Browsing by Subject "supernovae: individual"

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The Broad-Lined Type Ic SN 2012ap And The Nature Of Relativistic Supernovae Lacking A Gamma-Ray Burst Detection
(2015-01) Milisavljevic, Dan; Margutti, R.; Parrent, Jerod T.; Soderberg, Alicia M.; Fesen, Robert A.; Mazzali, P.; Maeda, K.; Sanders, N. E.; Cenko, S. Bradley; Silverman, Jeffrey M.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Kamble, A.; Chakraborti, S.; Drout, M. R.; Kirshner, Robert P.; Pickering, T. E.; Kawabata, K.; Hattori, T.; Hsiao, Eric Y.; Stritzinger, Maximillian D.; Marion, G. H.; Vinko, Jozsef; Wheeler, J. Craig; Silverman, Jeffrey M.; Marion, G. H.; Vinko, Jozsef; Wheeler, J. Craig
We present ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared observations of SN 2012ap, a broad-lined Type Ic supernova in the galaxy NGC 1729 that produced a relativistic and rapidly decelerating outflow without a gamma-ray burst signature. Photometry and spectroscopy follow the flux evolution from -13 to +272 days past the B-band maximum of -17.4 +/- 0.5mag. The spectra are dominated by Fe II, OI, and Ca II absorption lines at ejecta velocities of nu approximate to 20,000 km s(-1) that change slowly over time. Other spectral absorption lines are consistent with contributions from photospheric He I, and hydrogen may also be present at higher velocities (nu greater than or similar to 27,000 km s(-1)). We use these observations to estimate explosion properties and derive a total ejecta mass of similar to 2.7 M-circle dot, a kinetic energy of similar to 1.0 x 10(52) erg, and a Ni-56 mass of 0.1-0.2 M-circle dot. Nebular spectra (t > 200 days) exhibit an asymmetric double-peaked [O I] lambda lambda 6300, 6364 emission profile that we associate with absorption in the supernova interior, although toroidal ejecta geometry is an alternative explanation. SN 2012ap joins SN2009bb as another exceptional supernova that shows evidence for a central engine (e. g., black hole accretion or magnetar) capable of launching a non-negligible portion of ejecta to relativistic velocities without a coincident gamma-ray burst detection. Defining attributes of their progenitor systems may be related to notable observed properties including environmental metallicities of Z greater than or similar to Z(circle dot), moderate to high levels of host galaxy extinction (E(B - V) > 0.4mag), detection of high-velocity helium at early epochs, and a high relative flux ratio of [Ca II]/[O I] > 1 at nebular epochs. These events support the notion that jet activity at various energy scales may be present in a wide range of supernovae.
Late-Time Spectral Observations Of The Strongly Interacting Type Ia Supernova PTF11Kx
(2013-08) Silverman, Jeffrey M.; Nugent, Peter E.; Gal-Yam, Avishay; Sullivan, Mark; Howell, D. Andrew; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Pan, Yen-Chen; Cenko, S. Bradley; Hook, Isobel M.; Silverman, Jeffrey M.
PTF11kx was a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) that showed time-variable absorption features, including saturated Ca II H and K lines that weakened and eventually went into emission. The strength of the emission component of H alpha gradually increased, implying that the SN was undergoing significant interaction with its circumstellar medium (CSM). These features, and many others, were blueshifted slightly and showed a P-Cygni profile, likely indicating that the CSM was directly related to, and probably previously ejected by, the progenitor system itself. These and other observations led Dilday et al. to conclude that PTF11kx came from a symbiotic nova progenitor like RS Oph. In this work we extend the spectral coverage of PTF11kx to 124-680 rest-frame days past maximum brightness. The late-time spectra of PTF11kx are dominated by Ha emission (with widths of full width at half-maximum intensity approximate to 2000 km s(-1)), strong Ca II emission features (similar to 10,000 km s(-1) wide), and a blue "quasi-continuum" due to many overlapping narrow lines of Fe II. Emission from oxygen, He I, and Balmer lines higher than Ha is weak or completely absent at all epochs, leading to large observed H alpha/H beta intensity ratios. The H alpha emission appears to increase in strength with time for similar to 1 yr, but it subsequently decreases significantly along with the Ca II emission. Our latest spectrum also indicates the possibility of newly formed dust in the system as evidenced by a slight decrease in the red wing of H alpha. During the same epochs, multiple narrow emission features from the CSM temporally vary in strength. The weakening of the H alpha and Ca II emission at late times is possible evidence that the SN ejecta have overtaken the majority of the CSM and agrees with models of other strongly interacting SNe Ia. The varying narrow emission features, on the other hand, may indicate that the CSM is clumpy or consists of multiple thin shells.
Multi-Dimensional Simulations Of Rotating Pair-Instability Supernovae
(2013-10) Chatzopoulos, Emmanouil; Wheeler, J. Craig; Couch, Sean M.; Chatzopoulos, Emmanouil; Wheeler, J. Craig
We study the effects of rotation on the dynamics, energetics, and Ni-56 production of pair instability supernova (PISN) explosions by performing rotating two-dimensional ("2.5D") hydrodynamics simulations. We calculate the evolution of eight low-metallicity (Z = 10(-3), 10(-4) Z(circle dot)) massive (135-245 M-circle dot) PISN progenitors with initial surface rotational velocities of 50% of the critical Keplerian value using the stellar evolution code MESA. We allow for both the inclusion and the omission of the effects of magnetic fields in the angular momentum transport and in chemical mixing, resulting in slowly rotating and rapidly rotating final carbon-oxygen cores, respectively. Increased rotation for carbon-oxygen cores of the same mass and chemical stratification leads to less energetic PISN explosions that produce smaller amounts of Ni-56 due to the effect of the angular momentum barrier that develops and slows the dynamical collapse. We find a non-monotonic dependence of Ni-56 production on rotational velocity in situations when smoother composition gradients form at the outer edge of the rotating cores. In these cases, the PISN energetics are determined by the competition of two factors: the extent of chemical mixing in the outer layers of the core due to the effects of rotation in the progenitor evolution and the development of angular momentum support against collapse. Our 2.5D PISN simulations with rotation are the first presented in the literature. They reveal hydrodynamic instabilities in several regions of the exploding star and increased explosion asymmetries with higher core rotational velocity.