Supernovae In The accelerating universe (/study/app/12c-ibdp-physics-hl/sid-49-cid- 255088/book/the-accelerating-universe-id-11710), we encountered the importance of Type Ia supernovae as standard candles which could be used to determine the distance to distant galaxies, and how that led to the surprising discovery that the universe's expansion rate is accelerating. Here, we will study the mechanism underlying Type I supernovae and how that understanding leads to their use as standard candles, and we will also consider Type II supernovae. All supernovae are associated with a catastrophic core collapse of a star. In the process of the collapse, a tremendous amount of power is generated to the extent that a supernova may be more luminous than its host galaxy of hundreds of billion stars and be visible during the day. Typically, supernovae are billions of times brighter than our Sun, the most luminous observed to date being SN 2015L, with a peak energy output of 570 billion times the output of the Sun, and a peak absolute magnitude of −23.5, or 2.2 × 10 W. As the core collapses, stellar material is 38
blasted outwards with speeds up to 10% of the speed of light, creating shock waves that gather material from the surrounding interstellar medium into a shell around the collapsed core, known as a supernova remnant. The Crab Nebula, see Figure 1A, is such a supernova remnant, first identified in 1731 by an English astronomer and later shown to be the remnant of a supernova which exploded in 1054 AD and was observed by Chinese astronomers, see Figure 1B.
Figure 1A. The Crab Figure 1B. The highlighted text is
Nebula, the remnant of a the account of the observation of supernova that occurred the 1054 AD supernova by in 1054 AD, hence Chinese astronomers. referred to as SN 1054.
Be Aware While the classification of both Type I and Type II is further subdivided, such as Type Ia, Type Ib and Type Ic, we will not deal with such details and take the Type Ia to be representative of Type I supernovae, and Type IIp as representative of Type II supernovae. Type Ia supernovae Main sequence stars with a mass up to eight solar masses, 8M , will ascend the red ⊙
giant branch, and undergo a helium flash with their cores ending up as carbon- oxygen white dwarfs. If such a white dwarf has a companion star in a binary star system which becomes a red giant later, the white dwarf may accrete gas into a disc around itself, see Figure 2. Gas from the accretion disc periodically falls onto the white dwarf star. As discussed in Stellar evolution (/study/app/12c-ibdp-physics-hl/sid-49-cid- 255088/book/stellar-evolution-id-11793), white dwarfs are stable as a consequence of the electron degeneracy pressure generated by their electrons through the Pauli exclusion principle. However, there is a limit on the mass that electron degeneracy pressure can withstand, namely the Chandrasekhar limit, estimated to be 1.4M for a ⊙
non-rotating white dwarf.
Figure 2. A binary system of two stars of unequal mass. The more massive star evolves faster and has become a white dwarf. Its companion evolves slower but as it expands, the strong gravitational effect of the white dwarf may result in a mass stream, through which mass flows from the companion star into an accretion disc around the white dwarf. This gas eventually falls onto the white dwarf, which may push its mass to the Chandrasekhar limit, leading to a cataclysmic explosion, a supernova. Credit: after STCcI (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1995/23/image/a/) with annotations added.
As the white dwarf accretes gas from its binary companion, its mass increases. Once its mass approaches the Chandrasekhar limit, electron degeneracy pressure fails and a cataclysmic stellar explosion takes place. The exact details of the onset of the explosion are not yet well understood. It is generally accepted that the white dwarf comes to within ∼ 1% of the Chandrasekhar limit, after which carbon fusion ignites, followed by oxygen fusion. Once fusion starts, the temperature of the white dwarf rises dramatically. A star stabilised by thermal pressure is able to regulate its core temperature through expansion. However, electron degeneracy pressure is temperature-independent and a white dwarf is unable to regulate its core temperature. As a consequence, the white dwarf undergoes a runaway thermonuclear process. Within seconds carbon and oxygen are fused into heavier elements, releasing energy that exceeds the white dwarf's binding energy, leading to a cataclysmic explosion. In the explosion, shock waves are sent out, ejecting material with speeds up to 3% the speed of light, and enriching the star's surroundings with the heavier elements fused in its core. Whether or not a supernova remnant is formed and the companion star is ejected depends on the force of the shock wave. The sequence of events leading a supernova explosion is indicated in Figure 3 and an image of a Type Ia supernova explosion is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 3. The process by which a Type Ia supernova occurs. A white
dwarf accretes gas from a companion star, thereby increasing its mass, and eventually disrupting the electron degeneracy pressure. This leads to a runaway thermonuclear process that ends in a cataclysmic stellar explosion. After image by NASA (http://www.nasa.gov), ESA (http://www.spacetelescope.org) and A. Feild from STScI (http://www.stsci.edu). Figure 4. The bright spot in the lower left corner is SN 1994D, a typical Type Ia supernova, which we infer from its brief surge in brightness and a lack of hydrogen lines in its spectrum; notice how bright it is even in comparison with the adjacent galaxy. Credit: ESA/Hubble (http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo9919i/).
