We have simulated the collapse and evolution of the core of a solar-metallicity 40-M$_{\odot}$ star and find that it explodes vigorously by the neutrino mechanism. This despite its very high "compactness". Within $\sim$1.5 seconds of explosion, a black hole forms. The explosion is very asymmetrical and has a total explosion energy of $\sim$1.6$\times$10$^{51}$ ergs. At black hole formation, its baryon mass is $\sim$2.434 M$_{\odot}$ and gravitational mass is 2.286 M$_{\odot}$. Seven seconds after black hole formation an additional $\sim$0.2 M$_{\odot}$ is accreted, leaving a black hole baryon mass of $\sim$2.63 M$_{\odot}$. A disk forms around the proto-neutron star, from which a pair of neutrino-driven jets emanates. These jets accelerate some of the matter up to speeds of $\sim$45,000 km s$^{-1}$ and contain matter with entropies of $\sim$50. The large spatial asymmetry in the explosion results in a residual black hole recoil speed of $\sim$1000 km s$^{-1}$. This novel black-hole formation channel now joins the other black-hole formation channel between $\sim$12 and $\sim$15 M$_{\odot}$ discovered previously and implies that the black-hole/neutron-star birth ratio for solar-metallicity stars could be $\sim$20\%. However, one channel leaves black holes in perhaps the $\sim$5-15 M$_{\odot}$ range with low kick speeds, while the other leaves black holes in perhaps the $\sim$2.5-3.0 M$_{\odot}$ mass range with high kick speeds. However, even $\sim$8.8 seconds after core bounce the newly-formed black hole is still accreting at a rate of $\sim$2$\times$10$^{-2}$ M$_{\odot}$ s$^{-1}$ and whether the black hole eventually achieves a significantly larger mass over time is yet to be determined.
Using Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA)+STELLA, we show that very different physical models can adequately reproduce a specific observed Type II-Plateau Supernova (SN). We consider SN2004A, SN2004et, SN2009ib, SN2017eaw, and SN2017gmr, Nickel-rich ($M_\mathrm{Ni}>0.03M_\odot$) events with bolometric lightcurves and a well-sampled decline from the plateau. These events also have constraints on the progenitor radius, via a progenitor image, or, in the case of SN2017gmr, a radius from fitting shock-cooling models. In general, many explosions spanning the parameter space of pr…
The explosion outcome and diagnostics of core-collapse supernovae depend sensitively on the nature of the stellar progenitor, but most studies to date have focused exclusively on one-dimensional, spherically-symmetric massive star progenitors. We present some of the first core-collapse supernovae simulations of three-dimensional massive star supernovae progenitors, a 12.5- and a 15-M$_{\odot}$ model, evolved in three-dimensions from collapse to bounce through explosion with the radiation-hydrodynamic code F{\sc{ornax}}. We compare the results using those starting from three-dimensional progeni…
We study the impact of large-scale perturbations from convective shell burning on the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism using three-dimensional (3D) multi-group neutrino hydrodynamics simulations of an 18 solar mass progenitor. Seed asphericities in the O shell, obtained from a recent 3D model of O shell burning, help trigger a neutrino-driven explosion 330ms after bounce whereas the shock is not revived in a model based on a spherically symmetric progenitor for at least another 300ms. We tentatively infer a reduction of the critical luminosity for shock revival by ~20% due to pre-co…
Motivated by recent results in stellar evolution that predict the existence of hybrid white dwarf (WD) stars with a C-O core inside an O-Ne shell, we simulate thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae from these hybrid progenitors. We use the FLASH code to perform multidimensional simulations in the deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) explosion paradigm. Our hybrid progenitor models were produced with the MESA stellar evolution code and include the effects of the Urca process, and we map the progenitor model to the FLASH grid. We performed a suite of DDT simulations over a range of ignition c…
We present results of a systematic study of the mass-loss properties of Type IIn supernova progenitors within decades before their explosion. We apply an analytic light curve model to 11 Type IIn supernova bolometric light curves to derive the circumstellar medium properties. We reconstruct the mass-loss histories based on the estimated circumstellar medium properties. The estimated mass-loss rates are mostly higher than 1e-3 Msun/yr and they are consistent with those obtained by other methods. The mass-loss rates are often found to be constantly high within decades before their explosion. Thi…
