We study the radial distribution of supernova Ia (SNe Ia) in morphologically selected early-type host galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and discuss its implications for the progenitor systems of SNe Ia. While new observations of early-type galaxies suggest that they contain small fractions of young stellar populations, they are also the most likely hosts for long time delay SNe Ia. We find that there is no statistically significant difference between the radial distribution of SNe Ia and the light profile of their early-type host galaxies, which are dominated by old, metal-rich stellar populations. This confirms the commonly accepted idea that some SN Ia progenitors have time delays of the order of several Gyr.
We present details of our investigation of the progenitors to core-collapse supernovae. We discuss observations and the theory of the lowest-mass stars to explode as supernovae.
Identifying the massive progenitor stars that give rise to core-collapse supernovae is one of the main pursuits of supernova and stellar evolution studies. In this talk I discuss some aspects of the pursuit of these progenitor stars in ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope images.
There has been mounting observational evidence in favour of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) being the direct progenitors of supernovae. Here we present possibly the most convincing evidence yet for such progenitors. We find multiple absorption component P-Cygni profiles of hydrogen and helium in the spectrum of SN 2005gj, which we interpret as being an imprint of the progenitors mass-loss history. Such profiles have previously only been detected in Luminous Blue Variables. This striking resemblance of the profiles, along with wind velocities and periods consistent with LBV's leads us to connect…
We report on a large survey for double degenerate (DD) binaries as potential progenitors of type Ia supernovae with the UVES spectrograph at the ESO VLT (ESO SN Ia Progenitor surveY - SPY).
The recent detection of H-alpha emission in the supernova Type Ia SN 2002ic could be taken to mean that the elusive progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae have finally been identified. At first glance, the observation appears to support a single-degenerate scenario, in which the white dwarf accretes from a normal companion. In this Letter we show that the opposite may be true, and the observations may support the merger of two white dwarfs as the cause for Type Ia supernovae.
In some luminous supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs), hydrogen accretes onto the surface of a white dwarf at rates more-or-less compatible with steady nuclear burning. The white dwarfs in these systems therefore have a good chance to grow in mass. Here we review what is known about the rate of Type Ia supernovae that may be associated with SSSs. Observable consequences of the conjecture that SSSs can be progenitors of Type Ia supernovae are also discussed.
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_sol 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 impossibl…
We use the fact that a Type Ia supernova has been serendipitously discovered near the jet of the active galaxy 3C 78 to examine the question of whether jets can enhance accretion onto white dwarfs. One interesting outcome of such a jet-induced accretion process is an enhanced rate of novae in the vicinity of jets. We present results of observations of the jet in M87 which appear to have indeed discovered 11 novae in close proximity to the jet. We show that a confirmation of the relation between jets and novae and Type Ia supernovae can finally identify the elusive progenitors of Type Ia supern…
We report on a large survey for double degenerate (DD) binaries as potential progenitors of type Ia supernovae with the UVES spectrograph at the ESO VLT (SN Ia Progenitor surveY - SPY). About 560 white dwarfs were checked for radial velocity variations until now. Ninety new DDs have been discovered, including short period systems with masses close to the Chandrasekhar mass.
In a recent paper Li et al. (2000) reported that 36 percent of 45 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered since 1997 in two volume-limited supernova searches were spectroscopically peculiar, and they suggested that because this peculiarity rate is higher than that reported for an earlier observational sample by Branch et al. (1993), it is now more likely that SNe Ia are produced by more than one kind of progenitor. In this paper I discuss and clarify the differences between the results of Li et al. and Branch et al. and I suggest that multiple progenitor systems are now less likely than they we…
We carry out a comprehensive theoretical examination of the relationship between the spatial distribution of optical transients and the properties of their progenitor stars. By constructing analytic models of star-forming galaxies and the evolution of stellar populations within them, we are able to place constraints on candidate progenitors for core-collapse supernovae (SNe), long-duration gamma ray bursts, and supernovae Ia. In particular we first construct models of spiral galaxies that reproduce observations of core-collapse SNe, and we use these models to constrain the minimum mass for SNe…
We report on systematic radial velocity surveys for white dwarf - white dwarf binaries (double degenerates - DDs) including SPY (ESO Supernovae Ia progenitor survey) recently carried out at the VLT. A large sample of DD will allow us to put strong constrains on the phases of close binary evolution of the progenitor systems and to perform an observational test of the DD scenario for supernovae of type Ia. We explain how parameters of the binaries can be derived from various methods. Results for a sample of DDs are presented and discussed.
