ABSTRACT The remnants of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) have complex morphologies that may reflect asymmetries and structures developed during the progenitor SN explosion. Here we investigate how the ...morphology of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) reflects the characteristics of the progenitor SN with the aim of deriving the energies and masses of the post-explosion anisotropies responsible for the observed spatial distribution of Fe and Si/S. We model the evolution of Cas A from the immediate aftermath of the progenitor SN to the three-dimensional interaction of the remnant with the surrounding medium. The post-explosion structure of the ejecta is described by small-scale clumping of material and larger-scale anisotropies. The hydrodynamic multi-species simulations consider an appropriate post-explosion isotopic composition of the ejecta. The observed average expansion rate and shock velocities can be well reproduced by models with ejecta mass Mej 4M and explosion energy ESN 2.3 × 1051 erg. The post-explosion anisotropies (pistons) reproduce the observed distributions of Fe and Si/S if they had a total mass of 0.25 M and a total kinetic energy of 1.5 × 1050 erg. The pistons produce a spatial inversion of ejecta layers at the epoch of Cas A, leading to the Si/S-rich ejecta physically interior to the Fe-rich ejecta. The pistons are also responsible for the development of the bright rings of Si/S-rich material which form at the intersection between the reverse shock and the material accumulated around the pistons during their propagation. Our result supports the idea that the bulk of asymmetries observed in Cas A are intrinsic to the explosion.
We have developed a relativistic, radiation-hydrodynamics Lagrangian code, specifically tailored to simulate the evolution of the main observables (light curve and the evolution of photospheric ...velocity and temperature) in core-collapse supernova (CC-SN) events. The distinctive features of the code are an accurate treatment of radiative transfer coupled to relativistic hydrodynamics, a self-consistent treatment of the evolution of the innermost ejecta taking into account the gravitational effects of the central compact remnant, and a fully implicit Lagrangian approach to the solution of the coupled nonlinear finite difference system of equations. Our aim is to use it as a numerical tool to perform calculations of a grid of models to be compared with observations of CC-SNe. In this paper, we present some testcase simulations and a comparison with observations of SN 1987A, as well as with the results obtained with other numerical codes. We also briefly discuss the influence of the main physical parameters (ejected mass, progenitor radius, explosion energy, amount of 56Ni) on the evolution of the ejecta, and the implications of our results in connection with the possibility to 'standardize' hydrogen-rich CC-SNe for using them as candles to measure cosmological distances.
We present the one-year long observing campaign of SN 2012A which exploded in the nearby (9.8 Mpc) irregular galaxy NGC 3239. The photometric evolution is that of a normal Type IIP supernova, but the ...plateau is shorter and the luminosity not as constant as in other supernovae of this type. The absolute maximum magnitude, with M
B
= −16.23 ± 0.16 mag, is close to the average for SN IIP. Thanks also to the strong UV flux in the early phase, SN 2012A reached a peak luminosity of about 2 × 1042 erg s−1, which is brighter than those of other SNe with a similar 56Ni mass. The latter was estimated from the luminosity in the exponential tail of the light curve and found to be M(56Ni) = 0.011 ± 0.004 M, which is intermediate between standard and faint SN IIP. The spectral evolution of SN 2012A is also typical of SN IIP, from the early spectra dominated by a blue continuum and very broad (∼104 km s−1) Balmer lines, to the late-photospheric spectra characterized by prominent P-Cygni features of metal lines (Fe ii, Sc ii, Ba ii, Ti ii, Ca ii, Na i D). The photospheric velocity is moderately low, ∼3 × 103 km s−1 at 50 d, for the low optical depth metal lines. The nebular spectrum obtained 394 d after the shock breakout shows the typical features of SNe IIP and the strength of the O i doublet suggests a progenitor of intermediate mass, similar to SN 2004et (∼15 M). A candidate progenitor for SN 2012A has been identified in deep, pre-explosion K
′-band Gemini North Near-InfraRed Imager and Spectrometer images, and found to be consistent with a star with a bolometric magnitude −7.08 ± 0.36 (log L/L = 4.73 ± 0.14 dex). The magnitude of the recovered progenitor in archival images points towards a moderate-mass
star as the precursor of SN 2012A. The explosion parameters and progenitor mass were also estimated by means of a hydrodynamical model, fitting the bolometric light curve, the velocity and the temperature evolution. We found a best fit for a kinetic energy of 0.48 foe, an initial radius of 1.8 × 1013 cm and ejecta mass of 12.5 M. Even including the mass for the compact remnant, this appears fully consistent with the direct measurements given above.
