Type-Ia supernovae in dense circumstellar gas

We propose a model for the bolometric light curve of a type-Ia supernova (SN Ia) that explodes in a dense circumstellar (CS) envelope. Our modeling of the light curves for SN 2002ic and SN 1997cy shows that the densities of the CS envelopes around both supernovae at a radius of ～7×10¹⁵ cm are similar, while the characteristic ejection time for this envelope around SN 1997cy does not exceed 600 yr. We analyze two possible evolutionary scenarios that could lead to the explosion of a SN Ia inside a dense C S hydrogen envelope: accretion onto a CO white dwarf in a symbiotic binary and the evolution of a single star with an initial mass of about 8M_⊙. If the hypothesis of a SN Ia explosion in a dense CS envelope is correct for SN 2002ic and SN 1997cy, then we must assume that the the rapid loss of the red-supergiant envelope in several hundred years and the subsequent explosion of the CO white dwarf are synchronized by some physical mechanism. This mechanism may be related to the contraction of the white dwarf as it approaches the Chandrasekhar limit. We show that the formation of a (super-)Chandrasekhar mass due to the merger of a CO white dwarf and the CO core of a red supergiant followed by a supernovae explosion is unlikely, since this mechanism does not provide the required synchronization of the rapid mass loss and the explosion.     

WD+MS systems as the progenitor of SNe Ia

The single-degenerate (SD) channel for the progenitors of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is one of the most popular channels, in which a carbon–oxygen white dwarf (CO WD) accretes hydrogen-rich material from its companion, increases its mass to the Chandrasekhar mass limit, and then explodes as a SN Ia. We show the initial and final parameter space for SNe Ia in a ( $\log P^{\mathrm{i}},M_{2}^{\mathrm{i}}$ ) plane and find that the positions of some famous recurrent novae, as well as a supersoft X-ray source (SSS), RX J0513.9-6951, are well explained by our model. The model can also explain the space velocity and mass of Tycho G, which is now suggested to be the companion star of Tycho’s supernova. Our study indicates that the SSS, V Sge, might be the potential progenitor of supernovae like SN 2002ic if the delayed dynamical-instability model due to Han and Podsiadlowski (Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 368:1095, 2006) is appropriate. Following the work of Meng et al. (Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 395:2103, 2009a), we found that the SD model (WD+MS) with an optically thick wind can explain the birth rate of supernovae like SN 2006X and reproduce the distribution of the color excess of SNe Ia. The model also predicts that at least 75% of all SNe Ia may show a polarization signal in their spectra.     

Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium – I. Type Ibn (SN 2006jc-like) events

We present new spectroscopic and photometric data of the Type Ibn supernovae 2006jc, 2000er and 2002ao. We discuss the general properties of this recently proposed supernova family, which also includes SN 1999cq. The early-time monitoring of SN 2000er traces the evolution of this class of objects during the first few days after the shock breakout. An overall similarity in the photometric and spectroscopic evolution is found among the members of this group, which would be unexpected if the energy in these core-collapse events was dominated by the interaction between supernova ejecta and circumstellar medium. Type Ibn supernovae appear to be rather normal Type Ib/c supernova explosions which occur within a He-rich circumstellar environment. SNe Ibn are therefore likely produced by the explosion of Wolf–Rayet progenitors still embedded in the He-rich material lost by the star in recent mass-loss episodes, which resemble known luminous blue variable eruptions. The evolved Wolf–Rayet star could either result from the evolution of a very massive star or be the more evolved member of a massive binary system. We also suggest that there are a number of arguments in favour of a Type Ibn classification for the historical SN 1885A (S-Andromedae), previously considered as an anomalous Type Ia event with some resemblance to SN 1991bg.     

An alternative symbiotic channel to Type Ia supernovae

By assuming an aspherical stellar wind with an equatorial disc from a red giant, we investigate the production of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) via a symbiotic channel. We estimate that the Galactic birthrate of SNe Ia via the symbiotic channel is between  1.03 × 10⁻³  and  2.27 × 10⁻⁵ yr⁻¹  , while the delay time of SNe Ia has a wide range from ∼0.07 to 5 Gyr. The results are greatly affected by the outflow velocity and mass-loss rate of the equatorial disc. Using our model, we discuss the progenitors of SN 2002ic and SN 2006X.     