An erroneous interpretation of the hydrodynamical results led to an incorrect determination of the fallback masses in Ugliano et al. (2012), which also (on a smaller level) affects the neutron star masses provided in that paper. This problem was already addressed and corrected in the follow-up works by Ertl et al. (2015) and Sukhbold et al. (2015). Therefore, the reader is advised to use the new data of the latter two publications. In the remaining text of this Erratum we present the differences of the old and new fallback results in detail and explain the origin of the mistake in the original…
Impacts of Multidimensional Progenitor Perturbations on Core-Collapse Supernova Explosions
North Carolina State University(北卡罗来纳州立大学);University of Tennessee, Knoxville(田纳西大学诺克斯维尔分校);Oak Ridge National Laboratory(橡树岭国家实验室);National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory(橡树岭国家实验室国家计算科学中心);Florida Atlantic University(佛罗里达大西洋大学)
Nebular phase spectra of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) provide critical and unique information on the progenitor massive star and its explosion. We present a set of 1-D steady-state non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfer calculations of type II SNe at 300d after explosion. Guided by results for a large set of stellar evolution simulations, we craft ejecta models for type II SNe from the explosion of a 12, 15, 20, and 25Msun star. The ejecta density structure and kinetic energy, the 56Ni mass, and the level of chemical mixing are parametrized. Our model spectra are sensitive to…
The progenitor and explosion properties of type II supernovae (SNe II) are fundamental to understand the evolution of massive stars. Special interest has been given to the range of initial masses of their progenitors, but despite the efforts made, it is still uncertain. Direct imaging of progenitors in pre-explosion images point out an upper initial mass cutoff of $\sim$18$M_{\odot}$. However, this is in tension with previous studies in which progenitor masses inferred by light curve modelling tend to favour high-mass solutions. Moreover, it has been argued that light curve modelling alone can…
We perform three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of aspherical core-collapse supernovae focusing on the matter mixing in SN 1987A. The impacts of four progenitor (pre-supernova) models and parameterized aspherical explosions are investigated. The four pre-supernova models include a blue supergiant (BSG) model based on a slow merger scenario developed recently for the progenitor of SN 1987A (Urushibata et al. 2018). The others are a BSG model based on a single star evolution and two red supergiant (RSG) models. Among the investigated explosion (simulation) models, a model with the binary m…
Progenitors and Explosion Properties of Supernova Remnants Hosting Central Compact Objects: II. A Global Systematic Study with a Comparison to Nucleosynthesis Models
We determine the expected signal in various observational bands of Supernovae Ia progenitors just before the explosion by assuming the rotating Double Degenerate scenario. Our results are valid also for all the evolutionary scenarios invoking rotation as the driving mechanism of the accretion process as well as the evolution up to the explosion. We find that the observational properties depend mainly on the mass of the exploding object, even if the angular momentum evolution after the end of the mass accretion phase and before the onset of C-burning plays a non-negligible role. Just before the…
We present radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions, artificially generated by driving a piston at the base of the envelope of a rotating or non-rotating red-supergiant progenitor star. We search for trends in ejecta kinematics in the resulting Type II-Plateau (II-P) SN, exploring dependencies with explosion energy and pre-SN stellar-evolution model. We recover the trivial result that larger explosion energies yield larger ejecta velocities in a given progenitor. However, we emphasise that for a given explosion energy, the increasing helium-core mass with …
We report on a method, PUSH, for triggering core-collapse supernova explosions of massive stars in spherical symmetry. We explore basic explosion properties and calibrate PUSH such that the observables of SN1987A are reproduced. Our simulations are based on the general relativistic hydrodynamics code AGILE combined with the detailed neutrino transport scheme IDSA for electron neutrinos and ALS for the muon and tau neutrinos. To trigger explosions in the otherwise non-exploding simulations, we rely on the neutrino-driven mechanism. The PUSH method locally increases the energy deposition in the …
The progenitors of Type IIP supernovae (SNe) are known to be red supergiants, but their properties are not well determined. We employ hydrodynamical modelling to investigate the explosion characteristics of eight Type IIP supernovae, and the properties of their progenitor stars. We create evolutionary models using the {\sc MESA} stellar evolution code, explode these models, and simulate the optical lightcurves using the {\sc STELLA} code. We fit the optical lightcurves, Fe II 5169Å velocity, and photospheric velocity, to the observational data. Recent research has suggested that the progenitor…
