Summary

At the end of its life, a red supergiant star explodes in a hydrogen-rich supernova. By comparing observation results to simulation models, an international research team including Takashi Moriya at DTA/NAOJ found that in many cases this explosion takes place inside a thick cloud of circumstellar matter shrouding the star. This result completely changes our understanding of the last stage of stellar evolution. (September 4, 2018, press release)

Figure 1: Artist's impression of a red supergiant surrounded with thick circumstellar matter. (Credit: NAOJ)
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[1920x1920 gray, JPG (828 KB)] [3200x3200 gray, JPG (1.9 MB)]

Figure 2: The 26 detected supernovae light curves (points), compared to standard models (dashed lines), and simulations in this study (continuous lines). Most of the supernovae rise up faster than the standard models and match the simulation results very well. (Credit: Förster et al. Nature Astronomy 2018, modified)
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See the full story: DTA/NAOJ Press Release "Veiled Supernovae Provide Clue to Stellar Evolution"

Paper Details

Title: The delay of shock breakout due to circumstellar material evident in most type II supernovae
Authors: F. Förster, T. J. Moriya, J.C. Maureira, J.P. Anderson, S. Blinnikov, F. Bufano, G. Cabrera–Vives, A. Clocchiatti, Th. de Jaeger, P.A. Estévez, L. Galbany, S. González– Gaitán, G. Gräfener, M. Hamuy, E. Hsiao, P. Huentelemu, P. Huijse, H. Kuncarayakti, J. Martínez, G. Medina, F. Olivares E., G. Pignata, A. Razza, I. Reyes, J. San Martín, R.C. Smith, E. Vera, A.K. Vivas, A. de Ugarte Postigo, S.-C. Yoon, C. Ashall, M. Fraser, A. Gal–Yam, E. Kankare, L. Le Guillou, P.A. Mazzali, N.A. Walton, D.R. Young
Journal: Nature Astronomy
DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0563-4

Computers

"PC Cluster" for non-parallel computations was used in this research. This system is used for small-scale simulations and/or simulations which need a long calculation time. The PC Cluster consists of 224 nodes.
(Credit: Yutaka Iijima)

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Related Links

Department of Theoretical Astronomy (DTA), NAOJ Press Release "Veiled Supernovae Provide Clue to Stellar Evolution"
NAOJ Press Release "Veiled Supernovae Provide Clue to Stellar Evolution"
The University of Chile Press Release "Chilean scientists discover crucial event right before the death of a star"
Takashi Moriya Personal Webpage