Circumstellar Na I and Ca II lines in type IIP supernovae and SN 1998S

We investigate the possibility of detecting the circumstellar Na I D_1,2 and Ca II H, K absorption lines in the spectra of type IIP supernovae at the photospheric phase. Our modeling shows that the Na I doublet lines will not be seen in the spectra of type IIP supernovae at moderate stellar wind densities, for example, characteristic of SN 1999em, while the rather intense Ca II lines with P Cyg profiles should be detectable. The same model is used to describe the circumstellar Na I and Ca II lines in the spectrum of SN 1998S, a type IIL supernova with a dense wind. We show that the circumstellar line intensities in this supernova are reproduced only if there is an ultraviolet excess that is mainly attributable to the Comptonization of supernova radiation in the shock wave.     

Stellar Evolution and the Cosmologial Supernovae Rates

We present the results of the population synthesis of the population ofthe supernovae progenitors. Both single and double degenerate progenitorsof SN Ia are considered. We compute the cosmic rate histories for SN I,SN II and both classes of SN Ia, and present them in the form of redshiftand magnitude distributions. These results can be compared with observationaldata, allowing to estimate the star formation rate history and thecosmological parameters including ω_baryons which cannot beestimated from analysing the Hubble diagrams of supernovae.We find that single degenerate (SD) SN Ia are younger than double degenerate (DD) ones, and so the SN Ia in elliptical galaxies should be mostly DD.We propose to use the redshift dependence of relative supernovae rates indifferent types of galaxies, or of different supernovae types forinterpretation of observations. These relative rates should be lessinfluenced by the selection effects than the absolute ones. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Study of envelope velocity evolution of core-collapse type Ib-c supernovae from observations of XRF 080109 / SN 2008D and GRB 060218 / SN 2006aj with BTA

Results of modeling the spectra of two supernovae SN2008D and SN2006aj related to the X-ray flash XRF 080109 and gamma-ray burst GRB/XRF 060218, respectively, are studied. The spectra were obtained with the 6-meter BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 6.48 and 27.61 days after the explosion of SN2008D, and in 2.55 and 3.55 days after the explosion of SN2006aj. The spectra were interpreted in the Sobolev approximation with the SYNOW code. An assumption about the presence of envelopes around the progenitor stars is confirmed by an agreement between the velocities of lines interpreted as hydrogen and helium, and the empiric power-law velocity drop with time for the envelopes of classic core-collapse supernovae. Detection of a P Cyg profile of the Hβ line in the spectra of optical afterglows of GRBs can be a determinative argument in favor of this hypothesis.     

The influence of host galaxy morphology on the properties of Type Ia supernovae from the JLA compilation

The observational cosmology with distant Type Ia supernovae (SNe) as standard candles claims that the Universe is in accelerated expansion, caused by a large fraction of dark energy. In this paper we investigate the SN Ia environment, studying the impact of the nature of their host galaxies on the Hubble diagram fitting. The supernovae (192 SNe) used in the analysis were extracted from Joint-Light-curves-Analysis (JLA) compilation of high-redshift and nearby supernovae which is the best one to date. The analysis is based on the empirical fact that SN Ia luminosities depend on their light curve shapes and colors. We confirm that the stretch parameter of Type Ia supernovae is correlated with the host galaxy type. The supernovae with lower stretch are hosted mainly in elliptical and lenticular galaxies. No significant correlation between SN Ia colour and host morphology was found. We also examine how the luminosities of SNe Ia change depending on host galaxy morphology after stretch and colour corrections. Our results show that in old stellar populations and low dust environments, the supernovae are slightly fainter. SNe Ia in elliptical and lenticular galaxies have a higher α (slope in luminosity-stretch) and β (slope in luminosity-colour) parameter than in spirals. However, the observed shift is at the 1-σ uncertainty level and, therefore, can not be considered as significant. We confirm that the supernova properties depend on their environment and that the incorporation of a host galaxy term into the Hubble diagram fit is expected to be crucial for future cosmological analyses.     