The creation of "hybrid" white dwarfs, made of a C-O core within a O-Ne shell has been proposed, and studies indicate that ignition in the C-rich central region makes these viable progenitors for thermonuclear (type Ia) supernovae. Recent work found that the C-O core is mixed with the surrounding O-Ne as the white dwarf cools prior to accretion, which results in lower central C fractions in the massive progenitor than previously assumed. To further investigate the efficacy of hybrid white dwarfs as progenitors of thermonuclear supernovae, we performed simulations of thermonuclear supernovae fr…
We present a new approach to understand the landscape of supernova explosion energies, ejected nickel masses, and neutron star birth masses. In contrast to other recent parametric approaches, our model predicts the properties of neutrino-driven explosions based on the pre-collapse stellar structure without the need for hydrodynamic simulations. The model is based on physically motivated scaling laws and simple differential equations describing the shock propagation, the contraction of the neutron star, the neutrino emission, the heating conditions, and the explosion energetics. Using model par…
We present Hubble Space Telescope imaging of a pre-explosion counterpart to SN 2019yvr obtained 2.6 years before its explosion as a type Ib supernova (SN Ib). Aligning to a post-explosion Gemini-S/GSAOI image, we demonstrate that there is a single source consistent with being the SN 2019yvr progenitor system, the second SN Ib progenitor candidate after iPTF13bvn. We also analyzed pre-explosion Spitzer/IRAC imaging, but we do not detect any counterparts at the SN location. SN 2019yvr was highly reddened, and comparing its spectra and photometry to those of other, less extinguished SNe Ib we der…
Hubble Space Telescope observations of the site of the supernova (SN) 2008ax obtained in 2011 and 2013 reveal that the possible progenitor object detected in pre-explosion images was in fact multiple. Four point sources are resolved in the new, higher-resolution images. We identify one of the sources with the fading SN. The other three objects are consistent with single supergiant stars. We conclude that their light contaminated the previously identified progenitor candidate. After subtraction of these stars, the progenitor appears to be significantly fainter and bluer than previously measured…
Core-collapse supernovae showing little or no hydrogen (denoted by Type IIb and Ib, respectively) are the explosions of massive stars that have lost some or most of their outer envelopes. How they lose their mass is unclear, but it likely involves binary interaction. So far, seven progenitors of such supernovae have been identified in pre-explosion imaging (five for Type IIb events and two for Type Ib events). Here, we evolve detailed binary stellar evolution models in order to better understand the nature of these progenitors. We find that the amount of hydrogen left in the envelope at the ti…
We have conducted nineteen state-of-the-art 3D core-collapse supernova simulations spanning a broad range of progenitor masses. This is the largest collection of sophisticated 3D supernova simulations ever performed. We have found that while the majority of these models explode, not all do, and that even models in the middle of the available progenitor mass range may be less explodable. This does not mean that those models for which we did not witness explosion would not explode in Nature, but that they are less prone to explosion than others. One consequence is that the "compactness" measure …
Matter mixing is one important topic in the study of core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosions. In this paper, we perform two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations to reproduce the high velocity $^{56}$Ni clumps observed in SN 1987A. This is the first time that large density perturbation is proposed in the CCSN progenitor to generate Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability and make the effective matter mixing. In the case of a spherical explosion, RT instability is efficient at both C+O/He and He/H interfaces of the SN progenitor. Radial coherent structures shown in perturbation patterns are important…
Asymmetric mass ejection in the early phase of supernova (SN) explosions can impart a kick velocity to the new-born neutron star (NS). For neutrino-driven explosions the NS acceleration was shown to be mainly caused by the gravitational attraction of the anisotropically expelled inner ejecta, while hydrodynamic forces contribute on a subdominant level, and asymmetric neutrino emission plays only a secondary role. Two- and three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations demonstrated that this gravitational tug-boat mechanism can explain the observed space velocities of young NSs up to more than 1000…
