No Arabic abstract
We have studied the influence of the presupernova structure and the degree of Ni-56 mixing on the bolometric light curve of SN 1987A in terms of radiation hydrodynamics in the one-group approximation by abandoning LTE and by taking into account nonthermal ionization and the contribution of spectral lines to opacity. Our study shows that moderate Ni-56 mixing at velocities of < 2500 km/s can explain the observed light curve if the density of the outer layers of the presupernova exceeds the value obtained in the evolutionary model of a single nonrotating star severalfold. Abandoning LTE and allowing for nonthermal ionization when solving the equation of state and calculating the mean opacities and the thermal emission coefficient leads to a significant difference between the gas temperature and the radiation temperature in the optically thin layers of the supernova envelope. We demonstrate the fundamental role of the contribution of spectral lines to the opacity in an expanding envelope and of the accurate description of radiative transfer in reproducing the observed shape of the bolometric light curve. We have found that disregarding the contribution of spectral lines to the opacity introduces an error of 20% into the explosion energy, and that a similar error is possible when determining the mass of the ejected matter. The resonant scattering of radiation in numerous lines accelerates the outer layers to velocities of 36 000 km/s; this additional acceleration affects the outer layers with a mass of 10^{-6} Msun. Proper calculations of the supernova luminosity require that not only the delay effects, but also the limb-darkening effects be taken into account.
We revisit the evidence for the contribution of the long-lived radioactive nuclides 44Ti, 55Fe, 56Co, 57Co, and 60Co to the UVOIR light curve of SN 1987A. We show that the V-band luminosity constitutes a roughly constant fraction of the bolometric luminosity between 900 and 1900 days, and we obtain an approximate bolometric light curve out to 4334 days by scaling the late time V-band data by a constant factor where no bolometric light curve data is available. Considering the five most relevant decay chains starting at 44Ti, 55Co, 56Ni, 57Ni, and 60Co, we perform a least squares fit to the constructed composite bolometric light curve. For the nickel isotopes, we obtain best fit values of M(56Ni) = (7.1 +- 0.3) x 10^{-2} Msun and M(57Ni) = (4.1 +- 1.8) x 10^{-3} Msun. Our best fit 44Ti mass is M(44Ti) = (0.55 +- 0.17) x 10^{-4} Msun, which is in disagreement with the much higher (3.1 +- 0.8) x 10^{-4} Msun recently derived from INTEGRAL observations. The associated uncertainties far exceed the best fit values for 55Co and 60Co and, as a result, we only give upper limits on the production masses of M(55Co) < 7.2 x 10^{-3} Msun and M(60Co) < 1.7 x 10^{-4} Msun. Furthermore, we find that the leptonic channels in the decay of 57Co (internal conversion and Auger electrons) are a significant contribution and constitute up to 15.5% of the total luminosity. Consideration of the kinetic energy of these electrons is essential in lowering our best fit nickel isotope production ratio to [57Ni/56Ni]=2.5+-1.1, which is still somewhat high but is in agreement with gamma-ray observations and model predictions.
With the same method as used previously, we investigate neutrino-driven explosions of a larger sample of blue supergiant models. The larger sample includes three new presupernova stars. The results are compared with light-curve observations of the peculiar type IIP SN 1987A. The explosions were modeled in 3D with the neutrino-hydrodynamics code PROMETHEUS-HOTB, and light-curve calculations were performed in spherical symmetry with the radiation-hydrodynamics code CRAB. Our results confirm the basic findings of the previous work: 3D neutrino-driven explosions with SN 1987A-like energies synthesize an amount of Ni-56 that is consistent with the radioactive tail of the light curve. Moreover, the models mix hydrogen inward to minimum velocities below 400 km/s as required by spectral observations. Hydrodynamic simulations with the new progenitor models, which possess smaller radii than the older ones, show much better agreement between calculated and observed light curves in the initial luminosity peak and during the first 20 days. A set of explosions with similar energies demonstrated that a high growth factor of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities at the (C+O)/He composition interface combined with a weak interaction of fast Rayleigh-Taylor plumes, where the reverse shock occurs below the He/H interface, provides a sufficient condition for efficient outward mixing of Ni-56 into the hydrogen envelope. This condition is realized to the required extent only in one of the older stellar models, which yielded a maximum velocity of around 3000 km/s for the bulk of ejected Ni-56, but failed to reproduce the helium-core mass of 6 Msun inferred from the absolute luminosity of the presupernova star. We conclude that none of the single-star progenitor models proposed for SN 1987A to date satisfies all constraints set by observations. (Abridged)
SN 2003dh, one of the most luminous supernovae ever recorded, and the one with the highest measured velocities, accompanied gamma-ray burst 030329. Its rapid rise to maximum and equally rapid decline pose problems for any spherically symmetric model. We model the supernova here as a very energetic, polar explosion that left the equatorial portions of the star almost intact. The total progenitor mass was much greater than the mass of high-velocity ejecta, and the total mass of 56-Ni synthesized was about 0.5 solar masses. Such asymmetries and nickel masses are expected in the collapsar model. A ``composite two-dimensional model is calculated that agrees well with the characteristics of the observed light curve. The mass of 56-Ni required for this light curve is 0.55 solar masses and the total explosion energy, 26 x 10**51 erg.
We report on multi-epoch X-ray observations of the Type IIn (narrow emission line) supernova SN 1995N with the ROSAT and ASCA satellites. The January 1998 ASCA X-ray spectrum is well fitted by a thermal bremsstrahlung (kT~10 keV, N_H~6e20 cm^-2) or power-law (alpha~1.7, N_H~1e21 cm^-2) model. The X-ray light curve shows evidence for significant flux evolution between August 1996 and January 1998: the count rate from the source decreased by 30% between our August 1996 and August 1997 ROSAT observations, and the X-ray luminosity most likely increased by a factor of ~2 between our August 1997 ROSAT and January 1998 ASCA observations, although evolution of the spectral shape over this interval is not ruled out. The high X-ray luminosity, L_X~1e41 erg/sec, places SN 1995N in a small group of Type IIn supernovae with strong circumstellar interaction, and the evolving X-ray luminosity suggests that the circumstellar medium is distributed inhomogeneously.
Supernova 1987A offers a unique opportunity to study an evolving supernova in unprecedented detail over several decades. The X-ray emission is dominated by interactions between the ejecta and the circumstellar medium, primarily the equatorial ring (ER). We analyze 3.3 Ms of NuSTAR data obtained between 2012 and 2020, and two decades of XMM-Newton data. Since ${sim}$2013, the flux below 2 keV has declined, the 3-8 keV flux has increased, but has started to flatten, and the emission above 10 keV has remained nearly constant. The spectra are well described by a model with three thermal shock components. Two components at 0.3 and 0.9 keV are associated with dense clumps in the ER, and a 4 keV component may be a combination of emission from diffuse gas in the ER and the surrounding low-density H II region. We disfavor models that involve non-thermal X-ray emission and place constraints on non-thermal components, but cannot firmly exclude an underlying power law. Radioactive lines show a $^{44}$Ti redshift of $670^{+520}_{-380}$ km s$^{-1}$, $^{44}$Ti mass of $1.73_{-0.29}^{+0.27}times{}10^{-4}$ solar masses, and $^{55}$Fe mass of $<4.2times{}10^{-4}$ solar masses. The 35-65 keV luminosity limit on the compact object is $2times{}10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and $<15$% of the 10-20 keV flux is pulsed. Considering previous limits, we conclude that there are currently no indications of a compact object, aside from a possible hint of dust heated by a neutron star in recent ALMA images.