The origin of intergalactic thermonuclear supernovae

The population synthesis method is used to study the possibility of explaining the appreciable fraction of the intergalactic type-Ia supernovae (SN Ia), 20 ₋₁₅ ⁺¹² %, observed in galaxy clusters (Gal-Yam et al. 2003) when close white dwarf binaries merge in the cores of globular clusters. In a typical globular cluster, the number of merging double white dwarfs does not exceed ∼10⁻¹³ per year per average cluster star in the entire evolution time of the cluster, which is a factor of ∼3 higher than that in a Milky-Way-type spiral galaxy. From 5 to 30% of the merging white dwarfs are dynamically expelled from the cluster with barycenter velocities up to 150 km s⁻¹. SN Ia explosions during the mergers of double white dwarfs in dense star clusters may account for ∼1% of the total rate of thermonuclear supernovae in the central parts of galaxy clusters if the baryon mass fraction in such star clusters is ∼0.3%.     

WD + He star systems as the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae and their surviving companion stars

Employing Eggleton’s stellar evolution code with the optically thick wind assumption, we have systematically studied the WD + He star channel of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), in which a carbon–oxygen WD accretes material from a He main-sequence star or a He subgiant to increase its mass to the Chandrasekhar mass. We mapped out the parameter spaces for producing SNe Ia. According to a detailed binary population synthesis approach, we find that the Galactic SN Ia birthrate from this channel is ～0.3×10^?3 yr^?1, and that this channel can produce SNe Ia with short delay times (～45–140 Myr). We also find that the surviving companion stars in this channel have a high spatial velocity (>400 km/s) after the SN explosion, which could be an alternative origin for hypervelocity stars (HVSs), especially for HVSs such as US 708.     

Gravitational lensing of type Ia supernovae by galaxy clusters

We propose a method to remove the mass-sheet degeneracy that arises when the mass of galaxy clusters is inferred from gravitational shear. The method utilizes high-redshift standard candles that undergo weak lensing. Natural candidates for such standard candles are type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia).
When corrected with the light-curve shape (LCS), the peak magnitude of SNe Ia provides a standard candle with an uncertainty in apparent magnitude of Δ m ≃0.1–0.2. Gravitational magnification of a background SN Ia by an intervening cluster would cause a mismatch between the observed SN Ia peak magnitude compared with that expected from its LCS and redshift. The average detection rate for SNe Ia with a significant mismatch of ≥2Δ m behind a cluster at z ≃0.05–0.15 is about 1–2 supernovae per cluster per year at J , I , R ≲25–26.
Since SNe are point-like sources for a limited period, they can experience significant microlensing by massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) in the intracluster medium. Microlensing events caused by MACHOs of ∼10⁻⁴ M⊙ are expected to have time-scales similar to that of the SN light curve. Both the magnification curve by a MACHO and the light curve of a SN Ia have characteristic shapes that allow us to separate them. Microlensing events caused by MACHOs of smaller mass can unambiguously be identified in the SN light curve if the latter is continuously monitored. The average number of identifiable microlensing events per nearby cluster ( z ≲0.05) per year is ∼0.02 ( f /0.01), where f is the fraction of the cluster mass in MACHOs of masses 10⁻⁷< M _macho/M⊙<10⁻⁴.     

SN 2011ht: A weak explosion in a massive extended envelope

The possibility of explaining the light curve and the low expansion velocity of SN 2011ht, which belongs to a group of three objects showing signatures of both type IIn and type IIP supernovae, is explored. The radiated energy and expansion velocity of the ejecta of SN 2011ht are shown to be consistent with a low-energy supernova explosion (≈6 × 10⁴⁹ erg) and ≤2 \({M_ \odot }\) ejecta expanding within a circumstellar envelope of radius ~2 × 10¹⁴ cm and mass 6?8 \({M_ \odot }\) An observational test for this scenario is proposed.     

