Super Luminous Supernova and Gamma Ray Bursts

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical model explaining the brightness of super luminous supernovae powered by ejecta collisions, showing they can be explained with modest radioactive nickel and linking long GRBs to ordinary SNe Ic.

Contribution

The paper introduces a simple analytical expression for SLSNe light-curves powered by ejecta collisions, applicable to events with or without observed GRBs, challenging the hypernova paradigm.

Findings

The model accurately reproduces observed SLSNe luminosities.

Modest nickel mass ($<0.1 M_7$) suffices to explain late-time brightness.

Long GRBs can originate from ordinary SNe Ic, not just hypernovae.

Abstract

We use a simple analytical model to derive a closed form expression for the bolometric light-curve of super-luminus supernovae (SLSNe) powered by a plastic collision between the fast ejecta from core collapse supernovae (SNe) of types Ib/c and IIn and slower massive circum-stellar shells, ejected during the late stage of the life of their progenitor stars preceding the SN explosion. We demonstrate that this expression reproduces well the bolometric luminosity of SLSNe with and without an observed gamma ray burst (GRB), and requires only a modest amount ($M < 0.1\,M_\odot$) of radioactive $^{56}$Ni synthesized in the SN explosion in order to explain their late-time luminosity. Long duration GRBs can be produced by ordinary SNe of type Ic rather than by 'hypernovae' - a subclass of superenergetic SNeIb/c.