PAIR INSTABILITY SUPERNOVAE: LIGHT CURVES, SPECTRA, AND SHOCK BREAKOUT
- Departments of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0149 (United States)
For the initial mass range (140 M{sub sun} < M < 260 M{sub sun}) stars die in a thermonuclear runaway triggered by the pair-production instability. The supernovae they make can be remarkably energetic (up to {approx}10{sup 53} erg) and synthesize considerable amounts of radioactive isotopes. Here we model the evolution, explosion, and observational signatures of representative pair instability supernovae (PI SNe) spanning a range of initial masses and envelope structures. The predicted light curves last for hundreds of days and range in luminosity from very dim to extremely bright (L {approx} 10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}). The most massive events are bright enough to be seen at high redshift, but the extended light curve duration ({approx}1 yr)-prolonged by cosmological time-dilation-may make it difficult to detect them as transients. A more promising approach may be to search for the brief and luminous outbreak occurring when the explosion shock wave first reaches the stellar surface. Using a multi-wavelength radiation-hydrodynamics code we calculate that, in the rest frame, the shock breakout transients of PI SNe reach luminosities of 10{sup 45}-10{sup 46} erg s{sup -1}, peak at wavelengths {approx}30-170 A, and last for several hours. We discuss how observations of the light curves, spectra, and breakout emission can be used to constrain the mass, radius, and metallicity of the progenitor.
- OSTI ID:
- 21576604
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 734, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/734/2/102; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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