Six binary-merger progenitors of Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) with properties close to those of the blue supergiant Sanduleak -69 202 are exploded by neutrino heating and evolved until long after shock breakout in three dimensions (3D), and continued for light-curve calculations in spherical symmetry. Our results confirm previous findings for single-star progenitors: (1) 3D neutrino-driven explosions with SN 1987A-like energies synthesize Ni-56 masses consistent with the radioactive light-curve tail; (2) hydrodynamic models mix hydrogen inward to minimum velocities below 40 km/s compatible with …
We present a set of nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium steady-state calculations of radiative transfer for one-year old type II supernovae (SNe) starting from state-of-the-art explosion models computed with detailed nucleosynthesis. This grid covers single-star progenitors with initial masses between 9 and 29$M_{\odot}$, all evolved with KEPLER at solar metallicity and ignoring rotation. The [OI]$λλ$$6300,6364$ line flux generally grows with progenitor mass, and H$α$ exhibits an equally strong and opposite trend. The [CaII]$λλ$$7291,\,7323$ strength increases at low $^{56}$Ni mass, low explosi…
Most existing criteria derived from progenitor properties of core-collapse supernovae are not very accurate in predicting explosion outcomes. We present a novel look at identifying the explosion outcome of core-collapse supernovae using a machine learning approach. Informed by a sample of 100 2D axisymmetric supernova simulations evolved with Fornax, we train and evaluate a random forest classifier as an explosion predictor. Furthermore, we examine physics-based feature sets including the compactness parameter, the Ertl condition, and a newly developed set that characterizes the silicon/oxygen…
In this fourth paper of the series, we use the parametrized, spherically symmetric explosion method PUSH to perform a systematic study of two sets of non-rotating stellar progenitor models. Our study includes pre-explosion models with metallicities Z=0 and Z=Z$_{\odot}\times 10^{-4}$ and covers a progenitor mass range from 11 up to 75 M$_\odot$. We present and discuss the explosion properties of all models and predict remnant (neutron star or black hole) mass distributions within this approach. We also perform systematic nucleosynthesis studies and predict detailed isotopic yields as function …
We perform hydrodynamic supernova simulations in spherical symmetry for over 100 single stars of solar metallicity to explore the progenitor-explosion and progenitor-remnant connections established by the neutrino-driven mechanism. We use an approximative treatment of neutrino transport and replace the high-density interior of the neutron star (NS) by an inner boundary condition based on an analytic proto-NS core-cooling model, whose free parameters are chosen such that explosion energy, nickel production, and energy release by the compact remnant of progenitors around 20 solar masses are comp…
In this work, photometric and spectroscopic analyses of a very low-luminosity Type IIb supernova (SN) 2016iyc have been performed. SN 2016iyc lies near the faint end among the distribution of similar supernovae (SNe). Given lower ejecta mass ($M_{\rm ej}$) and low nickel mass ($M_{\rm Ni}$) from the literature, combined with SN 2016iyc lying near the faint end, one-dimensional stellar evolution models of 9 - 14 M$_{\odot}$ zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) stars as the possible progenitors of SN 2016iyc have been performed using the publicly available code MESA. Moreover, synthetic explosions of t…
Optical observations of the type IIb SN 2013df from a few days to about 250 days after explosion are presented. These observations are complemented with UV photometry taken by \textit{SWIFT} up to 60 days post-explosion. The double-peak optical light curve is similar to those of SNe 1993J and 2011fu although with different decline and rise rates. From the modelling of the bolometric light curve, we have estimated that the total mass of synthesised $^{56}$Ni in the explosion is $\sim0.1$ M$_{\odot}$, while the ejecta mass is $0.8-1.4$ M$_{\odot}$ and the explosion energy $0.4-1.2 \times 10^{51}…
We present observations of SN 2020fqv, a Virgo-cluster Type II core-collapse supernova (CCSN) with a high temporal resolution light curve from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) covering the time of explosion; ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) starting 3.3 days post-explosion; ground-based spectroscopic observations starting 1.1~days post-explosion; along with extensive photometric observations. Massive stars have complicated mass-loss histories leading up to their death as CCSNe, creating circumstellar medium (CSM) with which the SNe interact. O…
We present the first quantitative spectroscopic modeling of an early-time supernova that interacts with its progenitor wind. Using the radiative transfer code CMFGEN, we investigate the recently-reported 15.5 h post-explosion spectrum of the type IIb SN 2013cu. For the first time, we are able to directly measure the chemical abundances of a SN progenitor and find a relatively H-rich wind, with H and He abundances (by mass) of X=0.46 +- 0.2 and Y=0.52 +- 0.2, respectively. The wind is enhanced in N and depleted in C relative to solar values (mass fractions of 8.2e-3 and 1e-5). We obtain that a …