We present the results of a photometric and spectroscopic monitoring campaign of SN 2012ec, which exploded in the spiral galaxy NGC 1084, during the photospheric phase. The photometric light curve ...exhibits a plateau with luminosity L = 0.9 × 1042 erg s−1 and duration ∼90 d, which is somewhat shorter than standard Type II-P supernovae (SNe). We estimate the nickel mass M(56Ni) = 0.040 ± 0.015 M⊙ from the luminosity at the beginning of the radioactive tail of the light curve. The explosion parameters of SN 2012ec were estimated from the comparison of the bolometric light curve and the observed temperature and velocity evolution of the ejecta with predictions from hydrodynamical models. We derived an envelope mass of 12.6 M⊙, an initial progenitor radius of 1.6 × 1013 cm and an explosion energy of 1.2 foe. These estimates agree with an independent study of the progenitor star identified in pre-explosion images, for which an initial mass of M = 14-22 M⊙ was determined. We have applied the same analysis to two other Type II-P SNe (SNe 2012aw and 2012A), and carried out a comparison with the properties of SN 2012ec derived in this paper. We find a reasonable agreement between the masses of the progenitors obtained from pre-explosion images and masses derived from hydrodynamical models. We estimate the distance to SN 2012ec with the standardized candle method (SCM) and compare it with other estimates based on other primary and secondary indicators. SNe 2012A, 2012aw and 2012ec all follow the standard relations for the SCM for the use of Type II-P SNe as distance indicators.
Gravitational waves were discovered with the detection of binary black-hole mergers and they should also be detectable from lower-mass neutron-star mergers. These are predicted to eject material rich ...in heavy radioactive isotopes that can power an electromagnetic signal. This signal is luminous at optical and infrared wavelengths and is called a kilonova. The gravitational-wave source GW170817 arose from a binary neutron-star merger in the nearby Universe with a relatively well confined sky position and distance estimate. Here we report observations and physical modelling of a rapidly fading electromagnetic transient in the galaxy NGC 4993, which is spatially coincident with GW170817 and with a weak, short γ-ray burst. The transient has physical parameters that broadly match the theoretical predictions of blue kilonovae from neutron-star mergers. The emitted electromagnetic radiation can be explained with an ejected mass of 0.04 ± 0.01 solar masses, with an opacity of less than 0.5 square centimetres per gram, at a velocity of 0.2 ± 0.1 times light speed. The power source is constrained to have a power-law slope of -1.2 ± 0.3, consistent with radioactive powering from r-process nuclides. (The r-process is a series of neutron capture reactions that synthesise many of the elements heavier than iron.) We identify line features in the spectra that are consistent with light r-process elements (atomic masses of 90-140). As it fades, the transient rapidly becomes red, and a higher-opacity, lanthanide-rich ejecta component may contribute to the emission. This indicates that neutron-star mergers produce gravitational waves and radioactively powered kilonovae, and are a nucleosynthetic source of the r-process elements.
Context.
Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy has rapidly reached maturity, becoming a fundamental observing window for modern astrophysics. The coalescences of a few tens of black hole (BH) binaries ...have been detected, while the number of events possibly including a neutron star (NS) is still limited to a few. On 2019 August 14, the LIGO and Virgo interferometers detected a high-significance event labelled S190814bv. A preliminary analysis of the GW data suggests that the event was likely due to the merger of a compact binary system formed by a BH and a NS.
Aims.
In this paper, we present our extensive search campaign aimed at uncovering the potential optical and near infrared electromagnetic counterpart of S190814bv. We found no convincing electromagnetic counterpart in our data. We therefore use our non-detection to place limits on the properties of the putative outflows that could have been produced by the binary during and after the merger.
Methods.
Thanks to the three-detector observation of S190814bv, and given the characteristics of the signal, the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations delivered a relatively narrow localisation in low latency – a 50% (90%) credible area of 5 deg
2
(23 deg
2
) – despite the relatively large distance of 267 ± 52 Mpc. ElectromagNetic counterparts of GRAvitational wave sources at the VEry Large Telescope collaboration members carried out an intensive multi-epoch, multi-instrument observational campaign to identify the possible optical and near infrared counterpart of the event. In addition, the ATLAS, GOTO, GRAWITA-VST, Pan-STARRS, and VINROUGE projects also carried out a search on this event. In this paper, we describe the combined observational campaign of these groups.
Results.
Our observations allow us to place limits on the presence of any counterpart and discuss the implications for the kilonova (KN), which was possibly generated by this NS–BH merger, and for the strategy of future searches. The typical depth of our wide-field observations, which cover most of the projected sky localisation probability (up to 99.8%, depending on the night and filter considered), is
r
∼ 22 (resp.
K
∼ 21) in the optical (resp. near infrared). We reach deeper limits in a subset of our galaxy-targeted observations, which cover a total ∼50% of the galaxy-mass-weighted localisation probability. Altogether, our observations allow us to exclude a KN with large ejecta mass
M
≳ 0.1
M
⊙
to a high (> 90%) confidence, and we can exclude much smaller masses in a sub-sample of our observations. This disfavours the tidal disruption of the neutron star during the merger.
Conclusions.
