X-rays, gamma-rays and neutrinos from collisoinless shocks in supernova wind breakouts

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that collisionless shocks form during supernova wind breakouts, producing detectable non-thermal gamma rays, X-rays, and neutrinos that carry significant energy and can be observed with current telescopes.

Contribution

It reveals the inevitability of collisionless shock formation in supernova wind breakouts and predicts associated high-energy emissions that are observable.

Findings

Collisionless shocks form during supernova wind breakouts.

Intense non-thermal gamma rays, X-rays, and neutrinos are produced.

These emissions are detectable with current telescopes and neutrino detectors.

Abstract

We show that a collisionless shock necessarily forms during the shock breakout of a supernova (SN) surrounded by an optically thick wind. An intense non-thermal flash of <~ MeV gamma rays, hard X-rays and multi-TeV neutrinos is produced simultaneously with and following the soft X-ray breakout emission, carrying similar or larger energy than the soft emission. The non-thermal flash is detectable by current X-ray telescopes and may be detectable out to 10's of Mpc by km-scale neutrino telescopes.