No Arabic abstract
Supernovae explosions of massive stars are nowadays believed to result from a two-step process, with an initial gravitational core collapse followed by an expansion of matter after a bouncing on the core. This scenario meets several difficulties. We show that it is not the only possible one: a simple model based on fluid mechanics and stability properties of the equilibrium state shows that one can have also a simultaneous inward/outward motion in the early stage of the instability of the supernova. This shows up in the slow sweeping across a saddle-center bifurcation found when considering equilibrium states associated to the constraint of energy conservation. We first discuss the weakly nonlinear regime in terms of a Painleve I equation. We then show that the strongly nonlinear regime displays a self-similar behavior of the core collapse. Finally, the expansion of the remnants is revisited as an isentropic process leading to shocks formation.
The present understanding of supernova explosion of massive stars as a two-step process, with an initial gravitational collapse toward the center of the star followed by an expansion of matter after a bouncing on the core, meets several difficulties. We show that it is not the only possible one: a simple model based on fluid mechanics, catastrophe theory, and stability properties of the equilibrium state shows that one can have also a simultaneous inward/outward motion in the early stage of the instability of the supernova described by a dynamical saddle-center bifurcation. The existence of this simultaneous inward/outward motion is sensitive to the model in such systems with long-range interactions. If a constant temperature is assumed (canonical ensemble), an overall inward motion occurs, but if one imposes with the same equation of state the constraint of energy conservation (microcanonical ensemble) there is an inward velocity field near the center of the star together with an outward velocity field in the rest of the star. We discuss the expansion stage of the remnants away from the collapsed core, and propose a new explanation for the formation of shock waves in the ejecta which differs from the usual Sedov-Taylor self-similar description.
Observational surveys are now able to detect an increasing number of transients, such as core-collapse supernovae (SN) and powerful non-terminal outbursts (SN impostors). Dedicated spectroscopic facilities can follow up these events shortly after detection. Here we investigate the properties of these explosions at early times. We use the radiative transfer code CMFGEN to build an extensive library of spectra simulating the interaction of supernovae and their progenitors winds/circumstellar medium (CSM). We consider a range of progenitor mass-loss rates (Mdot = 5e-4 to 1e-2 Msun/yr), abundances (solar, CNO-processed, and He-rich), and SN luminosities (L = 1.9e8 to 2.5e10 Lsun). The models simulate events ~1 day after explosion, and we assume a fixed location of the shock front as Rin=8.6e13 cm. We show that the large range of massive star properties at the pre-SN stage causes a diversity of early-time interacting SN and impostors. We identify three main classes of early-time spectra consisting of relatively high-ionisation (e.g. Ovi), medium-ionisation (e.g. Ciii), and low-ionisation lines (e.g. Feii/iii). They are regulated by L and the CSM density. Given a progenitor wind velocity Vinf, our models also place a lower limit of Mdot > 5e-4 (Vinf/150 km/s) Msun/yr for detection of CSM interaction signatures in observed spectra. Early-time SN spectra should provide clear constraints on progenitors by measuring H, He, and CNO abundances if the progenitors come from single stars. The connections are less clear considering the effects of binary evolution. Yet, our models provide a clear path for linking the final stages of massive stars to their post-explosion spectra at early times, and guiding future observational follow-up of transients with facilities such as the Zwicky Transient Facility.