We present maps of the nature of single star progenitors of supernovae and their remnants in mass and metallicity space. We find our results are similar to others but we have gone further in varying the amount of mixing and using various mass-loss schemes to see how the maps change. We find that extra-mixing, in the form of convective overshooting, moves boundaries such as the minimum mass for a supernova or WR star to lower masses. We also find that the pre-WR mass-loss determines the shape of our maps. We find that different mass-loss rates lead to quite different results. We find that the r…
We discuss how rotation and binary interactions may be related to the diversity of type Ibc supernovae and long gamma-ray bursts. After presenting recent evolutionary models of massive single and binary stars including rotation, the Tayler-Spruit dynamo and binary interactions, we argue that the nature of SNe Ibc progenitors from binary systems may not significantly differ from that of single star progenitors in terms of rotation, and that most long GRB progenitors may be produced via the quasi-chemically homogeneous evolution at sub-solar metallicity. We also briefly discuss the possible role…
We show that the observed ratio of the subtypes Ib,c and II core-collapse supernovae depends on the metallicity of the host galaxy, as expected on theoretical grounds. However, the observed relation differs considerably from expectations based on non-rotating models of single stars with mass loss. We argue that the predictions of recent models with rotation offer a much better agreement with observations, at least for progenitor stars with solar metallicity; calculations of models with higher and lower metallicities are required in order to substantiate these conclusions. We also suggest that …
We discuss application of population synthesis for binary stars to progenitors of SN Ia. We show that the only candidate systems able to support the rate of SNe Ia $\sim 10^{-3} yr^{-1}$ both in old and young populations are merging white dwarfs. In young populations ($\sim 1$ Gyr) edge-lit detonations in semidetached systems with nondegenerate helium star donors are also able to support a similar rate. The estimated current Galactic rate of SN Ia with single-degenerate progenitors is $\sim 10^{-4} yr^{-1}$.
UVOIR bolometric light curves provide valuable insight into the nature of type Ia supernovae. We present an analysis of sixteen well-observed SNe Ia. Constraints are placed on several global parameters concerning the progenitor system, explosion mechanism and subsequent radiation transport. By fitting a radioactive decay energy deposition function to the quasi-exponential phase (50 to 100 days after maximum light), it is found that the ejected mass varies by at least a factor of two. This result suggests that a sub-Chandrasekhar mass model could be responsible for the progenitor system of some…
Models for Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) are reviewed. It is shown that there are strong reasons to believe that SNe Ia represent thermonuclear disruptions of C-O white dwarfs, when these white dwarfs reach the Chandrasekhar limit and ignite carbon at their centers. Progenitor scenarios are reviewed critically and the strengths and weaknesses of each scenario are explicitly presented. It is argued that single-degenerate models, in which the white dwarf accretes from a subgiant or giant companion are currently favored. The relation of the different models to the use of SNe Ia for the determinatio…
Among the important issues in identifying the progenitor system of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), we focus mostly on circumstellar interaction in SN 2002ic, and give brief discussion on the controversial issues of the effects of rotation in merging double degenerates and steady hydrogen shell burning in accreting white dwarfs. SN 2002ic is a unique supernova which shows the typical spectral features of SNe Ia near maximum light, but also apparent hydrogen features that have been absent in SNe Ia. Based on the hydrodynamical models of circumstellar interaction in SN Ia, we suggest that circumstel…
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) occur in both old, passive galaxies and active, star-forming galaxies. This fact, coupled with the strong dependence of SN Ia rate on star formation rate, suggests that SNe Ia form from stars with a wide range of ages. Here we show that the rate of SN Ia explosions is about 1% of the stellar death rate, independent of star formation history. The dependence of SN Ia rate on star formation rate implies a delay time distribution proportional to t^{-0.5+-0.2}. The single degenerate channel for SNe Ia can be made to match the observed SN Ia rate -- SFR relation, but only…
The influence of the initial composition and structure of the exploding white dwarf on the nucleosynthesis and structure of Type Ia Supernovae has been studied. The progenitor structures are based on detailed stellar evolutionary tracks for stars in the mass range between 1 to 9 $M_\odot$ using the state of the art code FRANEC. The calculations of the thermonuclear explosions are based on a set of delayed detonation models which give a good account of the optical and infrared light curves and of the spectral evolution. Our code solves the hydrodynamical equations explicitly by the piecewise pa…
I briefly describe the Lick Observatory Supernova Search with the 0.76-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope. I then present an overview of optical observations of Type II, IIb, Ib, and Ic supernovae (SNe), all of which are thought to arise from core collapse in massive progenitors that have previously experienced different amounts of mass loss. SNe IIn are distinguished by relatively narrow emission lines with little or no P-Cygni absorption component; they probably have unusually dense circumstellar gas with which the ejecta interact. Some SNe IIn, however, might actually be super-outbursts …