Much ongoing research is done to understand the onset of the Type Ia supernova explosion, in no small measure due to its importance as a standard candle in determining cosmological distances. However, as a consequence of the similar initial conditions of the onset of the explosion, the light curves of Type Ia supernovae show very little variation. Their peak luminosity is similar and their fall-off follows the same profile, as seen in Figure 1 in the accelerating universe (/study/app/12c-ibdp- physics-hl/sid-49-cid-255088/book/the-accelerating-universe-id-11710). It is this luminosity regularity which makes them a candidate as a standard candle. In order to distinguish between a Type Ia and Type II supernova, astrophysicists analyse the spectrum of their light curves. Type Ia, resulting from a white dwarf star, contains no hydrogen lines, unlike the spectra from Type II supernovae, see below.
Finally, the following animation shows a computational model of a Type Ia supernova
explosion applying the most up-to-date physics. The onset of the explosion starts in the centre, from which it travels to the surface before it envelopes the entire white dwarf in a cataclysmic explosion. White dwarf star explosion into a Ia type supernova
Type II supernovae Main sequence stars with masses between 8M and 40M are too massive for fusion ⊙ ⊙
to prevent gravitational core collapse. Core collapse forms the basis for all but the Type Ia supernovae. Towards the end of the evolutionary cycle of these massive stars, they are left with an iron core – see Nuclear fusion (/study/app/12c-ibdp-physics-hl/sid-49- cid-255088/book/nuclear-fusion-id-12052) in stars. However, silicon burning in the surrounding shell continues to increase the iron in the core until the core reaches the Chandrasekhar limit. With electron degeneracy pressure no longer able to stabilise the core, it collapses from an initial radius of about 3000km to a final radius of about 20km, i.e. from roughly the size of the Earth to that of Los Angeles, in a fraction of a
second. Outer parts of the core fall inward with speeds up to 25% the speed of light as the core temperature increases. With increasing core temperature, photon energies increase to a level whereby they can photodisintegrate nuclei into protons and neutrons, leading to an even faster core collapse. In that process densities become so large that the free electrons are captured by protons in an inverse β-decay to produce neutrons:
+ − p + e → n + νe .
With the removal of free electrons there is no longer any electron degeneracy pressure and all mechanisms leading to pressure counteracting gravity are gone. The core collapses catastrophically in milliseconds until the density in the core reaches nuclear densities, i.e., the density of a nucleus ρ nucleus ∼ 3 × 10 17 kg m −3 . At this point
neutrons, which as fermions also obey the Pauli exclusion principle, become degenerate, and the core stiffens and becomes incompressible, which reverses the collapse, an event called the core bounce. At this point the infalling outer parts of the core violently collide with the stiffened core, creating shockwaves that travel throughout the star to its surface. The energy stored in the shockwave as it travels outwards disintegrates the nuclei into protons and neutrons. As the shockwave reaches the surface, it will blow off its envelope, and what remains is a neutron star. This sequence of events is shown in Figure 5, and Figure 6 shows the remnants of a Type II supernova. Figure 5. A massive star ends up (a) with an onion-layered structure of elements surrounding an iron core in shells undergoing fusion. (b) Unable to undergo fusion, the iron core starts to collapse; notice the zoom in to core size. The inner part of the core turns into neutrons (c) until neutron degeneracy pressure leads to an incompressible core (d) and (e) forming an outwards-travelling shockwave (shown in red). Eventually a remnant remains with the surrounding material blown away. After R.J. Hall on Wikipedia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Core_collapse_scenario.svg). Figure 6. The remnants of supernova SN 1987A which was observed in 1987 and shone with the brightness of about 100 million Suns. Credit: ESO (http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1032/).
In Table 1, we show the typical core temperatures and densities as well as the timescale involved in the evolution of a 25M star, followed by an animation, courtesy ⊙
of NASA/JPL (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1279).
Table 1. Evolutionary stages of a 25M⊙ star. Note the increase of core
temperature by an order of magnitude and of the core density by three (3!) orders of magnitude the from the core collapse to core bounce state, all in much less than a second.
