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Bersten MC, Folatelli G, García F, Van Dyk SD, Benvenuto OG, Orellana M, Buso V, Sánchez JL, Tanaka M, Maeda K, Filippenko AV, Zheng W, Brink TG, Cenko SB, de Jaeger T, Kumar S, Moriya TJ, Nomoto K, Perley DA, Shivvers I, Smith N. A surge of light at the birth of a supernova. Nature 2018; 554:497-499. [PMID: 29469097 DOI: 10.1038/nature25151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
It is difficult to establish the properties of massive stars that explode as supernovae. The electromagnetic emission during the first minutes to hours after the emergence of the shock from the stellar surface conveys important information about the final evolution and structure of the exploding star. However, the unpredictable nature of supernova events hinders the detection of this brief initial phase. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of a newly born, normal type IIb supernova (SN 2016gkg), which reveals a rapid brightening at optical wavelengths of about 40 magnitudes per day. The very frequent sampling of the observations allowed us to study in detail the outermost structure of the progenitor of the supernova and the physics of the emergence of the shock. We develop hydrodynamical models of the explosion that naturally account for the complete evolution of the supernova over distinct phases regulated by different physical processes. This result suggests that it is appropriate to decouple the treatment of the shock propagation from the unknown mechanism that triggers the explosion.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Bersten
- Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata (IALP), CONICET, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina.,Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
| | - G Folatelli
- Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata (IALP), CONICET, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina.,Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
| | - F García
- Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina.,Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (CCT-La Plata, CONICET; CICPBA), CC No. 5, 1894 Villa Elisa, Argentina.,Université Paris Diderot, AIM, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - S D Van Dyk
- Caltech/IPAC, Mailcode 100-22, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - O G Benvenuto
- Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata (IALP), CONICET, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina
| | - M Orellana
- Sede Andina, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Mitre 630 (8400) Bariloche, CONICET, Argentina
| | - V Buso
- Observatorio Astronómico Busoniano, Entre Ríos 2974 (2000), Rosario, Argentina
| | - J L Sánchez
- Observatorio Astronómico Geminis Austral, Rosario, Argentina
| | - M Tanaka
- Division of Theoretical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
| | - K Maeda
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan.,Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - A V Filippenko
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA.,Miller Senior Fellow, Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - W Zheng
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA
| | - T G Brink
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA
| | - S B Cenko
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA.,Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - T de Jaeger
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA
| | - S Kumar
- Department of Physics, Florida State University, 77 Chieftain Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
| | - T J Moriya
- Division of Theoretical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
| | - K Nomoto
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
| | - D A Perley
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
| | - I Shivvers
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA
| | - N Smith
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
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