Here we address the question whether the ionized shells associated with giant HII regions can be progenitors of the larger HI shell-like objects found in the Milky Way and other spiral and dwarf irregular galaxies. We use for our analysis a sample of 12 HII shells presented recently by Relaño et al. (2005, 2007). We calculate the evolutionary tracks that these shells would have if their expansion is driven by multiple supernovae explosions from the parental stellar clusters. We find, contrary to Relaño et al. (2007), that the evolutionary tracks of their sample HII shells are inconsistent with…
A number of supernovae, classified as Type II, show remarkably peculiar properties such as an extremely low expansion velocity and an extraordinarily small amount of $^{56}$Ni in the ejecta. We present a joint analysis of the available observations for two of these peculiar Type II supernovae, SN 1997D and SN 1999br, using a comprehensive semi-analytic method that can reproduce the light curve and the evolution of the line velocity and continuum temperature. We find that these events are under-energetic with respect to a typical Type II supernova and that the inferred mass of the ejecta is rel…
We examine the possibility that supernovae type Ia (SN Ia) are produced by white dwarfs accreting from Roche-lobe filling evolved companions, under the assumption that a strong optically thick stellar wind from accretor is able to stabilize the mass transfer. We show that if a mass transfer phase on a thermal timescale precedes a nuclear burning driven phase, then such systems (of which the supersoft X-ray sources are a subgroup) can account for about 10% of the inferred SN Ia rate. In addition, we examine the cosmic history of the supernova rate, and we show that the ratio of the rate of SN I…
The stars that end their lives as supernovae (SNe) have been directly observed in only a handful of cases, due mainly to the extreme difficulty in identifying them in images obtained prior to the SN explosions. Here we report the identification of the progenitor for the recent Type II-plateau (core-collapse) SN 2005cs in pre-explosion archival images of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). From high-quality ground-based images of the SN from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, we precisely determine the position of the SN …
We find that spectroscopically peculiar subluminous SNe Ia come from an old population. Of the sixteen subluminous SNe Ia known, ten are found in E/S0 galaxies, and the remainder are found in early-type spirals. The probability that this is a chance occurrence is only 0.2%. The finding that subluminous SNe Ia are associated with an older stellar population indicates that for a sufficiently large lookback time (already accessible in current high redshift searches) they will not be found. Due to a scarcity in old populations, hydrogen and helium main sequence stars and He red giant stars that un…
The progenitors of core-collapse supernovae are stars with an initial mass greater than about 8M(sun). Understanding the evolution of these stars is necessary to comprehend the evolution and differences between supernovae. We have constructed new and unique opacity tables to increase model accuracy during the latest stages of stellar evolution. We have investigated how initial mass, initial composition and mass loss affects the progenitors and their populations. There are many prescriptions for mass loss. Different research groups use their preferred rates. We have compared 12 different prescr…
The interaction between supernova ejecta and circumstellar matter, arising from previous episodes of mass loss, provides us with a means with which to constrain the progenitors of supernovae. Radio observations of a number of supernovae show quasi-periodic deviations from a strict power-law decline at late times. Although several possibilities have been put forward to explain these modulations, no single explanation has proven to be entirely satisfactory. Here we suggest that Luminous Blue Variables undergoing S-Doradus type variations give rise to enhanced phases of mass loss which are imprin…
Direct identification of the progenitors of supernovae (SNe) is rare because of the required spatial resolution and depth of the archival data prior to the SN explosions. Here we report on the identification of the progenitors of two nearby SNe in the Virgo cluster: SN 2006my in NGC 4651 and SN 2006ov in M61. We obtained high-quality ground-based images of SN 2006my with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and are able to locate the site of the SN on pre-SN {\it Hubble Space Telescope} ({\it HST}) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 images to a high precision (1$σ$ uncertainty of $\pm0\farcs$05). We…
The search for the progenitors of six core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) in archival HST WFPC2 pre-explosion imaging is presented here. These SNe are 1999an, 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ds, 2000ew and 2001B. Post-explosion imaging of the SNe, with the HST ACS/WFC, has been utilised with the technique of differential astrometry to identify the progenitor locations on the pre-explosion imaging. SNe 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ew and 2001B are recovered in late time imaging and an estimate of the progenitor location on the pre-explosion imaging, with sub-pixel accuracy, has been made. Only the progenitor of the ty…
The discovery of the extremely luminous supernova SN 2006gy, possibly interpreted as a pair instability supernova, renewed the interest in very massive stars. We explore the evolution of these objects, which end their life as pair instability supernovae or as core collapse supernovae with relatively massive iron cores, up to about $3 M_\odot$.
