Bursting SN 1996cr's Bubble: Hydrodynamic and X-ray Modeling of its Circumstellar Medium

TL;DR

This study combines hydrodynamic simulations and X-ray spectral analysis to model SN 1996cr's circumstellar environment, revealing a complex interaction with a dense shell likely formed by stellar wind interactions, and constraining its progenitor's nature.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed hydrodynamic and spectral modeling of SN 1996cr's circumstellar medium, linking observational data to progenitor star evolution and mass-loss history.

Findings

SN 1996cr exploded in a low-density medium before hitting a dense shell

The shell is likely formed by wind interactions from a blue supergiant or Wolf-Rayet star

The shock wave has exited the shell and is expanding into the surrounding medium

Abstract

SN1996cr is one of the five closest SNe to explode in the past 30 years. Due to its fortuitous location in the Circinus Galaxy at ~ 3.7 Mpc, there is a wealth of recently acquired and serendipitous archival data available to piece together its evolution over the past decade, including a recent 485 ks Chandra HETG spectrum. In order to interpret this data, we have explored hydrodynamic simulations, followed by computations of simulated spectra and light curves under non-equilibrium ionization conditions, and directly compared them to the observations. Our simulated spectra manage to fit both the X-ray continuum and lines at 4 epochs satisfactorily, while our computed light curves are in good agreement with additional flux-monitoring data sets. These calculations allow us to infer the nature and structure of the circumstellar medium, the evolution of the SN shock wave, and the abundances of the ejecta and surrounding medium. The data imply that SN 1996cr exploded in a low-density medium before interacting with a dense shell of material about 0.03pc away from the progenitor star. We speculate that the shell could be due to the interaction of a blue supergiant or Wolf-Rayet wind with a previously existing red supergiant (RSG) wind. The shock wave has now exited the shell and is expanding in the medium exterior to it, possibly the undisturbed continuation of the dense RSG wind. The narrow lines that earned SN 1996cr its IIn designation possibly arise from dense, shocked clumps in the CSM. Although the possibility for an LBV progenitor for this Type IIn SN cannot be completely excluded, it is inconsistent with much of the data. These calculations allow us to probe the stellar mass loss in the very last phases ($ < 10^4$ years) of a massive star's life ($> 10^6$ years), and provide another means to deducing the progenitor of the SN.