arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Sergei Blinnikov.
A brief pedagogical review for students on basic physics of Superluminous Supernovae. Almost no references to literature are given, but important formulas are derived in some detail.
Previous numerical simulations of double-peaked SNe IIb light curves have demonstrated that the radius and mass of the hydrogen-rich envelope of the progenitor star can significantly influence the brightness and timescale of the early-time light curve around the first peak. In this study, we investigate how Thomson scattering and chemical mixing in the SN ejecta affect the optical light curves during the early stages of the SNe IIb using radiation hydrodynamics simulations. By comparing the results from two different numerical codes (i.e., \stella{} and \snec{}), we find that the optical brightness of the first peak can be reduced by more than a factor of 3 due to the effect of Thomson scattering that causes the thermalization depth to be located below the Rosseland-mean photosphere, compared to the corresponding case where this effect is ignored. We also observe a short-lived plateau-like feature lasting for a few days in the early-time optical light curves of our models, in contrast to typical observed SNe IIb that show a quasi-linear decrease in optical magnitudes after the first peak. A significant degree of chemical mixing between the hydrogen-rich envelope and the helium core in SN ejecta is required to reconcile this discrepancy between the model prediction and observation. Meanwhile, to properly reproduce the first peak, a significant mixing of \nifs{} into the hydrogen-rich outermost layers should be restricted. Our findings indicate that inferring the SN IIb progenitor structure from a simplified approach that ignores these two factors may introduce substantial uncertainty.
Type Ib and Ic supernovae (SNe Ib/Ic) originate from hydrogen-deficient massive star progenitors, of which the exact properties are still much debated. Using the SN data in the literature, we investigate the optical $B-V$ color of SNe Ib/Ic at the $V-$band peak and show that SNe Ib are systematically bluer than SNe Ic. We construct SN models from helium-rich and helium-poor progenitors of various masses using the radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA and discuss how the $B-V$ color at the $V-$band peak is affected by $^{56}$Ni to ejecta mass ratios, $^{56}$Ni mixing and presence/absence of the helium envelope. We argue that the dichotomy in the amounts of helium in the progenitors plays the primary role in making the observed systematic color difference at the optical peak, in favor of the most commonly invoked SN scenario that SNe Ib and SNe Ic progenitors are helium-rich and helium-poor, respectively.
We present the first results of a comprehensive supernova (SN) radiative-transfer (RT) code-comparison initiative (StaNdaRT), where the emission from the same set of standardized test models is simulated by currently-used RT codes. A total of ten codes have been run on a set of four benchmark ejecta models of Type Ia supernovae. We consider two sub-Chandrasekhar-mass ($M_\mathrm{tot} = 1.0$ M$_\odot$) toy models with analytic density and composition profiles and two Chandrasekhar-mass delayed-detonation models that are outcomes of hydrodynamical simulations. We adopt spherical symmetry for all four models. The results of the different codes, including the light curves, spectra, and the evolution of several physical properties as a function of radius and time, are provided in electronic form in a standard format via a public repository. We also include the detailed test model profiles and several python scripts for accessing and presenting the input and output files. We also provide the code used to generate the toy models studied here. In this paper, we describe in detail the test models, radiative-transfer codes and output formats and provide access to the repository. We present example results of several key diagnostic features.
We present nearly self-consistent stellar-halo models of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy associated with the Milky Way galaxy. Such galaxies are dominated by dark matter and have almost no gas in the system. Therefore, they are excellent objects for N-body modeling that takes into account visible and dark matter halo components. In order to model the dark matter halo inferred from the analysis of the measured velocities of Fornax's stars, we constructed several self-consistent quasi-equilibrium models based on two source code sets. One of them (GalactICS Software, NEMO) deals with the self-consistent distribution function modeling which depends on energy $E$ and vertical component of the angular momentum $L_z$. The other is included in the AGAMA framework and is based on Schwarzschild's calculation of orbits. It can reproduce the non-spherical self-consistent structure of Fornax as the weighted sum of orbit contributions to the galactic density even though the inferred dark halo parameters come from Jeans analysis which does not require that any distribution functions should be positive. To guess the parameters which make the N-body models close to the visible object we use the stellar-dark matter model of the Fornax galaxy based on hydrodynamic axisymmetric Jeans equations taking into account the velocity anisotropy parameter. Then we studied the evolution of the models by performing N-body simulations with the falcON code in order to test their stability. The variability of the model parameters over time was obtained during simulations. The AGAMA models show the best agreement of the resulting velocity dispersion profiles with the observed data.
