An atlas of the optical spectrum of supernova 1987A in the large magellanic cloud

Photographic spectra of SN1987A in the LMC have been obtained from 1987 February 25 to 1988 June 30. Microdensitometer tracings of these have been reduced to intensity and corrections for instrumental response have been applied to the spectra. This paper presents these data in an atlas format, discusses the reduction procedures in detail, and presents radial velocity measurements of selected lines in the spectra     

Yields of Nucleosynthesis from massive and intermediate mass stars and constraints on their final evolution

Nucleosynthetic yields and production rates of helium and heavy elements are derived using new initial mass functions which take into account the recent revisions in O star counts and the stellar models of Maeder (1981a, b) which incorporate the effects of massloss on evolution. The current production rates are significantly higher than the earlier results due to Chiosi & Caimmi (1979) and Chiosi (1979), and a near-uniform birthrate operating over the history of the galactic disc explains the currently observed abundances. However, the yields are incompatibly high, and to obtain agreement it is necessary to assume that stars above a certain mass do not explode but proceed to total collapse. Further confirmation of this idea comes from the consideration of the specific yields and production rates of oxygen, carbon and iron and the constraints imposed by the observational enrichment history in the disc as discussed by Twarog & Wheeler (1982). Substantial amounts of⁴He and¹⁴C, amongst the primary synthesis species, are contributed by the intermediate mass stars in their wind phases. If substantial numbers of them exploded as Type I SN, their contribution to the yields of¹²C and⁵⁶Fe would be far in excess of the requirements of galactic nucleosynthesis. Either efficient massloss precludes such catastrophic ends for these stars, or the current stellar models are sufficiently in error to leave room for substantial revisions in the specific yields. The proposed upward revision of the¹²C (α,γ)¹⁶O rate may produce the necessary changes in stellar yields to provide a solution to this problem. Stars that produce most of the metals in the Galaxy are the same ones that contribute most to the observed supernova rate.     

超新星光谱研究的进展：观测

介绍了超新星完整样品的分类概况，依次转述了各类超新星光谱观测的新进展。两颗特殊Ｉａ型超新星－ＳＮ１９９１Ｔ和ＳＮ１９９１ｂｇ一的发现对原先认为Ｉａ型超新星是均质的观点提出了挑战，对Ｉｂ／Ｉｃ型超新星应加以特别关注，ＩＩ型超新星ＳＮ１９９３Ｊ和ＳＮ１９８７Ｋ由光极大时的ＩＩ型演化星云类似于Ｉｂ／Ｉｃ的光谱，对传统的超新星Ｉ型和ＩＩ型的区分提出了质疑，对某些特殊ＩＩ型超新星也许列为“ＩＩｎ”型，其Ｈα     

Final Stages of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis: What do We Know and What Would We Like to Know?

Recent developments in theoretical model-calculations for the synthesis of the chemical elements during late stages of stellar evolution are reviewed. Special emphasis is put on a discussion of various astrophysical sites, including core-collapse and thermonuclear supernovae, and the physics of turbulent reactive fluids. Results of numerical simulations are presented and discussed, together with new results concerning solar-system abundances as well as abundances observed in very metal-poor stars, in the context of searches for constraints on the still rather uncertain nuclear physics data and astrophysical models. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Outflow Propagation in Collapsars: Collimated Jets and Expanding Outflows

We investigate the outflow propagation in the collapsar in the context of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with 2D relativistic hydrodynamic simulations. We vary the specific internal energy and bulk Lorentz factor of the injected outflow from non-relativistic regime to relativistic one, fixing the power of the outflow to be 10⁵¹erg s⁻¹. We observed the collimated outflow, when the Lorentz factor of the injected outflow is roughly greater than 2. To the contrary, when the velocity of the injected outflow is slower, the expanding outflow is observed. The transition from collimated jet to expanding outflow continuously occurs by decreasing the injected velocity. Different features of the dynamics of the outflows would cause the difference between the GRBs and similar phenomena, such as, X-ray flashes.     

