Wave-driven Outbursts and Variability of Low-mass Supernova Progenitors

Abstract

In a substantial number of core-collapse supernovae (SNe), early-time interaction indicates a dense circumstellar medium (CSM) that may be produced by outbursts from the progenitor star. Wave-driven mass loss is a possible mechanism to produce these signatures, with previous work suggesting that this mechanism is most effective for low-mass (∼11 M ⊙) SN progenitors. Using one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations with MESA, we study the effects of this wave heating in SN progenitors of masses M ZAMS = 10–13 M ⊙. This range encompasses stars that experience semidegenerate central neon burning and more degenerate off-center neon ignition. We find that central Ne ignition at M ZAMS = 11 M ⊙ produces a burst of intense wave heating that transmits ∼1047 erg of energy at 10 yr before core collapse, whereas other masses experience smaller levels of wave heating. Wave heating does not hydrodynamically drive mass loss in any of our models and is unlikely to produce a very massive CSM on its own. However, wave heating can cause large radial expansion (by more than an order of magnitude), photospheric cooling, and luminosity brightening by up to ∼106 L ⊙ in hydrogen-poor stripped star models. Some Type Ib/c progenitors could drastically change their appearance in the final years of their lives, with brightness in the visual bands increasing by nearly 3 mag. Moreover, interaction with a close binary companion could drive intense mass loss, with implications for Type Ibn and other interaction-powered SNe.

Seven Years of Coordinated Chandra–NuSTAR Observations of SN 2014C Unfold the Extreme Mass-loss History of Its Stellar Progenitor

“…While we discuss these mechanisms separately, this does not indicate that each mechanism is expected to operate independently of one another. In fact, it is anticipated that the mechanisms can interact with one another, such as gravity waves leading to the onset of binary interaction (Mcley & Soker 2014;Wu & Fuller 2022). We emphasize these three mechanisms because of their ability to explain various aspects of observed mass loss, such as timing and severity of the mass-loss event, in SN 2014C as well as in other events listed in Table 1.…”

3D Hydrodynamics of Pre-supernova Outbursts in Convective Red Supergiant Envelopes

“…Our results highlight that the 3D convective nature of massive stellar envelopes can be an important condition to consider in the understanding of pre-SN outbursts. Following the wave heating hydrodynamics in MESA, Wu & Fuller (2022) recently found that the dissipation of gravity waves driven by nuclear burning is unlikely to cause significant mass loss. In their setup, most of the wave energy is deposited at much smaller radii than our energy injection radius, at ∼10 R e .…”

Resolving the Peak of the Black Hole Mass Spectrum

“…Mapping the final evolutionary phases of massive stars remains challenging, given the difficulty in resolving the interplay between convection, nuclear burning, rotation, convective core overshooting, radiative transport, internal waves, mass-loss eruptions, and binary interactions (Quataert & Shiode 2012;Shiode & Quataert 2014;Matzner & Ro 2021;Tanikawa et al 2021;Vink et al 2021;Jacobson-Galan et al 2022;Wu & Fuller 2022). All else being equal, mass resolution is an important consideration to accurately control for changes in stellar structure (Farmer et al 2016).…”