Knowledge of the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae is a fundamental component in understanding the explosions. The recent progress in finding such stars is reviewed. The minimum initial mass ...that can produce a supernova (SN) has converged to 8 ± 1 M ⊙ from direct detections of red supergiant progenitors of II-P SNe and the most massive white dwarf progenitors, although this value is model dependent. It appears that most type Ibc SNe arise from moderate mass interacting binaries. The highly energetic, broad-lined Ic SNe are likely produced by massive, Wolf-Rayet progenitors. There is some evidence to suggest that the majority of massive stars above ∼20 M ⊙ may collapse quietly to black holes and that the explosions remain undetected. The recent discovery of a class of ultrabright type II SNe and the direct detection of some progenitor stars bearing luminous blue variable characteristics suggest some very massive stars do produce highly energetic explosions. The physical mechanism is under debate, and these SNe pose a challenge to stellar evolutionary theory.
ABSTRACT
The detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 together with the observation of electromagnetic counterparts across the entire spectrum inaugurated a new era of multimessenger ...astronomy. In this study, we incorporate wavelength-dependent opacities and emissivities calculated from atomic-structure data enabling us to model both the measured light curves and spectra of the electromagnetic transient AT2017gfo. Best fits of the observational data are obtained by Gaussian Process Regression, which allows us to present posterior samples for the kilonova and source properties connected to GW170817. Incorporating constraints obtained from the gravitational wave signal measured by the LIGO-Virgo Scientific Collaboration, we present a $90{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ upper bound on the mass ratio q ≲ 1.38 and a lower bound on the tidal deformability of $\tilde{\Lambda } \gtrsim 197$, which rules out sufficiently soft equations of state. Our analysis is a path-finder for more realistic kilonova models and shows how the combination of gravitational wave and electromagnetic measurements allow for stringent constraints on the source parameters and the supranuclear equation of state.
The progenitors of many Type II core-collapse supernovae (SNe) have now been identified directly on pre-discovery imaging. Here, we present an extensive search for the progenitors of Type Ibc SNe in ...all available pre-discovery imaging since 1998. There are 12 Type Ibc SNe with no detections of progenitors in either deep ground-based or Hubble Space Telescope archival imaging. The deepest absolute BVR magnitude limits are between −4 and − 5 mag. We compare these limits with the observed Wolf-Rayet population in the Large Magellanic Cloud and estimate a 16 per cent probability that we have failed to detect such a progenitor by chance. Alternatively, the progenitors evolve significantly before core-collapse or we have underestimated the extinction towards the progenitors. Reviewing the relative rates and ejecta mass estimates from light-curve modelling of Ibc SNe, we find both incompatible with Wolf-Rayet stars with initial masses >25 M being the only progenitors. We present binary evolution models that fit these observational constraints. Stars in binaries with initial masses 20 M lose their hydrogen envelopes in binary interactions to become low-mass helium stars. They retain a low-mass hydrogen envelope until 104 yr before core-collapse; hence, it is not surprising that Galactic analogues have been difficult to identify.
Cao et al. reported a possible progenitor detection for the Type Ib supernovae iPTF13bvn for the first time. We find that the progenitor is in fact brighter than the magnitudes previously reported by ...approximately 0.7-0.2 mag with a larger error in the bluer filters. We compare our new magnitudes to our large set of binary evolution models and find that many binary models with initial masses in the range of 10-20...M... match this new photometry and other constraints suggested from analysing the supernova. In addition, these lower mass stars retain more helium at the end of the model evolution indicating that they are likely to be observed as Type Ib supernovae rather than their more massive, Wolf-Rayet counter parts. We are able to rule out typical Wolf-Rayet models as the progenitor because their ejecta masses are too high and they do not fit the observed SED unless they have a massive companion which is the observed source at the supernova location. Therefore only late-time observations of the location will truly confirm if the progenitor was a helium giant and not a Wolf-Rayet star. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
We present panchromatic observations and modeling of the Calcium-rich supernova (SN) 2019ehk in the star-forming galaxy M100 (d 16.2 Mpc) starting 10 hr after explosion and continuing for ∼300 days. ...SN 2019ehk shows a double-peaked optical light curve peaking at t = 3 and 15 days. The first peak is coincident with luminous, rapidly decaying Swift-XRT-discovered X-ray emission ( at 3 days; Lx ∝ t−3), and a Shane/Kast spectral detection of narrow H and He ii emission lines (v 500 ) originating from pre-existent circumstellar material (CSM). We attribute this phenomenology to radiation from shock interaction with extended, dense material surrounding the progenitor star at r < 1015 cm and the resulting cooling emission. We calculate a total CSM mass of ∼7 × 10−3 (MHe/MH 6) with particle density n 109 cm−3. Radio observations indicate a significantly lower density n < 104 cm−3 at larger radii r > (0.1-1) × 1017 cm. The photometric and spectroscopic properties during the second light-curve peak are consistent with those of Ca-rich transients (rise-time of tr = 13.4 0.210 days and a peak B-band magnitude of MB = −15.1 0.200 mag). We find that SN 2019ehk synthesized (3.1 0.11) × 10−2 of and ejected Mej = (0.72 0.040) total with a kinetic energy Ek = (1.8 0.10) × 1050 erg. Finally, deep HST pre-explosion imaging at the SN site constrains the parameter space of viable stellar progenitors to massive stars in the lowest mass bin (∼10 ) in binaries that lost most of their He envelope or white dwarfs (WDs). The explosion and environment properties of SN 2019ehk further restrict the potential WD progenitor systems to low-mass hybrid HeCO WD+CO WD binaries.