The Fast Blue Optical Transient (FBOT) ATLAS18qqn (AT2018cow) has a light curve as bright as superluminous supernovae but rises and falls much faster. We model this light curve by circumstellar interaction of a pulsational pair-instability (PPI) supernova (SN) model based on our PPISN models studied in previous work. We focus on the 42 $M_\odot$ He star (core of a 80 $M_{\odot}$ star) which has circumstellar matter of mass 0.50 $M_\odot$. With the parameterized mass cut and the kinetic energy of explosion $E$, we perform hydrodynamical calculations of nucleosynthesis and optical light curves of PPISN models. The optical light curve of the first $\sim$ 20 days of AT2018cow is well-reproduced by the shock heating of circumstellar matter for the $42 ~M_{\odot}$ He star with $E = 5 \times 10^{51}$ erg. After day 20, the light curve is reproduced by the radioactive decay of 0.6 $M_\odot$ $^{56}$Co, which is a decay product of $^{56}$Ni in the explosion. We also examine how the light curve shape depends on the various model parameters, such as CSM structure and composition. We also discuss (1) other possible energy sources and their constraints, (2) origin of observed high-energy radiation, and (3) how our result depends on the radiative transfer codes. Based on our successful model for AT2018cow and the model for SLSN with the CSM mass as large as $20 ~M_\odot)$, we propose the working hypothesis that PPISN produces SLSNe if CSM is massive enough and FBOTs if CSM is less than $\sim 1 ~M_\odot$.
Double peaked light curves are observed for some Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic) including LSQ14efd, iPTF15dtg and SN 2020bvc. One possible explanation of the first peak would be shock-cooling emission from massive extended material around the progenitor, which is produced by mass eruption or rapid expansion of the outermost layers of the progenitor shortly before the supernova explosion. We investigate the effects of such circumstellar matter (CSM) on the multi-band optical light curves of SNe Ic using the radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA. Two different SNe Ic progenitor masses at the pre-SN stage (3.93$M_\odot$ and 8.26$M_\odot$) are considered in the SN models. The adopted parameter space consists of the CSM mass of $M_\mathrm{CSM} = 0.05 - 0.3 M_\odot$, the CSM radius of $R_\mathrm{CSM} = 10^{13} - 10^{15}$cm and the explosion energy of $E_\mathrm{burst} = (1.0 - 12.0)\times10^{51}$erg. We also investigate the effects of the radioactive nickel distribution on the overall shape of the light curve and the color evolution. Comparison of our SN models with the double peaked SNe Ic LSQ14efd, iPTF15dtg and SN 2020bvc indicate that these three SNe Ic had a similar CSM structure (i.e., $M_\mathrm{CSM} \approx 0.1 - 0.2 M_\odot$ and $R_\mathrm{CSM} = 10^{13} - 10^{14}~\mathrm{cm}$), which might imply a common mechanism for the CSM formation. The implied mass loss rate of $\dot{M} \gtrsim 1.0~M_\odot~\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$ is too high to be explained by the previously suggested scenarios for pre-SN eruption, which calls for a novel mechanism.
