The first molecules detected at infrared wavelengths in the ejecta of a Type II supernova, namely SN1987A, consisted of CO and SiO. Since then, confirmation of the formation of these two species in several other supernovae a few hundred days after explosion has been obtained. However, supernova environments appear to hamper the synthesis of large, complex species due to the lack of microscopically-mixed hydrogen deep in supernova cores. Because these environments also form carbon and silicate dust, it is of importance to understand the role played by molecules in the depletion of elements and how chemical species get incorporated into dust grains. In the present paper, we review our current knowledge of the molecular component of supernova ejecta, and present new trends and results on the synthesis of molecules in these harsh, explosive events.
We study the formation and destruction of molecules in the ejecta of Population III supernovae (SNe) using a chemical kinetic approach to follow the evolution of molecular abundances from day 100 to day 1000 after explosion. The chemical species included range from simple di-atomic molecules to more complex dust precursor species. All relevant chemical processes that are unique to the SN environment are considered. Our work focuses on zero-metallicity progenitors with masses of 20, 170, and 270 Msun, and we study the effect of different levels of heavy element mixing and the inward diffusion of hydrogen on the ejecta chemistry. We show that the ejecta chemistry does not reach a steady state within the relevant time-span for molecule formation. The primary species formed are O2, CO, SiS, and SO. The SiO, formed as early as 200 days after explosion, is rapidly depleted by the formation of silica molecular precursors in the ejecta. The rapid conversion of CO to C2 and its thermal fractionation at temperatures above 5000 K allow for the formation of carbon chains in the oxygen-rich zone of the unmixed models, providing an important pathway for the formation of carbon dust in hot environments where the C/O ratio is less than 1. We show that the fully-mixed ejecta of a 170 Msun progenitor synthesizes 11.3 Mun of molecules whereas 20 Msun and 270 Msun progenitors produce 0.78, and 3.2 Msun of molecules, respectively. The admixing of 10 % of hydrogen into the fully-mixed ejecta of the 170 Msun progenitor increases its molecular yield to ~ 47Msun. The unmixed ejecta of a 170 Msun progenitor supernova without hydrogen penetration synthesizes ~37 Msun of molecules, whereas its 20 Msun counterpart produces ~ 1.2 Msun. Finally, we discuss the cosmological implication of molecule formation by Pop. III SNe in the early universe.
The dwarf carbon (dC) star SDSS J112801.67+004034.6 has an unusually high radial velocity, 531$pm 4$ km s$^{-1}$. We present proper motion and new spectroscopic observations which imply a large Galactic rest frame velocity, 425$pm 9$ km s$^{-1}$. Several other SDSS dC stars are also inferred to have very high galactocentric velocities, again each based on both high heliocentric radial velocity and also confidently detected proper motions. Extreme velocities and the presence of $C_2$ bands in the spectra of dwarf stars are both rare. Passage near the Galactic center can accelerate stars to such extreme velocities, but the large orbital angular momentum of SDSS J1128 precludes this explanation. Ejection from a supernova in a binary system or disruption of a binary by other stars are possibilities, particularly as dC stars are thought to obtain their photospheric $C_2$ via mass transfer from an evolved companion.
We present the late-time optical light curve of the ejecta of SN 1987A measured from HST imaging observations spanning the past 17 years. We find that the flux from the ejecta declined up to around year 2001, powered by the radioactive decay of 44Ti. Then the flux started to increase, more than doubling by the end of 2009. We show that the increase is the result of energy deposited by X-rays produced in the interaction with the circumstellar medium. We suggest that the change of the dominant energy input to the ejecta, from internal to external, marks the transition from supernova to supernova remnant. The details of the observations and the modelling are described in the accompanying supplementary information.
Spectral observations of the type-IIb supernova (SN) 2016gkg at 300-800 days are reported. The spectra show nebular characteristics, revealing emission from the progenitor stars metal-rich core and providing clues to the kinematics and physical conditions of the explosion. The nebular spectra are dominated by emission lines of [O I] $lambdalambda6300, 6364$ and [Ca II] $lambdalambda7292, 7324$. Other notable, albeit weaker, emission lines include Mg I] $lambda4571$, [Fe II] $lambda7155$, O I $lambda7774$, Ca II triplet, and a broad, boxy feature at the location of H$alpha$. Unlike in other stripped-envelope SNe, the [O I] doublet is clearly resolved due to the presence of strong narrow components. The doublet shows an unprecedented emission line profile consisting of at least three components for each [O I]$lambda6300, 6364$ line: a broad component (width $sim2000$ km s$^{-1}$), and a pair of narrow blue and red components (width $sim300$ km s$^{-1}$) mirrored against the rest velocity. The narrow component appears also in other lines, and is conspicuous in [O I]. This indicates the presence of multiple distinct kinematic components of material at low and high velocities. The low-velocity components are likely to be produced by a dense, slow-moving emitting region near the center, while the broad components are emitted over a larger volume. These observations suggest an asymmetric explosion, supporting the idea of two-component ejecta that influence the resulting late-time spectra and light curves. SN 2016gkg thus presents striking evidence for significant asymmetry in a standard-energy SN explosion. The presence of material at low velocity, which is not predicted in 1D simulations, emphasizes the importance of multi-dimensional explosion modeling of SNe.
We present adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction between Type Ia supernovae and their companion stars within the context of the single-degenerate model. Results for 3D red-giant companions without binary evolution agree with previous 2D results by Marietta et al. We also consider evolved helium-star companions in 2D. For a range of helium-star masses and initial binary separations, we examine the mass unbound by the interaction and the kick velocity delivered to the companion star. We find that unbound mass versus separation obeys a power law with index between -3.1 and -4.0, consistent with previous results for hydrogen-rich companions. Kick velocity also obeys a power-law relationship with binary separation, but the slope differs from those found for hydrogen-rich companions. Assuming accretion via Roche-lobe overflow, we find that the unbound helium mass is consistent with observational limits. Ablation (shock heating) appears to be more important in removing gas from helium-star companions than from hydrogen-rich ones, though stripping (momentum transfer) dominates in both cases.