Despite the sensitive instruments involved in the campaign, given the distance of S190814bv, we could not reach sufficiently deep limits to constrain a KN comparable in luminosity to AT 2017gfo on a large fraction of the localisation probability. This suggests that future (likely common) events at a few hundred megaparsecs will be detected only by large facilities with both a high sensitivity and large field of view. Galaxy-targeted observations can reach the needed depth over a relevant portion of the localisation probability with a smaller investment of resources, but the number of galaxies to be targeted in order to get a fairly complete coverage is large, even in the case of a localisation as good as that of this event.
We present an extensive optical and near-infrared photometric and spectroscopic campaign of the Type IIP supernova SN 2012aw. The data set densely covers the evolution of SN 2012aw shortly after the ...explosion through the end of the photospheric phase, with two additional photometric observations collected during the nebular phase, to fit the radioactive tail and estimate the super(56)Ni mass. Also included in our analysis is the previously published Swift UV data, therefore providing a complete view of the ultraviolet-optical-infrared evolution of the photospheric phase. On the basis of our data set, we estimate all the relevant physical parameters of SN 2012aw with our radiation-hydrodynamics code: envelope mass M sub(env) ~ 20 M sub(middot in circle), progenitor radius R ~ 3 x 10 super(13) cm (~430 R sub(middot in circle)), explosion energy E ~ 1.5 foe, and initial super(56)Ni mass ~0.06M sub(middot in circle). These mass and radius values are reasonably well supported by independent evolutionary models of the progenitor, and may suggest a progenitor mass higher than the observational limit of 16.5 + or - 1.5M sub(middot in circle) of the Type IIP events.
We present optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2009ib, a Type II-P supernova in NGC 1559. This object has moderate brightness, similar to those of the intermediate-luminosity ...SNe 2008in and 2009N. Its plateau phase is unusually long, lasting for about 130 d after explosion. The spectra are similar to those of the subluminous SN 2002gd, with moderate expansion velocities. We estimate the 56Ni mass produced as 0.046 ± 0.015 M⊙. We determine the distance to SN 2009ib using both the expanding photosphere method (EPM) and the standard candle method. We also apply EPM to SN 1986L, a Type II-P SN that exploded in the same galaxy. Combining the results of different methods, we conclude the distance to NGC 1559 as D = 19.8 ± 3.0 Mpc. We examine archival, pre-explosion images of the field taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, and find a faint source at the position of the SN, which has a yellow colour (V − I)0 = 0.85 mag. Assuming it is a single star, we estimate its initial mass as M
ZAMS = 20 M⊙. We also examine the possibility, that instead of the yellow source the progenitor of SN 2009ib is a red supergiant star too faint to be detected. In this case, we estimate the upper limit for the initial zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass of the progenitor to be ∼14–17 M⊙. In addition, we infer the physical properties of the progenitor at the explosion via hydrodynamical modelling of the observables, and estimate the total energy as ∼0.55 × 1051 erg, the pre-explosion radius as ∼400 R⊙, and the ejected envelope mass as ∼15 M⊙, which implies that the mass of the progenitor before explosion was ∼16.5–17 M⊙.
We present photometry and spectroscopy of the Type IIP supernova (SN IIP) 2009bw in UGC 2890 from a few days after the outburst to 241 d. The light curve of SN 2009bw during the photospheric phase is ...similar to that of normal SNe IIP but with a brighter peak and plateau (
mag,
mag). The luminosity drop from the photospheric to the nebular phase is one of the fastest ever observed, ∼2.2 mag in about 13 d. The radioactive tail of the bolometric light curve indicates that the amount of ejected 56Ni is ≈0.022 M⊙. The photospheric spectra reveal high-velocity lines of Hα and Hβ until about 105 d after the shock breakout, suggesting a possible early interaction between the SN ejecta and pre-existent circumstellar material, and the presence of CNO elements. By modelling the bolometric light curve, ejecta expansion velocity and photospheric temperature, we estimate a total ejected mass of ∼8-12 M⊙, a kinetic energy of ∼0.3 foe and an initial radius of ∼3.6-7 × 1013 cm.
We present ultraviolet, optical, near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2009N in NGC 4487. This object is a Type II-P supernova with spectra resembling those of subluminous II-P supernovae, ...while its bolometric luminosity is similar to that of the intermediate-luminosity SN 2008in. We created synow models of the plateau phase spectra for line identification and to measure the expansion velocity. In the near-infrared spectra we find signs indicating possible weak interaction between the supernova ejecta and the pre-existing circumstellar material. These signs are also present in the previously unpublished near-infrared spectra of SN 2008in. The distance to SN 2009N is determined via the expanding photosphere method and the standard candle method as D = 21.6 ± 1.1 Mpc. The produced nickel-mass is estimated to be ∼0.020 ± 0.004 M. We infer the physical properties of the progenitor at the explosion through hydrodynamical modelling of the observables. We find the values of the total energy as ∼0.48 × 1051 erg, the ejected mass as ∼11.5 M, and the initial radius as ∼287 R.
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