Constraints on Explosion Timescale of Core-Collapse Supernovae Based on Systematic Analysis of Light Curves

TL;DR

This study constrains the explosion timescale of core-collapse supernovae by analyzing light curves and comparing observations with hydrodynamics simulations, suggesting most explosions occur within 0.3 seconds.

Contribution

It provides the first systematic analysis of bolometric light curves of 82 SESNe and links observed properties with explosion physics through modeling.

Findings

Maximum $^{56}$Ni mass is proportional to ejecta mass.

Most SESNe explosions occur within 0.3 seconds.

Observed $^{56}$Ni masses are consistent with rapid explosion timescales.

Abstract

Explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae is not fully understood yet. In this work, we give constraints on the explosion timescale based on $^{56}$Ni synthesized by supernova explosions. First, we systematically analyze multi-band light curves of 82 stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) to obtain bolometric light curves, which is among the largest samples of the bolometric light curves of SESNe derived from the multi-band spectral energy distribution. We measure the decline timescale and the peak luminosity of the light curves and estimate the ejecta mass ($M_{\rm ej}$) and $^{56}$Ni mass ($M_{\rm Ni}$) to connect the observed properties with the explosion physics. We then carry out one-dimensional hydrodynamics and nucleosynthesis calculations, varying the progenitor mass and the explosion timescale. From the calculations, we show that the maximum $^{56}$Ni mass that $^{56}$Ni-powered SNe can reach is expressed as $M_{\rm Ni} \lesssim 0.2 \ M_{\rm ej}$. Comparing the results from the observations and the calculations, we show that the explosion timescale shorter than 0.3 sec explains the synthesized $^{56}$Ni mass of the majority of the SESNe.