Supernova interaction with dense mass loss

TL;DR

This paper explores how dense circumstellar material influences supernova luminosity, especially in Type IIn and superluminous supernovae, highlighting shock breakout in winds as a key mechanism.

Contribution

It proposes that shock breakout in dense mass loss regions can explain the luminosity of certain supernovae, linking pre-explosion mass loss to observed brightness.

Findings

Shock breakout in dense winds can produce superluminous supernovae.

SN 2006gy and SN 2011ht luminosities are consistent with wind interaction models.

Limited temperature increase observed in Type I supernovae challenges some models.

Abstract

Supernovae of Type IIn (narrow line) appear to be explosions that had strong mass loss before the event, so that the optical luminosity is powered by the circumstellar interaction. If the mass loss region has an optical depth $>c/v_s$, where $v_s$ is the shock velocity, the shock breakout occurs in the mass loss region and a significant fraction of the explosion energy can be radiated. The emission from the superluminous SN 2006gy and the normal luminosity SN 2011ht can plausibly be attributed to shock breakout in a wind, with SN 2011ht being a low energy event. Superluminous supernovae of Type I may derive their luminosity from interaction with a mass loss region of limited extent. However, the distinctive temperature increase to maximum luminosity has not been clearly observed in Type I events. Suggested mechanisms for the strong mass loss include pulsational pair instability, gravity-waves generated by instabilities in late burning phases, and binary effects.