Nucleosynthesis of an $11.8\,M_\odot$ Supernova with 3D Simulation of the Inner Ejecta: Overall Yields and Implications for Short-Lived Radionuclides in the Early Solar System

TL;DR

This study uses 3D supernova simulations of an 11.8 solar mass star to analyze nucleosynthesis yields, especially of short-lived radionuclides, and explores their implications for the early solar system formation.

Contribution

It provides detailed nucleosynthesis yields from 3D supernova models and proposes new scenarios for the origin of certain short-lived radionuclides in the early solar system.

Findings

Inner ejecta are proton-rich and produce $^{45}$Sc and $^{64}$Zn.

Yields of heavier isotopes depend on electron fraction and neutrino emission.

Supernova could have triggered solar system formation and supplied some short-lived radionuclides.

Abstract

Based on a 3D supernova simulation of an $11.8\,M_\odot$ progenitor model with initial solar composition, we study the nucleosynthesis using tracers covering the innermost $0.1\,M_\odot$ of the ejecta. These ejecta are mostly proton-rich and contribute significant amounts of $^{45}$Sc and $^{64}$Zn. The production of heavier isotopes is sensitive to the electron fraction and hence the neutrino emission from the proto-neutron star. The yields of these isotopes are rather uncertain due to the approximate neutrino transport used in the simulation. In order to obtain the total yields for the whole supernova, we combine the results from the tracers with those for the outer layers from a suitable 1D model. Using the yields of short-lived radionuclides (SLRs), we explore the possibility that an $11.8\,M_\odot$ supernova might have triggered the formation of the solar system and provided some of the SLRs measured in meteorites. In particular, we discuss two new scenarios that can account for at least the data on $^{41}$Ca, $^{53}$Mn, and $^{60}$Fe without exceeding those on the other SLRs.