We explore the properties of supernova (SN) "Refsdal" - the first discovered gravitationally lensed SN with multiple images. A large magnification provided by the galactic-scale lens, augmented by the cluster lens, gave us a unique opportunity to perform a detailed modelling of a distant SN at z=1.5. We present results of radiation hydrodynamics modelling of SN Refsdal. According to our calculations, the SN Refsdal progenitor is likely to be a more massive and energetic version of SN 1987A, i.e. a blue supergiant star with the following parameters: the progenitor radius $R_0 = (50 \pm 1) R_{\odot}$, the total mass $M_{tot}= (25\pm 2) M_{\odot}$, the radioactive $^{56}$Ni mass $M_{^{56}\mathrm{Ni}} = (0.26 \pm 0.05) \,M_{\odot}$, and the total energy release $E_{burst}=(4.7 \pm 0.8)\times10^{51}$ erg. Reconstruction of SN light curves allowed us to obtain time delays and magnifications for the images S2-S4 relative to S1 with higher accuracy than previous template-based estimates of Rodney \& et al. (2016). The measured time delays are $Δt_{S2-S1} = 9.5^{+2.6}_{-2.7} $ days, $Δt_{S3-S1} = 4.2^{+2.3}_{-2.3} $ days, and $Δt_{S4-S1} = 30^{+7.8}_{-8.2} $ days. The obtained magnification ratios are $μ_{S2/S1}= 1.14 \pm 0.02$, $μ_{S3/S1} = 1.01 \pm 0.02 $, and $μ_{S4/S1} = 0.35\pm 0.02$. We estimate the Hubble constant $H_0 = 68.6^{+13.6}_{-9.7}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ via re-scaling the time delays predicted by different lens models to match the values obtained in this work. With more photometric data on the fifth image SX, we will be able to further refine the time delay and magnification estimates for SX and obtain competitive constraints on $H_0$.
A Pulsational Pair-instability supernova (PPISN) evolves from a massive star with a mass $\sim 80$ -- 140 $M_{\odot}$ which develops the electron-positron pair-instability after the hydrostatic He-burning in the core has finished. In [Leung et al., ApJ 887, 72 (2019)] (Paper I) we examined the evolutionary tracks and the pulsational mass loss history of this class of stars. In this paper, we analyze the thermodynamical history to explore the neutrino observables of PPISNe. We compute the neutrino light curves and spectra during pulsation. We study the detailed neutrino emission profiles of these stars. Then, we estimate the expected neutrino detection count for different terrestrial neutrino detectors including, e.g., KamLAND and Super-Kamiokande. Finally, we compare the neutrino pattern of PPISN with other types of supernovae based on a canonical 10 kt detector. The predicted neutrino signals can provide the early warning for the telescopes to trace for the early time optical signals. Implications of neutrino physics on the expected detection are discussed.
Shock breakout (SBO) signal is the first signature of the supernova explosion apart from gravitational waves and neutrinos. Observational properties of SBO, such as bolometric luminosity and colour temperature, connect to the supernova progenitor and explosion parameters. Detecting SBO or SBO-cooling will constrain the progenitor and explosion models of collapsing stars. In the light of recently launched eROSITA telescope, the rate for detection of SBO is a few events during a year. In the current study, we examine the analytic formulae derived by Shussman et al. (2016). We use four red supergiant models from their study, while running explosions with the radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA. We conclude that there is a good agreement between analytic and numerical approaches for bolometric luminosity and colour temperature during SBO. The analytic formulae for the SBO signal based on the global supernova parameters can be used instead of running time-consuming numerical simulations. We define spectral range where analytic formulae for the SBO spectra are valid. We provide improved analytical expression for the SBO spectral energy distribution. We confirm dependence of colour temperature on radius derived by analytical studies and suggest to use early time observations to confine the progenitor radius. Additionally we show the prediction for the SBO signal from red supergiants as seen by eROSITA instrument.
We calculate the evolution of massive stars, which undergo pulsational pair-instability (PPI) when the O-rich core is formed. The evolution from the main-sequence through the onset of PPI is calculated for stars with the initial masses of $80 - 140$ $M_{\odot}$ and metallicities of $Z = 10^{-3} - 1.0$ $Z_\odot$. Because of mass loss, $Z \leq 0.5$ $Z_\odot$ is necessary for stars to form He cores massive enough (i.e., mass $>40 ~M_\odot$) to undergo PPI. The hydrodynamical phase of evolution from PPI through the beginning of Fe core collapse is calculated for the He cores with masses of $40 - 62 ~M_\odot$ and $Z = 0$. During PPI, electron-positron pair production causes a rapid contraction of the O-rich core which triggers explosive O-burning and a pulsation of the core. We study the mass dependence of the pulsation dynamics, thermodynamics, and nucleosynthesis. The pulsations are stronger for more massive He cores and result in such a large amount of mass ejection such as $3 - 13$ $M_\odot$ for $40 - 62 ~M_\odot$ He cores. These He cores eventually undergo Fe-core collapse. The $64 ~M_\odot$ He core undergoes complete disruption and becomes a pair-instability supernova. The H-free circumstellar matter ejected around these He cores is massive enough for to explain the observed light curve of Type I (H-free) superluminous supernovae with circumstellar interaction. We also note that the mass ejection sets the maximum mass of black holes (BHs) to be $\sim 50$ $M_{\odot}$, which is consistent with the masses of BHs recently detected by VIRGO and aLIGO.
