Binary progenitor systems for Type Ic supernovae

TL;DR

This paper investigates the origins of Type Ic supernovae, providing evidence that they predominantly arise from binary star systems rather than very massive single stars, based on environmental analysis.

Contribution

It demonstrates that Type Ic supernovae likely originate from binary systems, challenging the idea they come from only very massive stars.

Findings

Type II and Ic supernovae occur in similar molecular gas environments

Binary interaction explains the lack of hydrogen and helium lines in Type Ic supernovae

Supports implementing binary progenitor models in cosmological simulations

Abstract

Core-collapse supernovae are explosions of massive stars at the end of their evolution. They are responsible for metal production and for halting star formation, having a significant impact on galaxy evolution. The details of these processes depend on the nature of supernova progenitors, but it is unclear if Type Ic supernovae (without hydrogen or helium lines in their spectra) originate from core-collapses of very massive stars (> 30 Msun) or from less massive stars in binary systems. Here we show that Type II (with hydrogen lines) and Ic supernovae are located in environments with similar molecular gas densities, therefore their progenitors have comparable lifetimes and initial masses. This supports a binary interaction for most Type Ic supernova progenitors, which explains the lack of hydrogen and helium lines. This finding can be implemented in sub-grid prescriptions in numerical cosmological simulations to improve the feedback and chemical mixing.