Using the X-ray Lightcurves of Young Supernovae to Probe the Stellar Environment and Supernova Progenitors
Abstract
We have aggregated together data available in the literature, or analysed by us, to compute the X-ray lightcurves of almost all young supernovae (SNe) that have been detected in X-rays. Currently we have about 60 SNe spanning all the various types, but the database is expanding rapidly. The lightcurves themselves span 12 orders of magnitude in luminosity. We use this library of lightcurves and spectra to explore the diversity of SNe, the characteristics of the environment into which they are expanding, and the implications for their progenitors. X-ray lightcurves and spectra can provide insight into the density structure, abundances, composition and metallicity of the surrounding medium, and the ionization level, through the spectra themselves as well as the X-ray absorption. Since core-collapse SNe expand mainly in environments created by the progenitor star mass-loss, this can provide crucial information about the nature of the progenitor star, and its mass-loss parameters in the decades or centuries before its death. In a few cases, via detailed modelling, we can distinguish the composition of the expanding SN ejecta from that of the environment, thus providing a glimpse into how SNe will eventually enrich their environment. X-ray observations therefore provide an invaluable probe into the stellar environments of core-collapse SNe, complementing data available at other wavelengths. In this talk we will give an overview of the X-ray lightcurves of various SN types, review the implications for their environment, and discuss clues to their progenitor stars.
- Publication:
-
IAU General Assembly
- Pub Date:
- August 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015IAUGA..2258261D