We perform a high-cadence transient survey with Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), which we call the Subaru HSC survey Optimized for Optical Transients (SHOOT). We conduct HSC imaging observations with time intervals of about one hour on two successive nights, and spectroscopic and photometric follow-up observations. A rapidly declining blue transient SHOOT14di at $z=0.4229$ is found in observations on two successive nights with an image subtraction technique. The rate of brightness change is $+1.28^{+0.40}_{-0.27}~{\rm mag~day^{-1}}$ ($+1.83^{+0.57}_{-0.39}~{\rm mag~day^{-1}}$) in the observer (rest) frame and the rest-frame color between $3400$ and $4400~\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}$ is $M_{\rm 3400\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}-M_{\rm 4400\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}=-0.4$. The nature of the object is investigated by comparing its peak luminosity, decline rate, and color with those of transients and variables previously observed, and those of theoretical models. None of the transients or variables share the same properties as SHOOT14di. Comparisons with theoretical models demonstrate that, while the emission from the cooling envelope of a Type IIb supernova shows a slower decline rate than SHOOT14di, and the explosion of a red supergiant star with a dense circumstellar wind shows a redder color than SHOOT14di, the shock breakout at the stellar surface of the explosion of a $25M_{\odot}$ red supergiant star with a small explosion energy of $\leq0.4\times10^{51}$ erg reproduces the multicolor light curve of SHOOT14di. This discovery shows that a high-cadence, multicolor optical transient survey at intervals of about one hour, and continuous and immediate follow-up observations, is important for studies of normal core-collapse supernovae at high redshifts.
Recent supernova searches revealed a number of fast-evolving luminous transients. We perform radiation hydrodynamic simulations of light curves of several models of supernova from super--asymptotic giant branch (super-AGB, SAGB) stars with low mass envelopes ($M_{\rm env}$ $\sim$ $0.05-1.25$ $M_{\odot}$). The differences in the light curves found among the models are used to link the observed events to the most appropriate models. In particular, we propose that KSN 2015K is an electron-capture supernova. We assume "optically" thick CSM around SAGB and the circumstellar interaction powers the peak luminosity of the light curve with a short rise time. The faint tail might be influenced by the spin-down luminosity of a newborn Crab-like pulsar. Our fits indicate an ejecta mass of $0.02-0.05$ $M_{\odot}$, a circumstellar medium (CSM) mass of $0.10-0.12$ $M_{\odot}$, a radius of the CSM photosphere $\sim$ 10$^{14}$ cm, a kinetic energy of $\sim$ 3 $\times$ 10$^{50}$ erg, a photospheric velocity $v_{\rm ph} \gtrsim 10,000$ km s$^{-1}$ and a pulsar total spin energy ($2.5-4$) $\times$ 10$^{49}$ erg.
We perform hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction between supernova (SN) ejecta and circumstellar medium (CSM) for SN 1993J and SN 2011dh, and calculate the radio and X-ray emissions expected from the shocked gas at late epochs ($t$). Considering the ejecta structure from multi-group radiation hydrodynamics simulation, we find that the observed rapid drop in radio and X-ray light curves of SN 1993J at $t>$3000 days can be due to a change in the mass-loss rate ($\dot M$) around $\sim$6500 years prior to the explosion of the SN. The exact epoch scales inversely with the assumed wind velocity of $v_{\rm w}=10~ km~s^{-1}$. The progenitor of this SN very likely belonged to a binary system, where, during its evolution, the primary had transferred material to the secondary. It is argued in the paper that the change in $\dot M$ can happen because of a change in the mass accretion efficiency ($η$) of the companion star. It is possible that before $\sim6500~(v_{\rm w}/10~km~s^{-1})^{-1}$years prior to the explosion, $η$ was high, thus the CSM was tenuous, which causes the late time downturn in fluxes. In the case of SN 2011dh, the late time evolution is found to be consistent with a wind medium with $\dot M/v_{\rm w}=4\times10^{-6 }~M_{\odot}~ yr^{-1}/10 ~{km ~s^{-1}}$. It is difficult from our analysis to predict whether the progenitor of this SN had a binary companion, however, if future observations show similar decrease in radio and X-ray fluxes, then that would give strong support to a scenario where both SNe had undergone similar kind of binary evolution before explosion.
