No Arabic abstract
We demonstrate that $sim10,textrm{s}$ after the core-collapse of a massive star, a thermonuclear explosion of the outer shells is possible for some (tuned) initial density and composition profiles, assuming that the neutrinos failed to explode the star. The explosion may lead to a successful supernova, as first suggested by Burbidge et al. We perform a series of one-dimensional (1D) calculations of collapsing massive stars with simplified initial density profiles (similar to the results of stellar evolution calculations) and various compositions (not similar to 1D stellar evolution calculations). We assume that the neutrinos escaped with a negligible effect on the outer layers, which inevitably collapse. As the shells collapse, they compress and heat up adiabatically, enhancing the rate of thermonuclear burning. In some cases, where significant shells of mixed helium and oxygen are present with pre-collapsed burning times of $lesssim100,textrm{s}$ ($approx10$ times the free-fall time), a thermonuclear detonation wave is ignited, which unbinds the outer layers of the star, leading to a supernova. The energy released is small, $lesssim10^{50},textrm{erg}$, and negligible amounts of synthesized material (including $^{56}$Ni) are ejected, implying that these 1D simulations are unlikely to represent typical core-collapse supernovae. However, they do serve as a proof of concept that the core-collapse-induced thermonuclear explosions are possible, and more realistic two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations are within current computational capabilities.
We present results from an ab initio three-dimensional, multi-physics core collapse supernova simulation for the case of a 15 M progenitor. Our simulation includes multi-frequency neutrino transport with state-of-the-art neutrino interactions in the ray-by-ray approximation, and approximate general relativity. Our model exhibits a neutrino-driven explosion. The shock radius begins an outward trajectory at approximately 275 ms after bounce, giving the first indication of a developing explosion in the model. The onset of this shock expansion is delayed relative to our two-dimensional counterpart model, which begins at approximately 200 ms after core bounce. At a time of 441 ms after bounce, the angle-averaged shock radius in our three-dimensional model has reached 751 km. Further quantitative analysis of the outcomes in this model must await further development of the post-bounce dynamics and a simulation that will extend well beyond 1 s after stellar core bounce, based on the results for the same progenitor in the context of our two-dimensional, counterpart model. This more complete analysis will determine whether or not the explosion is robust and whether or not observables such as the explosion energy, 56Ni mass, etc. are in agreement with observations. Nonetheless, the onset of explosion in our ab initio three-dimensional multi-physics model with multi-frequency neutrino transport and general relativity is encouraging.
Most supernova explosions accompany the death of a massive star. These explosions give birth to neutron stars and black holes and eject solar masses of heavy elements. However, determining the mechanism of explosion has been a half-century journey of great complexity. In this paper, we present our perspective of the status of this theoretical quest and the physics and astrophysics upon which its resolution seems to depend. The delayed neutrino-heating mechanism is emerging as a robust solution, but there remain many issues to address, not the least of which involves the chaos of the dynamics, before victory can unambiguously be declared. It is impossible to review in detail all aspects of this multi-faceted, more-than-half-century-long theoretical quest. Rather, we here map out the major ingredients of explosion and the emerging systematics of the observables with progenitor mass, as we currently see them. Our discussion will of necessity be speculative in parts, and many of the ideas may not survive future scrutiny. Some statements may be viewed as informed predictions concerning the numerous observables that rightly exercise astronomers witnessing and diagnosing the supernova Universe. Importantly, the same explosion in the inside, by the same mechanism, can look very different in photons, depending upon the mass and radius of the star upon explosion. A 10$^{51}$-erg (one Bethe) explosion of a red supergiant with a massive hydrogen-rich envelope, a diminished hydrogen envelope, no hydrogen envelope, and, perhaps, no hydrogen envelope or helium shell all look very different, yet might have the same core and explosion evolution.
Progress in the three-dimensional modeling of supernovae (SN) prompts us to revisit the supernova remnant (SNR) phase. We continue our study of the imprint of a thermonuclear explosion on the SNR it produces, that we started with a delayed-detonation model of a Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf. Here we compare two different types of explosion models, each with two variants: two delayed detonation models (N100ddt, N5ddt) and two pure deflagration models (N100def, N5def), where the N number parametrizes the ignition. The output of each SN simulation is used as input of a SNR simulation carried on until 500 yr after the explosion. While all SNR models become more spherical over time and overall display the theoretical structure expected for a young SNR, clear differences are visible amongst the models, depending on the geometry of the ignition and on the presence or not of detonation fronts. Compared to N100 models, N5 models have a strong dipole component, and produce asymmetric remnants. N5def produces a regular-looking, but offset remnant, while N5ddt produces a two-sided remnant. Pure deflagration models exhibit specific traits: a central over-density, because of the incomplete explosion, and a network of seam lines across the surface, boundaries between burning cells. Signatures from the SN dominate the morphology of the SNR up to 100 yr to 300 yr after the explosion, depending on the model, and are still measurable at 500 yr, which may provide a way of testing explosion models.
We report on the gravitational wave signal computed in the context of a three-dimensional simulation of a core collapse supernova explosion of a 15 Solar mass star. The simulation was performed with our neutrino hydrodynamics code Chimera. We detail the gravitational wave strains as a function of time, for both polarizations, and discuss their physical origins. We also present the corresponding spectral signatures. Gravitational wave emission in our model has two key features: low-frequency emission (< 200 Hz) emanates from the gain layer as a result of neutrino-driven convection and the SASI and high-frequency emission (> 600 Hz) emanates from the proto-neutron star due to Ledoux convection within it. The high-frequency emission dominates the gravitational wave emission in our model and emanates largely from the convective layer itself, not from the convectively stable layer above it, due to convective overshoot. Moreover, the low-frequency emission emanates from the gain layer itself, not from the proto-neutron star, due to accretion onto it. We provide evidence of the SASI in our model and demonstrate that the peak of our low-frequency gravitational wave emission spectrum corresponds to it. Given its origin in the gain layer, we classify the SASI emission in our model as p-mode emission and assign a purely acoustic origin, not a vortical-acoustic origin, to it. Our dominant proto-neutron star gravitational wave emission is not well characterized by emission from surface g-modes, complicating the relationship between peak frequencies observed and the mass and radius of the proto-neutron star expressed by analytic estimates under the assumption of surface g-mode emission. We present our frequency normalized characteristic strain along with the sensitivity curves of current- and next-generation gravitational wave detectors.
Recent progress in the three-dimensional modeling of supernovae (SN) has shown the importance of asymmetries for the explosion. This calls for a reconsideration of the modeling of the subsequent phase, the supernova remnant (SNR), which has commonly relied on simplified ejecta models. In this paper we bridge SN and SNR studies by using the output of a SN simulation as the input of a SNR simulation carried on until 500~yr. We consider the case of a thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf star as a model for a Type Ia SN; specifically we use the N100 delayed detonation model of Seitenzahl et al 2013. In order to analyze the morphology of the SNR, we locate the three discontinuities that delineate the shell of shocked matter: the forward shock, the contact discontinuity, and the reverse shock, and we decompose their radial variations as a function of angular scale and time. Assuming a uniform ambient medium, we find that the impact of the SN on the SNR may still be visible after hundreds of years. Previous 3D simulations aiming at reproducing Tychos SNR, that started out from spherically symmetric initial conditions, failed to reproduce structures at the largest angular scales observed in X-rays. Our new simulations strongly suggest that the missing ingredient was the initial asymmetries from the SN itself. With this work we establish a way of assessing the viability of SN models based on the resulting morphology of the SNR.