Detecting the progenitors of core collapse supernovae

The masses and the evolutionary states of the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae are not well constrained by direct observations. Stellar evolution theory generally predicts that massive stars with initial masses less than about 30M_⊙ should undergo core-collapse when they are cool M-type supergiants. However the only two detections of a SN progenitor before explosion are SN1987A and SN1993J, and neither of these was an M-type supergiant. Attempting to identify the progenitors of supernovae is a difficult task, as precisely predicting the time of explosion of a massive star is impossible for obvious reasons. There are several different types of supernovae which have different spectral and photometric evolution, and how exactly these are related to the evolutionary states of the progenitor stars is not currently known. I will describe a novel project which may allow the direct identification of core-collapse supernovae progenitors on pre-explosion images of resolved, nearby galaxies. This project is now possible with the excellent image archives maintained by several facilities and will be enhanced by the new initiatives to create Virtual Observatories, the earliest of which (astrovirtel) is already producing results. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Does the energy of type IIP supernovae depend on the stellar mass?

The oxygen density in the central zone of the ejecta of nine type IIP supernovae (SNe IIP) at the nebular phase has been determined from the [O I] 6300, 6364 Å doublet lines. In combination with the known estimates for two supernovae, the results of measurements show that the oxygen densities on day 300 are distributed in a narrow range, (2.3 ± 1) × 109 cm^?3. This result does not depend on the distance, extinction, and model assumptions. Analysis of the density distribution found leads to the conclusion that the SN IIP explosion energy increases with stellar mass.     

Is SN 2006X from a WD + MS system with optically thick wind?

The single-degenerate channel is widely accepted as the progenitors of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Following the work of Meng et al. (2009a), we reproduced the birth rate and age of supernovae like SN 2006X by the single-degenerate model (WD + MS) with an optically thick wind, which may imply that the progenitor of SN 2006X is a WD + MS system.     

What type was SN 1987A?

A comparison is made of the light and colour curves of the SN 1987A in the first 280 days with the mean properties of type II supernovae. The conclusion is that even though it has H lines, and was not a typical type II supernova, but a peculiar object from a photometric point of view. The implications for inclusion of SN 1987A in the context of the usual Minkowski-Zwicky classification are explicitly discussed.     

Spectral and photometric monitoring of distant core-collapse supernovae in the SAO RAS

This paper describes the aims, objectives and first results of the observational program for the study of distant core-collapse supernovae (SNe) with redshifts z ≲ 0.3. This work is done within the framework of an international cooperation program on the SNe monitoring at the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and other telescopes. We study both the early phases of events (SN type determination, redshift estimation, and a search for manifestations of a wind envelope), and the nebular phase (the effects of explosion asymmetry). The SNe, associated with cosmic gamma-ray bursts are of particular interest. An interpretation of our observational data along with the data obtained on other telescopes is used to test the existing theoretical models of both the SN explosion, and the surrounding circumstellar medium. In 2009 we observed 30 objects; the spectra were obtained for 12 of them. We determined the types, phases after maximum, and redshifts for five SNe (SN 2009db, SN 2009dy, SN 2009dw, SN 2009ew, SN 2009ji). Based on the obtained photometric data a discovery of two more SNe was confirmed (SN 2009bx and SN 2009cb). A study of two type II supernovae in the nebular phase (SN 2008gz and SN 2008in) is finalized, four more objects (SN 2008iy, SN 2009ay, SN 2009bw, SN 2009de) are currently monitored.     

Monte Carlo simulations of supernova light curves and the hypernova SN 1998bw

We propose a method for computing the bolometric light curves of type Ia and Ib/c supernovae based on Monte Carlo simulations of unsteady-state radiative transfer. The method is used to analyze the bolometric light curve of the unusual type Ib/c supernova SN 1998bw associated with GRB 980 425. We show that the previously noted inconsistency in the behavior of simulated light curves at early and late stages, which is attributable to asymmetry effects, can be overcome in a spherically symmetric model. Agreement with observations requires complete ⁵⁶Ni mixing and a higher matter density in the central part of the envelope in the velocity range v<5000 km s^?1 compared to standard models.     

Ultraviolet SN observations with Swift

Ultraviolet (UV) data are powerful tools to understand supernovae (SNe). Currently, the Swift satellite is the best suited telescope available for SN UV studies, due to its photometric and spectroscopic capabilities and its fast response. We present recent results obtained with the Swift SN program, demonstrating the importance of the UV emission, which provides fundamental information about SN explosion mechanism, its environment and progenitor structure.