The velocity distribution of outflows driven by choked jets in stellar envelopes

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to analyze the velocity distribution of outflows driven by choked jets in stellar envelopes, revealing a universal energy distribution across velocities that explains high-velocity features in certain supernovae spectra.

Contribution

It demonstrates that choked jets produce a characteristic velocity distribution in outflows, providing a new explanation for high-velocity material in supernovae spectra without successful jet breakout.

Findings

Outflows carry a roughly constant energy per logarithmic velocity interval.

This property depends mainly on the cocoon volume at breakout.

Choked jets can explain high-velocity features in supernova spectra.

Abstract

Many stripped envelope supernovae (SNe) present a signature of high-velocity material responsible for broad absorption lines in the observed spectrum. These include SNe that are associated with long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) and low-luminosity GRBs (llGRBs), and SNe that are not associated with GRBs. Recently it was suggested that this high velocity material originates from a cocoon that is driven by a relativistic jet. In LGRBs this jet breaks out successfully from the stellar envelope, while in llGRBs and SNe that are not associated with GRBs the jet is choked. Here we use numerical simulations to explore the velocity distribution of an outflow that is driven by a choked jet and its dependence on the jet and progenitor properties. We find that in all cases where the jet is not choked too deep within the star, the outflow carries a roughly constant amount of energy per logarithmic scale of proper velocity over a wide range of velocities, which depends mostly on the cocoon volume at the time of its breakout. This is a universal property of jets driven outflows, which does not exist in outflows of spherically symmetric explosions or when the jets are choked very deep within the star. We therefore conclude that jets that are choked (not too deep) provide a natural explanation to the fast material seen in the early spectra of stripped envelope SNe that are not associated with LGRBs and that properties of this material could reveal information on the otherwise hidden jets.