No Arabic abstract
We infer the progenitor mass distribution for 22 historic core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) using a Bayesian hierarchical model. For this inference, we use the local star formation histories to estimate the age for each supernova (SN). These star formation histories often show multiple bursts of star formation; our model assumes that one burst is associated with the SN progenitor and the others are random bursts of star formation. The primary inference is the progenitor age distribution. Due to the limited number of historic SNe and highly uncertain star formation at young ages, we restrict our inference to the slope of the age distribution and the maximum age for CCSNe. Using single-star evolutionary models, we transform the progenitor age distribution into a progenitor mass distribution. Under these assumptions, the minimum mass for CCSNe is ${M_textrm{min}}~=~8.60^{+0.37}_{-0.41} M_odot$ and the slope of the progenitor mass distribution is $alpha = -2.61^{+1.05}_{-1.18}$. The power-law slope for the progenitor mass distribution is consistent with the standard Salpeter initial mass function ($alpha = -2.35$). These values are consistent with previous estimates using precursor imaging and the age-dating technique, further confirming that using stellar populations around SN and supernova remnants is a reliable way to infer the progenitor masses.
We age-date the stellar populations associated with 12 historic nearby core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and 2 supernova impostors, and from these ages, we infer their initial masses and associated uncertainties. To do this, we have obtained new HST imaging covering these CCSNe. Using these images, we measure resolved stellar photometry for the stars surrounding the locations of the SNe. We then fit the color-magnitude distributions of this photometry with stellar evolution models to determine the ages of any young existing populations present. From these age distributions, we infer the most likely progenitor mass for all of the SNe in our sample. We find ages between 4 and 50 Myr, corresponding to masses from 7.5 to 59 solar masses. There were no SNe that lacked a young population within 50~pc. Our sample contains 4 type Ib/c SNe; their masses have a wide range of values, suggesting that the progenitors of stripped-envelope SNe are binary systems. Both impostors have masses constrained to be $lesssim$7.5 solar masses. In cases with precursor imaging measurements, we find that age-dating and precursor imaging give consistent progenitor masses. This consistency implies that, although the uncertainties for each technique are significantly different, the results of both are reliable to the measured uncertainties. We combine these new measurements with those from our previous work and find that the distribution of 25 core-collapse SNe progenitor masses is consistent with a standard Salpeter power-law mass function, no upper mass cutoff, and an assumed minimum mass for core-collapse of 7.5~M$_{odot}$.
Using resolved stellar photometry measured from archival HST imaging, we generate color-magnitude diagrams of the stars within 50 pc of the locations of historic core-collapse supernovae that took place in galaxies within 8 Mpc. We fit these color-magnitude distributions with stellar evolution models to determine the best-fit age distribution of the young population. We then translate these age distributions into probability distributions for the progenitor mass of each SNe. The measurements are anchored by the main-sequence stars surrounding the event, making them less sensitive to assumptions about binarity, post-main-sequence evolution, or circumstellar dust. We demonstrate that, in cases where the literature contains masses that have been measured from direct imaging, our measurements are consistent with (but less precise than) these measurements. Using this technique, we constrain the progenitor masses of 17 historic SNe, 11 of which have no previous estimates from direct imaging. Our measurements still allow the possibility that all SNe progenitor masses are <20 M_sun. However, the large uncertainties for the highest-mass progenitors also allow the possibility of no upper-mass cutoff.
Metallicity is expected to influence not only the lives of massive stars but also the outcome of their deaths as supernovae (SNe) and as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, there are surprisingly few direct measurements of the local metallicities of different flavors of core-collapse SNe. Here we present the largest existing set of host-galaxy spectra with H II region emission lines at the sites of 35 stripped-envelope core-collapse SNe. We derive local oxygen abundances in a robust manner in order to constrain the SN Ib/c progenitor population. We obtain spectra at the SN sites, include SNe from targeted and untargeted surveys, and perform the abundance determinatinos using three different oxygen-abundance calibrations. The sites of SNe Ic (the demise of the most heavily stripped stars having lost both the H and He layers) are systematically more metal rich than those of SNe Ib (arising from stars that retained their He layer) in all calibrations. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test yields the very low probability of 1% that SN Ib and SN Ic environment abundances, which are different on average by ~0.2 dex (in the Pettini & Pagel scale), are drawn from the same parent population. Broad-lined SNe Ic (without GRBs) occur at metallicities between those of SNe Ib and SNe Ic. Lastly, we find that the host-galaxy central oxygen abundance is not a good indicator of the local SN metallicity; hence, large-scale SN surveys need to obtain local abundance measurements in order to quantify the impact of metallicity on stellar death.
We present a first study of the progenitor star dependence of the three-dimensional (3D) neutrino mechanism of core-collapse supernovae. We employ full 3D general-relativistic multi-group neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics and simulate the post-bounce evolutions of progenitors with zero-age main sequence masses of $12$, $15$, $20$, $27$, and $40,M_odot$. All progenitors, with the exception of the $12,M_odot$ star, experience shock runaway by the end of their simulations. In most cases, a strongly asymmetric explosion will result. We find three qualitatively distinct evolutions that suggest a complex dependence of explosion dynamics on progenitor density structure, neutrino heating, and 3D flow. (1) Progenitors with massive cores, shallow density profiles, and high post-core-bounce accretion rates experience very strong neutrino heating and neutrino-driven turbulent convection, leading to early shock runaway. Accretion continues at a high rate, likely leading to black hole formation. (2) Intermediate progenitors experience neutrino-driven, turbulence-aided explosions triggered by the arrival of density discontinuities at the shock. These occur typically at the silicon/silicon-oxygen shell boundary. (3) Progenitors with small cores and density profiles without strong discontinuities experience shock recession and develop the 3D standing-accretion shock instability (SASI). Shock runaway ensues late, once declining accretion rate, SASI, and neutrino-driven convection create favorable conditions. These differences in explosion times and dynamics result in a non-monotonic relationship between progenitor and compact remnant mass.
Core-collapse supernovae are among Natures most energetic events. They mark the end of massive star evolution and pollute the interstellar medium with the life-enabling ashes of thermonuclear burning. Despite their importance for the evolution of galaxies and life in the universe, the details of the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism remain in the dark and pose a daunting computational challenge. We outline the multi-dimensional, multi-scale, and multi-physics nature of the core-collapse supernova problem and discuss computational strategies and requirements for its solution. Specifically, we highlight the axisymmetric (2D) radiation-MHD code VULCAN/2D and present results obtained from the first full-2D angle-dependent neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of the post-core-bounce supernova evolution. We then go on to discuss the new code Zelmani which is based on the open-source HPC Cactus framework and provides a scalable AMR approach for 3D fully general-relativistic modeling of stellar collapse, core-collapse supernovae and black hole formation on current and future massively-parallel HPC systems. We show Zelmanis scaling properties to more than 16,000 compute cores and discuss first 3D general-relativistic core-collapse results.