A choked jet in SN 2023ixf?

TL;DR

This paper investigates the possibility of a choked jet in supernova SN 2023ixf, analyzing particle interactions and neutrino production, and finds that such a jet cannot be ruled out based on current neutrino observations.

Contribution

It introduces a simple model for particle distributions in a potential choked jet of SN 2023ixf and assesses its compatibility with IceCube neutrino data.

Findings

Choked jet scenario remains compatible with observations.

No significant neutrino detection constrains the jet parameters.

Off-axis viewing angles reduce neutrino fluence detection.

Abstract

It has been proposed that core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) can take place along with the generation of a jet that fails to emerge from the stellar envelope of the progenitor star, i.e., a choked jet. Although the fraction of CCSNe that harbour such jets is unknown, it remains as an interesting possibility that can give rise to the production of high-energy neutrinos. In this work, we focus on the particular case of the recent type II supernova, SN 2023ixf, the closest of its class in the last decade. We describe the particle distributions of protons, pions, and muons in a putative jet applying a simple model to account for the relevant interactions, which are synchrotron cooling and interactions with the soft photon field in the ambient. After evaluating the produced fluence for different values of the viewing angle $i_{\rm j}$ with respect to the jet axis, and comparing with the upper bound by IceCube, we conclude that the generation of a choked jet in SN 2023ixf can not be ruled out. Specifically, for typical jet Lorentz factors of the jet $\Gamma=100$, the jet could have been produced with an half-opening angle $\theta_{\rm op}=0.2\,{\rm rad}$ but for a viewing angle $i_{\rm j}\gtrsim \theta_{\rm op}$, no significant Doppler boosting would take place along this direction. Therefore, the choked jet scenario in SN 2023ixf still remains compatible with observations provided our line of sight corresponds to an off-axis view of the jet.