Much difficulty has so far prevented the emergence of a consistent scenario for the origin of Type Ib and Ic supernovae (SNe). Here, we follow a heuristic approach by examining the fate of helium stars in the mass range 4 to 12Msun, which presumably form in interacting binaries. The helium stars are evolved using stellar wind mass loss rates that agree with observations, and which reproduce the observed luminosity range of galactic WR stars, leading to stellar masses at core collapse in the range 3-5.5Msun. We then explode these models adopting an explosion energy proportional to the ejecta mass, roughly consistent with theoretical predictions. We impose a fixed 56Ni mass and strong mixing. The SN radiation from 3 to 100d is computed self-consistently starting from the input stellar models using the time-dependent non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative-transfer code CMFGEN. By design, our fiducial models yield similar light curves, with a rise time of ~20d and a peak luminosity of ~10^42.2erg/s, in line with representative SNe Ibc. The less massive progenitors retain a He-rich envelope and reproduce the color, line widths, and line strengths of a representative sample of SNe Ib, while stellar winds remove most of the helium in more massive progenitors, whose spectra match typical SNe Ic in detail. The transition between the predicted Ib-like and Ic-like spectra is continuous, but it is sharp, such that the resulting models essentially form a dichotomy. Further models computed with varying explosion energy, 56Ni mass, and long-term power injection from the remnant show that a moderate variation of these parameters can reproduce much of the diversity of SNe Ibc. We conclude that stars stripped by a binary companion can account for the vast majority of ordinary SNe Ib and Ic, and that stellar wind mass loss is the key to remove the helium envelope in SN Ic progenitors. [abridged]
There are now $sim$20 multi-dimensional core-collapse supernova (CCSN) simulations that explode. However, these simulations have explosion energies that are a few times $10^{50}$ erg, not $10^{51}$ erg. In this manuscript, we compare the inferred explosion energies of these simulations and observations of 38 SN~IIP. Assuming a log-normal distribution, the mean explosion energy for the observations is $mu_{rm obs} = -0.13pm 0.05$ ($log_{10}(E/10^{51}, {rm erg})$) and the width is $sigma_{rm obs} = 0.21^{+0.05}_{-0.04}$. Only three CCSN codes have sufficient simulations to compare with observations: CHIMERA, CoCoNuT-FMT, and FORNAX. Currently, FORNAX has the largest sample of simulations. The two-dimensional FORNAX simulations show a correlation between explosion energy and progenitor mass, ranging from linear to quadratic, $E_{rm sim} propto M^{1-2}$; this correlation is consistent with inferences from observations. In addition, we infer the ratio of the observed-to-simulated explosion energies, $Delta=log_{10}(E_{rm obs}/E_{rm sim})$. For the CHIMERA set, $Delta=0.33pm0.06$; for CoCoNuT-FMT, $Delta=0.62pm0.05$; for FORNAX2D, $Delta=0.73pm0.05$, and for FORNAX3D, $Delta=0.95pm0.06$. On average, the simulations are less energetic than inferred energies from observations ($Delta approx 0.7$), but we also note that the variation among the simulations (max($Delta$)-min($Delta$) $approx 0.6$) is as large as this average offset. This suggests that further improvements to the simulations could resolve the discrepancy. Furthermore, both the simulations and the observations are heavily biased. In this preliminary comparison, we model these biases, but to more reliably compare the explosion energies, we recommend strategies to un-bias both the simulations and observations.
We present self-consistent, axisymmetric core-collapse supernova simulations performed with the Prometheus-Vertex code for 18 pre-supernova models in the range of 11-28 solar masses, including progenitors recently investigated by other groups. All models develop explosions, but depending on the progenitor structure, they can be divided into two classes. With a steep density decline at the Si/Si-O interface, the arrival of this interface at the shock front leads to a sudden drop of the mass-accretion rate, triggering a rapid approach to explosion. With a more gradually decreasing accretion rate, it takes longer for the neutrino heating to overcome the accretion ram pressure and explosions set in later. Early explosions are facilitated by high mass-accretion rates after bounce and correspondingly high neutrino luminosities combined with a pronounced drop of the accretion rate and ram pressure at the Si/Si-O interface. Because of rapidly shrinking neutron star radii and receding shock fronts after the passage through their maxima, our models exhibit short advection time scales, which favor the efficient growth of the standing accretion-shock instability. The latter plays a supportive role at least for the initiation of the re-expansion of the stalled shock before runaway. Taking into account the effects of turbulent pressure in the gain layer, we derive a generalized condition for the critical neutrino luminosity that captures the explosion behavior of all models very well. We validate the robustness of our findings by testing the influence of stochasticity, numerical resolution, and approximations in some aspects of the microphysics.