We study the sudden optical and ultraviolet (UV) brightening of 1ES 1927+654, which until now was known as a narrow-line active galactic nucleus (AGN). 1ES 1927+654 was part of the small and peculiar ...class of "true Type-2" AGNs that lack broad emission lines and line-of-sight obscuration. Our high-cadence spectroscopic monitoring captures the appearance of a blue, featureless continuum, followed several weeks later by the appearance of broad Balmer emission lines. This timescale is generally consistent with the expected light travel time between the central engine and the broadline emission region in (persistent) broadline AGN. Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy reveals no evidence for broad UV emission lines (e.g., C iv λ1549, C iii λ1909, Mg ii λ2798), probably owing to dust in the broadline emission region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case where the lag between the change in continuum and in broadline emission of a "changing look" AGN has been temporally resolved. The nature and timescales of the photometric and spectral evolution disfavor both a change in line-of-sight obscuration and a change of the overall rate of gas inflow as driving the drastic spectral transformations seen in this AGN. Although the peak luminosity and timescales are consistent with those of tidal disruption events seen in inactive galaxies, the spectral properties are not. The X-ray emission displays a markedly different behavior, with frequent flares on timescales of hours to days, and will be presented in a companion publication.
Using images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Telescope, we confirmed the disappearance of the progenitors of two type II supernovae (SNe) and evaluated the presence of other stars ...associated with them. We found that the progenitor of SN 2003gd, an M-supergiant star, is no longer observed at the SN location and determined its intrinsic brightness using image subtraction techniques. The progenitor of SN 1993, a K-supergiant star, is also no longer present, but its B-supergiant binary companion is still observed. The disappearance of the progenitors confirms that these two supernovae were produced by red supergiants.
Abstract
We present preexplosion optical and infrared (IR) imaging at the site of the type II supernova (SN II) 2023ixf in Messier 101 at 6.9 Mpc. We astrometrically registered a ground-based image ...of SN 2023ixf to archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer), and ground-based near-IR images. A single point source is detected at a position consistent with the SN at wavelengths ranging from HST
R
band to Spitzer 4.5
μ
m. Fitting with blackbody and red supergiant (RSG) spectral energy distributions (SEDs), we find that the source is anomalously cool with a significant mid-IR excess. We interpret this SED as reprocessed emission in a 8600
R
⊙
circumstellar shell of dusty material with a mass ∼5 × 10
−5
M
⊙
surrounding a
log
(
L
/
L
⊙
)
=
4.74
±
0.07
and
T
eff
=
3920
−
160
+
200
K RSG. This luminosity is consistent with RSG models of initial mass 11
M
⊙
, depending on assumptions of rotation and overshooting. In addition, the counterpart was significantly variable in preexplosion Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5
μ
m imaging, exhibiting ∼70% variability in both bands correlated across 9 yr and 29 epochs of imaging. The variations appear to have a timescale of 2.8 yr, which is consistent with
κ
-mechanism pulsations observed in RSGs, albeit with a much larger amplitude than RSGs such as
α
Orionis (Betelgeuse).
With the increasing sensitivity of advanced gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, the first joint detection of an electromagnetic and GW signal from a compact binary merger will hopefully happen within ...this decade. However, current GW likelihood sky areas span , and thus it is a challenging task to identify which, if any, transient corresponds to the GW event. In this study, we make a comparison between recent kilonova/macronova light-curve models for the purpose of assessing potential light-curve templates for counterpart identification. We show that recent analytical and parameterized models for these counterparts result in qualitative agreement with more complicated radiative transfer simulations. Our analysis suggests that with improved light-curve models with smaller uncertainties it will become possible to extract information about ejecta properties and binary parameters directly from the light-curve measurement. Even tighter constraints are obtained in cases for which GW and kilonova parameter estimation results are combined. It will therefore be important to make comparisons and potentially combine parameter estimation with the kilonova and GW results. However, to be prepared for upcoming detections, more realistic kilonova models are needed. These will require numerical relativity with more detailed microphysics, better radiative transfer simulations, and a better understanding of the underlying nuclear physics.
We present light curves and spectra of the tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-18pg/AT 2018dyb spanning a period of one year. The event shows a plethora of strong emission lines, including the Balmer ...series, He ii, He i, and metal lines of O iii λ3760 and N iii λλ4100, 4640 (blended with He ii). The latter lines are consistent with originating from the Bowen fluorescence mechanism. By analyzing literature spectra of past events, we conclude that these lines are common in TDEs. The spectral diversity of optical TDEs is thus larger than previously thought and includes N-rich events besides H- and He-rich events. We study how the spectral lines evolve with time, by means of their width, relative strength, and velocity offsets. The velocity width of the lines starts at ∼13,000 km s−1 and decreases with time. The ratio of He ii to N iii increases with time. The same is true for ASASSN-14li, which has a very similar spectrum to AT 2018dyb but its lines are narrower by a factor of >2. We estimate a black hole mass of MBH = 3.3 − 2.0 + 5.0 × 10 6 M by using the M- relation. This is consistent with the black hole mass derived using the MOSFiT transient fitting code. The detection of strong Bowen lines in the optical spectrum is an indirect proof for extreme ultraviolet and (reprocessed) X-ray radiation and favors an accretion origin for the TDE optical luminosity. A model where photons escape after multiple scatterings through a super-Eddington thick disk and its optically thick wind, viewed at an angle close to the disk plane, is consistent with the observations.
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