# Pair Instability Supernovae of Very Massive Population III Stars

## TL;DR

This paper presents advanced two-dimensional simulations of primordial pair-instability supernovae from very massive Population III stars, revealing fluid instabilities that influence explosion dynamics and element mixing.

## Contribution

It introduces early-time multidimensional simulations of primordial supernovae, capturing instabilities that affect explosion yields and spectra, which were not modeled in previous studies.

## Key findings

- Fluid instabilities arise at oxygen and helium shell boundaries.
- Instabilities driven by burning freeze out after shock exits helium core.
- Strong reverse shocks in red supergiants promote ejecta mixing.

## Abstract

Numerical studies of primordial star formation suggest that the first stars in the universe may have been very massive. Stellar models indicate that non-rotating Population III stars with initial masses of 140-260 Msun die as highly energetic pair-instability supernovae. We present new two-dimensional simulations of primordial pair-instability supernovae done with the CASTRO code. Our simulations begin at earlier times than previous multidimensional models, at the onset of core collapse, to capture any dynamical instabilities that may be seeded by collapse and explosive burning. Such instabilities could enhance explosive yields by mixing hot ash with fuel, thereby accelerating nuclear burning, and affect the spectra of the supernova by dredging up heavy elements from greater depths in the star at early times. Our grid of models includes both blue supergiants and red supergiants over the range in progenitor mass expected for these events. We find that fluid instabilities driven by oxygen and helium burning arise at the upper and lower boundaries of the oxygen shell $\sim$ 20 - 100 seconds after core bounce. Instabilities driven by burning freeze out after the SN shock exits the helium core. As the shock later propagates through the hydrogen envelope, a strong reverse shock forms that drives the growth of Rayleigh--Taylor instabilities. In red supergiant progenitors, the amplitudes of these instabilities are sufficient to mix the supernova ejecta.