Linear relation for wind-blown bubble sizes of main-sequence OB stars in a molecular environment and implication for supernova progenitors

TL;DR

This study establishes a linear relation between main-sequence bubble sizes of OB stars and their initial masses in molecular environments, enabling estimation of supernova progenitor masses from observed supernova remnants within molecular cavities.

Contribution

It introduces a simple linear model linking stellar initial mass to bubble size, aiding in inferring supernova progenitor masses from remnant observations.

Findings

Derived a linear relation R_b ≈ 1.22M - 9.16 pc for bubble size and stellar mass.

Applied the relation to estimate progenitor masses of eight supernova remnants.

Showed that main-sequence wind bubbles primarily determine molecular cavity sizes.

Abstract

We find a linear relationship between the size of a massive star's main-sequence bubble in a molecular environment and the star's initial mass: R_b \approx 1.22M/Msun - 9.16 pc, assuming a constant interclump pressure. Since stars in the mass range of 8 to 25-30 Msun will end their evolution in the red supergiant phase without launching a Wolf-Rayet wind, the main-sequence wind-blown bubbles are mainly responsible for the extent of molecular gas cavities, while the effect of the photoionization is comparatively small. This linear relation can thus be used to infer the masses of the massive star progenitors of supernova remnants (SNRs) that are discovered to evolve in molecular cavities, while few other means are available for inferring properties of SNR progenitors. We have used this method to estimate the initial masses of the progenitors of eight SNRs: Kes 69, Kes 75, Kes 78, 3C 396, 3C 397, HC 40, Vela, and RX J1713-3946.