Ejection of the massive Hydrogen-rich envelope timed with the collapse of the stripped SN2014C

TL;DR

SN2014C's evolution from a typical H-poor supernova to a hydrogen-rich type IIn was caused by the ejection of a massive hydrogen shell shortly before collapse, challenging existing stellar evolution models.

Contribution

This study provides the first detailed multi-wavelength observations of a young extragalactic stripped-envelope supernova transitioning to a hydrogen-rich phase, revealing a massive hydrogen shell ejected prior to core collapse.

Findings

Detected a ~1 solar mass hydrogen shell at ~6x10^16 cm from the explosion site.

Approximately 10% of SNe Ib/c show similar signatures, indicating commonality.

Ejection likely occurred decades to centuries before collapse, challenging current stellar evolution theories.

Abstract

We present multi-wavelength observations of SN2014C during the first 500 days. These observations represent the first solid detection of a young extragalactic stripped-envelope SN out to high-energy X-rays. SN2014C was the explosion of an H-stripped progenitor star with ordinary explosion parameters. However, over the time scale of ~1yr, SN2014C experienced a complete metamorphosis and evolved from an ordinary H-poor supernova of type Ib into a strongly interacting, H-rich supernova of type IIn. Signatures of the SN shock interacting with a dense medium are observed across the spectrum. Coordinated observations with Swift, Chandra and NuSTAR have captured the evolution in detail and revealed the presence of a massive shell of ~1 Msun of hydrogen-rich material at ~6d16 cm from the explosion site. We estimate that the shell was ejected by the progenitor star in the decades to centuries before core collapse. This result poses significant challenges to current theories of massive star evolution, as it requires a physical mechanism responsible for the ejection of the deepest hydrogen layer of H-poor SN progenitors synchronized with the onset of stellar collapse. Theoretical investigations point at binary interactions and/or instabilities during the last stages of nuclear burning in massive stars as potential triggers of the time-dependent mass loss. We constrain these scenarios utilizing the sample of 183 SNe Ib/c with public radio observations. Our analysis identifies SN2014C-like signatures in ~10% of SNe with constraining radio data. This fraction is somewhat larger but reasonably consistent with the expectation from the theory of recent envelope ejection due to binary evolution IF the ejected material can survive in the close environment for 1000-10000 yrs. Alternatively, nuclear burning instabilities extending all the way to the core C-burning phase might also play a critical role.