Based on the work of Menon & Heger (2017), we present the bolometric light curvesand spectra of the explosions of blue supergiant progenitors from binary mergers. We study SN 1987A and two other peculiar Type IIP supernovae: SN 1998A and SN 2006V. The progenitor models were produced using the stellar evolution code Keplerand then exploded using the 1D radiation hydrodynamic code Crab. The explosions of binary merger models exhibit an overall better fit to the light curve of SN 1987A than previous single star models, because of their lower helium-core masses, larger envelope masses, and smaller…
This paper presents a short review on the current state of SN Ia progenitor origin. Type Ia supernova explosions are observed to be widely diverse in peak luminosity, lightcurve width and shape, spectral features, and host stellar population environment. In the last decade alone, theoretical simulations and observational data have come together to seriously challenge the long-standing paradigm that all SNe Ia arise from explosions of Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs. In this review I highlight some of the major developments (and changing views) of our understanding of the nature of SN Ia progen…
Observationally, supernovae (SNe) are divided into subclasses pertaining to their distinct characteristics. This diversity reflects the diversity in the progenitor stars. It is not entirely clear how different evolutionary paths leading massive stars to become a SN are governed by fundamental parameters such as progenitor initial mass and metallicity. This paper places constraints on progenitor initial mass and metallicity in distinct core-collapse SN subclasses, through a study of the parent stellar populations at the explosion sites. Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) of 83 nearby SN explosio…
The ultimate understanding of Type Ia Supernovae diversity is one of the most urgent issues to exploit thermonuclear explosions of accreted White Dwarfs (WDs) as cosmological yardsticks. In particular, we investigate the impact of the progenitor system metallicity on the physical and chemical properties of the WD at the explosion epoch. We analyze the evolution of CO WDs through the accretion and simmering phases by using evolutionary models based on time-dependent convective mixing and an extended nuclear network including the most important electron captures, beta decays and URCA processes. …
Supernova (SN) iPTF13bvn in NGC 5806 was the first Type Ib SN to have been tentatively associated with a progenitor candidate in pre-explosion images. We performed deep ultraviolet (UV) and optical Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the SN site 740 days after explosion. We detect an object in the optical bands that is fainter than the pre-explosion object. This dimming is likely not produced by dust absorption in the ejecta; thus, our finding confirms the connection of the progenitor candidate with the SN. The object in our data is likely dominated by the fading SN, which implies tha…
We present a detection in pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of a point source consistent with being the progenitor star of the Type IIb supernova (SN IIb) 2016gkg. Post-explosion imaging from the Keck Adaptive Optics system was used to perform relative astrometry between the Keck and HST imaging. We identify a single point source in the HST images coincident with the SN position to 0.89-sigma. The HST photometry is consistent with the progenitor star being an A0Ia star with T=9500 K and log (L/Lsun)=5.15. We find that the SN 2016gkg progenitor star appears more consistent with…
In this paper we analyse the pre-explosion spectrum of SN2015bh by performing radiative transfer simulations using the CMFGEN code. This object has attracted significant attention due to its remarkable similarity to SN2009ip in both its pre- and post-explosion behaviour. They seem to belong to a class of events for which the fate as a genuine core-collapse supernova or a non-terminal explosion is still under debate. Our CMFGEN models suggest that the progenitor of SN2015bh had an effective temperature between 8700 and 10000 K, luminosity in the range ~ 1.8-4.74e6 Lsun, contained at least 25% H…
We report on a method, PUSH, for triggering core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosions of massive stars in spherical symmetry. This method provides a framework to study many important aspects of core collapse supernovae: the effects of the shock passage through the star, explosive supernova nucleosynthesis and the progenitor-remnant connection. Here we give an overview of the method, compare the results to multi-dimensional simulations and investigate the effects of the progenitor and the equation of state on black hole formation.
