# Pair-Instability Supernova Simulations: Progenitor Evolution, Explosion, and Light Curves

## TL;DR

This paper presents 1D, 2D, and 3D hydrodynamic simulations of pair-instability supernovae, analyzing their explosion mechanisms, ejecta mixing, and synthetic light curves to compare with observations and explore spectral effects.

## Contribution

It introduces the first 3D hydrodynamic simulations of PISNe and investigates how ejecta mixing influences supernova light curves and spectra.

## Key findings

- Slight deviations from spherical symmetry increase with dimensionality.
- No significant impact on bolometric light curves from mixing.
- Ejecta mixing may affect spectral features, not light curves.

## Abstract

In recent years, the viability of the pair-instability supernova (PISN) scenario for explaining superluminous supernovae has all but disappeared except for a few slowly-evolving examples. However, PISN are not predicted to be superluminous throughout the bulk of their mass range. In fact, it is more likely that the first PISN we see (if we have not seen one already) will not be superluminous. Here, we present hydrodynamic simulations of PISNe for four stellar models with unique envelope properties spanning the PISN mass range. In addition, we compute synthetic light curves for comparison with current and future observations. We also investigate, in the context of our most massive model, the prospect of mixing in the supernova ejecta alleviating discrepancies between current PISN models and the remaining superluminous candidate events. To this end, we present the first published 3D hydrodynamic simulations of PISNe. After achieving convergence between 1D, 2D, and 3D simulations we examine mixing in the supernova ejecta and its affect on the bolometric light curve. We observe slight deviations from spherical symmetry which increase with the number of dimensions. We find no significant effects on the bolometric light curve, however we conclude that mixing between the silicon and oxygen rich layers caused by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability may affect spectra.