We investigate the possibility of a super-luminous Type Ic core-collapse supernovae producing a large amount of 56Ni. Very massive stars with a main-sequence mass larger than 100 Msun and a metallicity 0.001 < Z < 0.004 are expected to explode as sup
er-luminous Type Ic supernovae. Stars with ~ 110 - 150 Msun and Z < 0.001 would explode as Type Ic pulsational pair-instability supernovae if the whole H and He layers has been lost by the mass loss during pulsational pair-instability. We evaluate the total ejecta mass and the yields of 56Ni, O, and Si in core-collapse supernovae evolved from very massive stars. We adopt 43.1 and 61.1 Msun WO stars with Z=0.004 as supernova progenitors expected to explode as Type Ic core-collapse supernovae. These progenitors have masses of 110 and 250 Msun at the zero-age main sequence. Spherical explosions with an explosion energy larger than 2e52 erg produce more than 3.5 Msun 56Ni, enough to reproduce the light curve of SN 2007bi. Asphericity of the explosion affects the total ejecta mass as well as the yields of 56Ni, O, and Si. Aspherical explosions of the 110 and 250 Msun models reproduce the 56Ni yield of SN 2007bi. These explosions will also show large velocity dispersion. An aspherical core-collapse supernova evolved from a very massive star is a possibility of the explosion of SN 2007bi.
We study electron-neutrino and electron-antineutrino signals from a supernova with strong magnetic field detected by a 100 kton liquid Ar detector. The change of neutrino flavors by resonant spin-flavor
SN 2007bi is an extremely luminous Type Ic supernova. This supernova is thought to be evolved from a very massive star, and two possibilities have been proposed for the explosion mechanism. One possibility is a pair-instability supernova with an M_{C
O} ~ 100 M_sun CO core progenitor. Another possibility is a core-collapse supernova with M_{CO} ~ 40 M_sun. We investigate the evolution of very massive stars with main-sequence mass M_{MS} = 100 - 500 M_sun and Z_0 = 0.004, which is in the metallicity range of the host galaxy of SN 2007bi, to constrain the progenitor of SN 2007bi. The supernova type relating to the surface He abundance is also discussed. The main-sequence mass of the progenitor exploding as a pair-instability supernova could be M_{MS} ~ 515 - 575 M_sun. The minimum main-sequence mass could be 310 M_sun when uncertainties in the mass-loss rate are considered. A star with M_{MS} ~ 110 - 280 M_sun evolves to a CO star, appropriate for the core-collapse supernova of SN 2007bi. Arguments based on the probability of pair-instability and core-collapse supernovae favour the hypothesis that SN 2007bi originated from a core-collapse supernova event.
Detailed dependence of resonant spin-flavor (RSF) conversion of supernova neutrinos on electron mole fraction Ye is investigated. Supernova explosion forms a hot-bubble and neutrino-driven wind region of which electron mole fraction exceeds 0.5 in se
veral seconds after the core collapse. When a higher resonance of the RSF conversion is located in the innermost region, flavor change of the neutrinos strongly depends on the sign of 1-2Ye. At an adiabatic high RSF resonance the flavor conversion of bar{nu}_e -> nu_{mu,tau} occurs in Ye < 0.5 and normal mass hierarchy or in Ye > 0.5 and inverted mass hierarchy. In other cases of Ye values and mass hierarchies, the conversion of nu_e -> bar{nu}_{mu,tau} occurs. The final bar{nu}_e spectrum is evaluated in the cases of Ye < 0.5 and Ye > 0.5 taking account of the RSF conversion. Based on the obtained result, time variation of the event number ratios of low bar{nu}_e energy to high bar{nu}_e energy is discussed. In normal mass hierarchy, an enhancement of the event ratio should be seen in the period when the electron fraction in the innermost region exceeds 0.5. In inverted mass hierarchy, on the other hand, a dip of the event ratio should be observed. Therefore, the time variation of the event number ratio is useful to investigate the effect of the RSF conversion.
The neutrino-nucleus reaction cross sections of 4He and 12C are evaluated using new shell model Hamiltonians. Branching ratios of various decay channels are calculated to evaluate the yields of Li, Be, and B produced through the nu-process in superno
va explosions. The new cross sections enhance the yields of 7Li and 11B produced during the supernova explosion of a 16.2 M_odot star model compared to the case using the conventional cross sections by about 10%. On the other hand, the yield of 10B decreases by a factor of two. The yields of 6Li, 9Be, and the radioactive nucleus 10Be are found at a level of 10^{-11} M_odot. The temperature of nu_{mu,tau}- and bar{nu}_{mu,tau}-neutrinos inferred from the supernova contribution of 11B in Galactic chemical evolution models is constrained to the 4.3-6.5 MeV range. The increase in the 7Li and 11B yields due to neutrino oscillations is demonstrated with the new cross sections.
