Supernova 2000cb: high-energy version of SN 1987A

TL;DR

Supernova 2000cb is a high-energy, blue supergiant explosion similar to SN 1987A, with detailed hydrodynamic modeling revealing its progenitor properties, explosion energy, and radioactive nickel distribution.

Contribution

This study provides the first detailed hydrodynamic and spectroscopic analysis of supernova 2000cb, highlighting its higher explosion energy and asymmetry compared to SN 1987A.

Findings

Supernova 2000cb has an explosion energy of 4.4x10^{51} erg.

The progenitor star had a radius of 35 Rsun and a mass of 24-28 Msun.

The supernova's light curve is powered entirely by radioactive decay.

Abstract

Among type IIP supernovae there are a few events that resemble the well-studied supernova 1987A produced by the blue supergiant in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We study a peculiar supernova 2000cb and compare it with the supernova 1987A. We carried out hydrodynamic simulations of the supernova in an extended parameter space to describe its light curve and spectroscopic data. The hydrogen H-alpha and H-beta lines are modeled using a time-dependent approach. We constructed the hydrodynamic model by fitting the photometric and spectroscopic observations. We infer a presupernova radius of 35 Rsun, an ejecta mass of 22.3 Msun, an explosion energy of 4.4x10^{51} erg, and a radioactive Ni-56 mass of 0.083 Msun. The estimated progenitor mass on the main sequence lies in the range of 24-28 Msun. The early H-alpha profile on day 7 is consistent with the density distribution found from hydrodynamic modeling, while the H-alpha line on day 40 indicates an extended Ni-56 mixing up to a velocity of 8400 km/s. We emphasize that the dome-like light curves of both supernova 2000cb and supernova 1987A are entirely powered by radioactive decay. This is unlike normal type IIP supernovae, the plateau of which is dominated by the internal energy deposited after the shock wave propagation through the presupernova. We find signatures of the explosion asymmetry in the photospheric and nebular spectra. The explosion energy of supernova 2000cb is higher by a factor of three compared to supernova 1987A, which poses a serious problem for explosion mechanisms of type IIP supernovae.