Average opacity calculation for core-collapse supernovae

TL;DR

This paper systematically estimates average opacities for different core-collapse supernovae types using hydrodynamic simulations, aiding simplified models of supernova light curves.

Contribution

It provides a self-consistent method to determine average ejecta opacities from detailed simulations for use in semi-analytic supernova models.

Findings

Average opacities agree with previously used values.

Method enables more accurate semi-analytic light curve modeling.

Applicable to various supernova types.

Abstract

Supernovae (SNe) are among the most intensely studied objects of modern astrophysics, but due to their complex physical nature, theoretical models are essential to understand better these exploding stars, as well as the properties of the variation of the emitted radiation. One possibility for modeling SNe light curves is the construction of a simplified semi-analytic model, which can be used for getting order-of magnitude estimates of the SN properties. One of the strongest simplification in most of these light curve models is the assumption of the constant Thomson-scattering opacity that can be determined as the average opacity of the ejecta. Here we present a systematic analysis for estimating the average opacity in different types of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) that can be used as the constant opacity of the ejecta in simplified semi-analytic models. To use these average opacities self-consistently during light curve (LC) fit we estimate their values from hydrodynamic simulations. In this analysis we first generate MESA (Paxton et al. 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018) stellar models with different physical parameters (initial mass, metallicity, rotation), which determine the mass-loss history of the model star. Then we synthesize SN LCs from these models with the SNEC hydrodynamic code (Morozova et al. 2015) and calculate the Rosseland mean opacity in every mass element. Finally, we compute the average opacities by integrating these Rosseland mean opacities. As a result we find that the average opacities from our calculations show adequate agreement with the opacities generally used in previous studies.