We explore the appearance of light clusters at high densities of collapsing stellar cores. Special attention is paid to the unstable isotope H4, which was not included in previous studies. The importance of light clusters in the calculation of rates for neutrino matter interaction is discussed. The main conclusion is that thermodynamic quantities are only weakly sensitive to the chemical composition. The change in pressure and hence the direct change in collapse dynamics will be minor. But the change in neutrino heating and neutronization processes can be significant.
We present optical and ultraviolet observations of nearby type Ic supernova SN 2017ein as well as detailed analysis of its progenitor properties from both the early-time observations and the prediscovery Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. The optical light curves started from within one day to $\sim$275 days after explosion, and optical spectra range from $\sim$2 days to $\sim$90 days after explosion. Compared to other normal SNe Ic like SN 2007gr and SN 2013ge, \mbox{SN 2017ein} seems to have more prominent C{\footnotesize II} absorption and higher expansion velocities in early phases, suggestive of relatively lower ejecta mass. The earliest photometry obtained for \mbox{SN 2017ein} show indications of shock cooling. The best-fit obtained by including a shock cooling component gives an estimate of the envelope mass as $\sim$0.02 M$_{\odot}$ and stellar radius as 8$\pm$4 R$_{\odot}$. Examining the pre-explosion images taken with the HST WFPC2, we find that the SN position coincides with a luminous and blue point-like source, with an extinction-corrected absolute magnitude of M$_V$$\sim$$-$8.2 mag and M$_I$$\sim$$-$7.7 mag.Comparisons of the observations to the theoretical models indicate that the counterpart source was either a single WR star or a binary with whose members had high initial masses, or a young compact star cluster. To further distinguish between different scenarios requires revisiting the site of the progenitor with HST after the SN fades away.
Blue-supergiant stars develop into core-collapse supernovae --- one of the most energetic outbursts in the universe --- when all nuclear burning fuel is exhausted in the stellar core. Previous attempts failed to explain observed explosions of such stars which have a zero-age main sequence mass of 50~M$_\odot$ or more. Here we exploit the largely uncertain state of matter at high density, and connect the modeling of such stellar explosions with a first-order phase transition from nuclear matter to the quark-gluon plasma. The resulting energetic supernova explosions can account for a large variety of lightcurves, from peculiar type II to super-luminous events. The remnants are neutron stars with quark matter core, known as hybrid stars, of about 2~M$_\odot$ at birth. A galactic event of this kind could be observable due to the release of a second neutrino burst. Its observation would confirm such a first-order phase transition at densities relevant for astrophysics.
We update the capabilities of the software instrument Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) and enhance its ease of use and availability. Our new approach to locating convective boundaries is consistent with the physics of convection, and yields reliable values of the convective core mass during both hydrogen and helium burning phases. Stars with $M<8\,{\rm M_\odot}$ become white dwarfs and cool to the point where the electrons are degenerate and the ions are strongly coupled, a realm now available to study with MESA due to improved treatments of element diffusion, latent heat release, and blending of equations of state. Studies of the final fates of massive stars are extended in MESA by our addition of an approximate Riemann solver that captures shocks and conserves energy to high accuracy during dynamic epochs. We also introduce a 1D capability for modeling the effects of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities that, in combination with the coupling to a public version of the STELLA radiation transfer instrument, creates new avenues for exploring Type II supernovae properties. These capabilities are exhibited with exploratory models of pair-instability supernova, pulsational pair-instability supernova, and the formation of stellar mass black holes. The applicability of MESA is now widened by the capability of importing multi-dimensional hydrodynamic models into MESA. We close by introducing software modules for handling floating point exceptions and stellar model optimization, and four new software tools -- MESAWeb, MESA-Docker, pyMESA, and mesastar.org -- to enhance MESA's education and research impact.