Type Ia SNe (SNe Ia) are thought to come from carbon-oxygen white dwarfs that accrete mass from binary companions until they approach the Chandrasekhar limit, ignite carbon, and undergo complete thermonuclear disruption. A survey of the observed types of binaries that contain white dwarfs is presented. We propose that certain systems that seem most promising as SN Ia progenitors should be more intensively observed and modeled, to determine whether the white dwarfs in these systems will be able to reach the Chandrasekhar limit. In view of the number of promising single-degenerate systems and th…
Searching for the presence of circumstellar material is currently the only direct way to discriminate between the different types of possible progenitor systems for Type Ia supernovae. We have therefore looked for narrow H-alpha in a high-resolution spectrum of the normal Type Ia supernova 1994D taken 10 days before maximum and only 6.5 days after explosion. We derive an upper limit of 2.0E-16 erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} for an unresolved emission line at the local H II region velocity. To estimate the limit this puts on wind density, we have made time-dependent photoionization calculations. Assuming s…
The supernova SN2001du in the galaxy NGC1365 (19+/-2Mpc), is a core-collapse event of type II-P. Images of this galaxy, have been taken with HST approximately 6.6 years before discovery and include the supernova position on the WFPC2 field of view. We have observed the supernova with the WFPC2 to allow accurate differential astrometry of SN2001du on the pre-explosion frames. There is a marginal detection (3-sigma) of a source close to the supernova position on the prediscovery V-band frame, however it is not precisely coincident and we do not believe it to be a robust detection of a point sour…
Aims: We attempt to constrain progenitors of the different types of supernovae from their spatial distributions relative to star formation regions in their host galaxies, as traced by H alpha + NII line emission. Methods: We analyse 63 supernovae which have occurred within galaxies from our H alpha survey of the local Universe. Three statistical tests are used, based on pixel statistics, H alpha radial growth curves, and total galaxy emission-line fluxes. Results: Many more type II supernovae come from regions of low or zero emission line flux than would be expected if the latter accurately tr…
We have analyzed the influence of the stellar populations, from which SN progenitors come from, on the observational outcome, including the metal free Pop. III. We use our models to study the evolution of the progenitor, the subsequent explosion and the light curves. For Type Ia, the variation of the main sequence mass of the progenitor of the exploding WD, produces an offset in the maximum-decline relation of 0.2 mag. This effect is critical for the use of high redshift Type Ia SNe as cosmological standard candles. In contrast, the metallicity does not change the above relation (at maximum, D…
We have carried out a high-dispersion (R~30,000) echelle spectroscopic survey of 16 Type II supernovae (SNe) to search for narrow emission lines from circumstellar nebulae ejected by their massive progenitors. Circumstellar nebulae, if detected, provide invaluable opportunities to probe SN progenitors. Of the 16 SNe observed, SN ejecta are clearly detected in 4 SNe and possibly in another 2 SNe, interstellar gas is detected in 12 SNe, and circumstellar material is detected only in SN 1978K and SN 1998S. In the case of SN 1978K we are able to place an upper limit of ~2.2 pc for the size of the …
We use the VESPA algorithm and spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the star formation history of the host galaxies of 257 Type Ia supernovae. We find 5$σ$ evidence for a short-lived population of progenitors with lifetimes of less than 180 Myr, indicating a Type Ia supernova channel arising from stars in the mass range $\sim$3.5-8 $M_\odot$. As standardizeable candles, Type Ia supernovae play an important role in determining the expansion history of the Universe, but to be useful for future cosmological surveys, the peak luminosity needs to be free of uncorrected systemati…
We revisit the properties of white dwarfs accreting hydrogen-rich matter by constructing steady-state models, in which hydrogen shell burning consumes hydrogen at the same rate as the white dwarf accretes it. We obtain such steady-state models for various accretion rates and white dwarf masses. We confirm that these steady models are thermally stable only when the accretion rate is higher than \sim 10^{-7} M_sun/yr. We show that recent models of ``quiescent burning'' in the ``surface hydrogen burning'' at a much wider range of accretion rates results from the too large zone mass in the outer p…
The progenitor mass of type IIP supernova can be determined from either hydrodynamic modeling of the event or pre-explosion observations. To compare these approaches, we determine parameters of the sub-luminous supernova 2005cs and estimate its progenitor mass. We compute the hydrodynamic models of the supernova to describe its light curves and expansion velocity data. We estimate a presupernova mass of 17.3 Msun, an explosion energy of 4.1x10^{50} erg, a presupernova radius of 600 Rsun, and a radioactive Ni-56 mass of 0.0082 Msun. The derived progenitor mass of SN 2005cs is 18.2 Msun, which i…
Supernovae (SNe) were long suspected as possible progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The arguments relied on circumstantial evidence. Several recent GRBs, notably GRB 030329, have provided direct, spectroscopic evidence that SNe and GRBs are related. The SNe associated with GRBs are all of Type Ic, implying a compact progenitor, which has implications for GRB models. Other peculiar Type Ic SNe may help to expand understanding of the mechanisms involved.