Constraint on cosmological model with matter creation using complementary astronomical observations

The universe with adiabatic matter creation is considered. It is thought that the negative pressure caused by matter creation can play the role of a dark energy component, and drive the accelerating expansion of the universe. Using the Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) data, the observational Hubble parameter data, the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data and the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data, we make constraints on the cosmological parameters, assuming a spatially flat universe. Our results show that the model with matter creation is consistent with the SNe Ia data, while the joint constraints of all these observational data disfavor this model. If the cosmological constant is taken into account, a traditional model without matter creation is favored by the joint observations.     

Evolution of the optical spectrum of SN 1987a in the large magellanic cloud

The evolution of the spectrum of SN1987a is traced from 1987 February 26 to March 31. Based on the low-resolution spectroscopic data we identify the lines of H, He I, Na I, Fe II, Sc II, Ca II which are known to be present in Type II Supernovae, and also present evidence for the existence of lines of Mg I, Ca_I, O I, and N I. We discuss the evolution of the Hα profile, and draw attention to its complex structure around March 30. Close to the rest wavelength of Ha a double-peaked structure appeared in the profile with a peak-to-peak separation of ∼ 1400 km s⁻¹, suggestive of an expanding shell or disc of gas. Using the available broadband photometric information, we also trace the evolution of the photosphere of SN1987a assuming that it radiates like a supergiant.     

Type I supernovae and iron nucleosynthesis in the universe

It is argued that the iron nucleosynthesis rate in the universe due to SNI outbursts is dependent on the mass function of star formation. Since the mass function depends on the chemical composition and since the masses of SNI precursors have upper limits, the iron nucleosynthesis rate was low at an earlier evolutionary epoch of the universe when mainly massive stars were formed. The iron nucleosynthesis rate should reach a maximum near z ∼ 0.5. At such or similar value of z the well-known ‘step’ in the cosmic γ-ray background spectrum may be explained by the presence of γ-gray quanta accompanying the radioactive⁵⁶Co →⁵⁶Fe decay. An argument is presented against the identification of the hidden mass of the universe with black-hole remnants of ‘type III’ stars.     

Self-consistent theory of white dwarf burning in supernova ia events

A self-consistent model of white dwarf burning in the Supernovae Ia events is proposed which includes the consequent stages of the flame, the spontaneous explosion and the detonation. The flame is ignited locally at several points near the center of the star, but soon it is pushed out of the center due to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Most of the hot fuel of the central part of the star remains unburnt by the flame. The unburnt fuel explodes spontaneously after the time delay determined by the average temperature near the star center. Until the time of the explosion the flame consumes more than 0.1 of the white dwarf mass out of the star center, which causes pre-expansion of the unburnt fuel in the outer layers of the star. The spontaneous explosion triggers the detonation which incinerates the rest of the star and produces the intermediate mass elements in the pre-expanded layers. The detonation overcomes gravitational binding and causes mass ejection. The proposed theory provides the physical basis for the explanation of the observed spectrum of Supernovae Ia.     

Binary progenitors of Supernovae

Supernovae of both Type I (hydrogen-poor) and Type II (hydrogen-rich) can be expected to occur among binary stars. Among massive stars (>10 M•), the companion makes it more difficult for the primary to develop an unstable core of >1.4.M• while still retaining the extended, hydrogen-rich envelope needed to make a typical Type II light curve. Among 1–10 M• stars, on the other hand, a companion plays a vital role in currently popular models for Type I events, by transferring material to the primary after it has become a stable white dwarf, and so driving it to conditions where either core collapse or explosive nuclear burning will occur. Several difficulties (involving nucleosynthesis, numbers and lifetimes of progenitors, the mass-transfer mechanism,etc.) still exist in these models. Some of them are overcome by a recent, promising scenario in which the secondary also evolves to a degenerate configuration, and the two white dwarfs spiral together to produce a hydrogen-free explosion, long after single stars of the same initial masses have ceased to be capable of fireworks.