Electron-capture supernovae as origin of 48Ca

TL;DR

This paper proposes that electron-capture supernovae from collapsing oxygen-neon-magnesium cores can produce significant amounts of 48Ca, potentially explaining its abundance in the solar system.

Contribution

The study introduces a two-dimensional explosion model of ECSNe that predicts neutron-rich ejecta capable of synthesizing 48Ca, a novel explanation for its cosmic origin.

Findings

ECSNe eject neutron-rich matter with Ye = 0.40-0.42.

The model predicts appreciable 48Ca production in ECSNe.

Ejected 48Ca can match solar abundance levels.

Abstract

We report that electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe), arising from collapsing oxygen-neon-magnesium cores, are a possible source of 48Ca, whose origin has remained a long-standing puzzle. Our two-dimensional, self-consistent explosion model of an ECSN predicts ejection of neutron-rich matter with electron fractions Ye = 0.40-0.42 and relatively low entropies, s = 13-15 kB per nucleon (kB is the Boltzmann constant). Post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations result in appreciable production of 48Ca in such neutron-rich and low-entropy matter during the quasi-nuclear equilibrium and subsequent freezeout phases. The amount of ejected 48Ca can account for that in the solar inventory when we consider possible uncertainties in the entropies or ejecta-mass distribution. ECSNe could thus be a site of 48Ca production in addition to a hypothetical, rare class of high-density Type Ia supernovae.