Core temperature Core density Stage (K) (kg m −3 ) Duration
hydrogen 4 × 10 7 5 × 10 3 7 × 10 6 years
burning
helium 2 × 10 8 7 × 10 5 7 × 10 5 years
burning
carbon 6 × 10 8 2 × 10 8 600 years
burning
neon burn 1.2 × 10
9 4 × 10 9 1 year
ing
oxygen 1.5 × 10 9 10 10 6 months Core temperature Core density Stage Duration −3 (K) (kg m )
burning
silicon 2.7 × 10 9 3 × 10 10 1 day
burning
core 5.4 × 10 9 3 × 10 12 1 second collapse 4
core 2.3 × 10 10 4 × 10 15 milliseconds
bounce
explosion around 10 9 varies 10 seconds
(supernov a)
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Neutron capture As previously mentioned, when temperatures are sufficiently high, T ≳ 1.5 × 10 K, 9
photon energies are high enough that they can photodisintegrate nuclei. This leads to a neutron-rich environment. Neutrons do not experience the Coulomb barrier, and under these highly energetic conditions, they can easily penetrate the nuclei of even fully ionised heavy elements such as Fe . If the neutrons are captured by the nucleus, as a 26+
consequence of the strong nuclear force, new neutron-rich isotopes are produced. These isotopes may be stable or unstable. We distinguish between a slow and a rapid neutron capture process, referred to as an s-process and an r-process, respectively. The particular process that leads to the formation of heavy elements is determined by the time involved in β-decay (n → p + e + ν̄ ) and the neutron capture rate. − e Definition The s-process or slow neutron capture is a nucleosynthesis process that occurs in relatively low neutron flux and intermediate temperatures conditions in stars; neutron flux is roughly the number of neutrons incident per unit area per unit time. Heavier nuclei are created through neutron capture to form an isotope which may then undergo β-decay to form a new element heavier than iron. The rate of neutron capture is slow in comparison to the rate of β-decay.
The r-process or rapid neutron capture is a nucleosynthesis process that occurs in
the high neutron flux and high temperatures conditions of core-collapse supernovae, such as Type II supernovae. Neutrons are captured rapidly leading to super-neutron-rich isotopes which may eventually undergo β-decay to form new elements heavier than iron.
A typical s-process is shown in Figure 7 in which Fe absorbs three
56
successive neutrons to become Fe. Unlike the two lighter isotopes, iron-59 is unstable 59
with a half-life of 44.5 days. If the neutron flux is not high and neutron capture takes longer than its half-life, iron-59 may β-decay to cobalt-59. This process can repeat itself to form successively heavier elements, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. A typical s-process during which iron turns into copper using successive neutron capture followed by β-decay.
If the neutron flux is so high that neutrons are captured on timescales shorter than the half-life of any of the enriched elements, super-neutron-rich isotopes can form. A typical r-process is shown in Figure 8. The ytterbium-188 nucleus is bombarded by neutrons at such a high rate that its isotopes do not have time to undergo β-decay until it has absorbed eight neutrons. The half-life of ytterbium-196 is short enough to start a series of decays which end in stable gold, Au. The neutron flux necessary for the r-process 197
to occur is met in the environment of Type II supernova explosions and so these
explosions are essential in the formation of heavy elements. Figure 8. A typical r-process that takes 188 Yb through neutron capture and β-decay to form stable 197 Au.
Type Ia vs. Type II supernovae
Let us tabulate the differences between Type Ia and Type II supernovae.
Table 2. The differences between Type Ia and Type II supernovae.
Type Ia supernovae Type II supernovae
No hydrogen lines present in Hydrogen lines present in spectra.
spectra.
Occurs when a white dwarf Occurs when the core of a massive
accretes gas from a star, greater than 8M⊙ , no longer companion star increasing its produces fusion and collapses into a mass towards the neutron core off which infalling Chandrasekhar limit leading material bounces leading to an to core collapse and an explosion. explosion.
Its light curve falls off sharply Its light curve has a plateau and falls after peak luminosity, which is off more gently after peak luminosity, comparable for all Type Ia see Figure 9. supernovae, see Figure 9. Type Ia supernovae Type II supernovae
Used as standard candles to In the neutron-rich and energetic
determine distances to environment of the explosion, distant stars. neutron capture occurs leading to the synthesis of elements heavier than iron, see above.
Figure 9. The light curves of a Type Ia and a Type II supernova. Notice the sharp decline after peak luminosity of the Type Ia light curve compare to the plateau of the Type II.
Examiner Tip While the details of Type Ia and Type II supernovae are of interest and importance, for your exams you should be in a position to differentiate between these two types of supernova. Thus, take particular note of Table 2 above and pay close attention to Figure 9.