We use the results of a supernova light-curve population synthesis to predict the range of possible supernova light curves arising from a population of single-star progenitors that lead to type IIP supernovae. We calculate multiple models varying the initial mass, explosion energy, nickel mass and nickel mixing and then compare these to type IIP supernovae with detailed light curve data and pre-explosion imaging progenitor constraints. Where a good fit is obtained to observations, we are able to achieve initial progenitor and nickel mass estimates from the supernova lightcurve that are compara…
We analyze a sample of 45 Type II supernovae from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) public survey using a grid of hydrodynamical models in order to assess whether theoretically-driven forecasts can intelligently guide follow up observations supporting all-sky survey alert streams. We estimate several progenitor properties and explosion physics parameters including zero-age-main-sequence (ZAMS) mass, mass-loss rate, kinetic energy, 56Ni mass synthesized, host extinction, and the time of explosion. Using complete light curves we obtain confident characterizations for 34 events in our sample, w…
Type IIb Supernova (SN) 2011dh, with conclusive detection of an unprecedented Yellow Supergiant (YSG) progenitor, provides an excellent opportunity to deepen our understanding on the massive star evolution in the final centuries toward the SN explosion. In this paper, we report on detection and analyses of thermal X-ray emission from SN IIb 2011dh at ~500 days after the explosion on Chandra archival data, providing a solidly derived mass loss rate of an YSG progenitor for the first time. We find that the circumstellar media (CSM) should be dense, more than that expected from a Wolf-Rayet (WR) …
Hydrogen-rich supernovae, known as Type II (SNe II), are the most common class of explosions observed following the collapse of the core of massive stars. We use analytical estimates and population synthesis simulations to assess the fraction of SNe II progenitors that are expected to have exchanged mass with a companion prior to explosion. We estimate that 1/3 to 1/2 of SN II progenitors have a history of mass exchange with a binary companion before exploding. The dominant binary channels leading to SN II progenitors involve the merger of binary stars. Mergers are expected to produce a divers…
Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic) are a sub-class of core-collapse supernovae that exhibit no helium or hydrogen lines in their spectra. Their progenitors are thought to be bare carbon-oxygen cores formed during the evolution of massive stars that are stripped of their hydrogen and helium envelopes sometime before collapse. SNe Ic present a range of luminosities and spectral properties, from luminous GRB-SNe with broad-lined spectra to less luminous events with narrow-line spectra. Modelling SNe\,Ic reveals a wide range of both kinetic energies, ejecta masses, and $^{56}\text{Ni}$ masses. To explore…
We present self-consistent, axisymmetric core-collapse supernova simulations performed with the Prometheus-Vertex code for 18 pre-supernova models in the range of 11-28 solar masses, including progenitors recently investigated by other groups. All models develop explosions, but depending on the progenitor structure, they can be divided into two classes. With a steep density decline at the Si/Si-O interface, the arrival of this interface at the shock front leads to a sudden drop of the mass-accretion rate, triggering a rapid approach to explosion. With a more gradually decreasing accretion rate…
I summarize what we have learned about the nature of stars that ultimately explode as core-collapse supernovae from the examination of images taken prior to the explosion. By registering pre-supernova and post-supernova images, usually taken at high resolution using either space-based optical detectors, or ground-based infrared detectors equipped with laser guide star adaptive optics systems, nearly three dozen core-collapse supernovae have now had the properties of their progenitor stars either directly measured or (more commonly) constrained by establishing upper limits on their luminosities…
We review some recent developments in theoretical studies on the connection between the progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and the explosion mechanisms. (1) DD-subCh: In the merging of double C+O white dwarfs (DD scenario), if the carbon detonation is induced near the white dwarf (WD) surface in the early dynamical phase, it could result in the (effectively) sub-Chandrasekhar mass explosion. (2) DD-Ch: If no surface C-detonation is ignited, the WD could grow until the Chandrasekhar mass is reached, but the outcome depends on whether the quiescent carbon shell burning is ignited …