The discovery of the extremely luminous supernova SN 2006gy, possibly interpreted as a pair instability supernova, renewed the interest in very massive stars. We explore the evolution of these objects, which end their life as pair instability supernovae or as core collapse supernovae with relatively massive iron cores, up to about $3 M_\odot$.
We discuss the cosmic history of supernovae on the basis of various assumptions and recent data on the star formation history. We show that supernova rates as a function of redshift can be used to place significant constraints on progenitor models, on the star formation history, and on the importance of dust obscuration. We demonstrate that it is unlikely that the current observational indications for the existence of a cosmological constant are merely an artifact of the dominance of different progenitor classes at different redshift intervals.
We study the ejecta chemistry of a zero-metallicity progenitor, massive, supernova using a novel approach based on chemical kinetics. Species considered span the range of simple, di-atomic molecules such as CO or SiO to more complex species involved in dust nucleation processes. We describe their formation from the gas phase including all possible relevant chemical processes and apply it to the ejecta of a primordial 170 Msun supernova. Two ejecta cases are explored: full mixing of the heavy elements, and a stratified ejecta reflecting the progenitor nucleosynthesis. Penetration of hydrogen fr…
The study of the stars that explode as supernovae used to be a forensic study, working backwards from the remnants of the star. This changed in 1987 when the first progenitor star was identified in pre-explosion images. Currently there are 8 detected progenitors with another 21 non-detections, for which only a limit on the pre-explosion luminosity can be placed. This new avenue of supernova research has led to many interesting conclusions, most importantly that the progenitors of the most common supernovae, type IIP, are red supergiants as theory has long predicted. However no progenitors have…
One of the major challenges for theoretical modeling of Type Ia supernova explosions is to explain the diversity of these events and the empirically established correlation between their peak luminosity and light curve shape. In the framework of the so-called Chandrasekhar mass models, the progenitor's carbon-to-oxygen ratio has been suggested to be a principal source of peak luminosity variations due to a variation in the production of radioactive $^{56}$Ni during the explosion. The underlying idea is that an enhanced carbon mass fraction should result in a more vigorous explosion since here …
Under the fossil field hypothesis of the origin of magnetar magnetic fields, the magnetar inherits its magnetic field from its progenitor. We show that during the supernova of such a progenitor, protons may be accelerated to \sim 10^4 GeV as the supernova shock propagates in the magnetic stellar envelope. Inelastic nuclear collisions of these protons produce a flash of high-energy neutrinos arriving a few hours after thermal (10 MeV) neutrinos. The neutrino flash is characterized by energies up to O(100) GeV and durations seconds to hours, depending on the progenitor: those from smaller Type I…
All types of supernovae (SNe), except Type Ia, have been observed to interact with their immediate circumstellar medium (CSM). This interaction can reveal their progenitor's histories, and constrain our ideas about the evolution of massive stars. As examples of the latest progress in this areas, we present some new results on two SNe: a 3D picture of the triple-ring nebula around SN 1987A, and observations of the less well-known but rather intriguing SN 1994W. In the process we introduce Type IIn supernovae (SN IIn; Schlegel 1990) as an important new probe of massive star evolution.
The remarkable uniformity of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) has allowed astronomers to use them as distance indicators to measure the properties and expansion history of the Universe. However, SNe Ia exhibit intrinsic variation in both their spectra and observed brightness. To reduce these systematic uncertainties, we need a deeper understanding of the observed variations in SNe Ia. Toward this end, the Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory) has been designed to discover hundreds of SNe Ia in a systematic and automated fashion and study them in detail. A prototype run of the SNfactory search pipeli…
We study the progenitor dependence of the black hole formation and its associated neutrino signals from the gravitational collapse of non-rotating massive stars, following the preceding study on the single progenitor model in Sumiyoshi et al. (2007). We aim to clarify whether the dynamical evolution toward the black hole formation occurs in the same manner for different progenitors and to examine whether the characteristic of neutrino bursts is general having the short duration and the rapidly increasing average energies. We perform the numerical simulations by general relativistic neutrino-ra…
