Exploring the Diversity of Core-Collapse Supernova Explosions

We performed 3D simulations of supernova explosions of massive stars. Thanks to improvements in the models, neutrino-driven explosion can now be modeled relatively routinely over an increasing range of progenitor masses. Last year we used such simulations to explore the explosion and remnant properties of supernova from low-mass progenitors.
Person

Principal investigator

Alexander Heger bernhard.mueller@monash.edu
Magnifying glass

Area of science

Astronomy, Geosciences, Physical Sciences
CPU

Systems used

Magnus
Computer

Applications used

CoCoNuT, PROMETHEUS, ARTIS
Partner Institution: Monash University| Project Code: fh6

The Challenge

Most core-collapse supernovae arise from strs not far above the minimum progenitor mass of about 8 solar masses because the initial mass function of strs drops steeply with stellar mass. For the same reason, this mass range also produces most of the neutron stars observed in nature. It therefore holds the key to understanding the birth properties (masses, kicks, and spins) of the observed neutron star population. The properties of neutron stars in binary systems also depend on the intricate history of mass transfer during earlier phases of evolution.

The Solution

We modeled the collapse and explosion of a range of low-mass progenitors using both single and binary stellar evolution models using the supernova simulation code CoCoNuT-FMT. We performed long-term 3D simulations well beyond 1s after the formation of the neutron star in order to infer its final, mass, kick, and spin period.

The Outcome

The simulations conducted on Magnus allowed us to demonstrate that neutrino-driven models of supernovae from low-mass progenitor produce a plausible range of neutron star kicks between a few 10km/s and a few 100km/s, spin periods between tens of milliseconds and several seconds, and masses in rough agreement with the observed distribution. We find tentative evidence for a correlation between the supernova explosion energy, the neutron star kick, and the neutron star angular momentum.

List of Publications

[1] Gravitational Wave Emission from 3D Explosion Models of Core-Collapse Supernovae with Low and Normal Explosion Energies, Powell, J. & Mueller, B., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, submitted, arXiv:1812.05738 (2018)

[2] Three-Dimensional Simulations of Neutrino-Driven Core-Collapse Supernovae from Low-Mass Single and Binary Star Progenitors, Mueller, B., Tauris, T. M., Heger, A., Banerjee, P., Qian, Y.-Z., Powell, J., Chan, C., Gay, D. W., Langer, N., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, in press, doi:10.1093/mnras/stz216 (2019).

[3] An FFT-based Solution Method for the Poisson Equation on 3D Spherical Polar Grids, Mueller, B., Chan, C., The Astrophysical Journal, 870, 43 (2019).

[4] Multi-D Simulations of Ultra-Stripped Supernovae to Shock Breakout, Muller, B., Gay, D., Heger, A., Tauris, T., & Sim, S. A., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 479, 3675 (2018).

[5] Black hole formation and fallback during the supernova explosion of a 40M star, Chan, C., Mueller, B., Heger, A., Pakmor, R., Springel, V., The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 852, L19 (2018).

[6] Nucleosynthesis in the Innermost Ejecta of Neutrino-Drive Supernova Explosions in Two Dimensions, Wanajo, S., Muller, B., Janka, H.-Th., Heger, A., The Astrophysical Journal, 852, 40 (2018).

Figure 1. South Yarra

Figure 2. South Yarra
Figure 3. South Yarra