Studying the Power Sources Behind Type Ic Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper introduces a supernova light-curve code to analyze the energy sources behind Type Ic supernovae, highlighting shock interaction as a key contributor to their peak brightness.

Contribution

The study presents an analytic light-curve modeling code and applies it to Type Ic broad-line supernovae to identify dominant energy sources and their effects on light-curve features.

Findings

Shock interactions likely dominate peak luminosity.

Matching light-curve evolution requires fine-tuning of explosion parameters.

Radioactive decay also contributes but is less dominant at peak.

Abstract

Astrophysical transients can be powered by a broad range of energy sources including shock-heating (internal and external shocks), decay of radioactive isotopes, and long-lived central engines (magnetar and fallback). The dominant energy source for astrophysical transients depends on the nature of the explosive engine and its progenitor. To model all transients, light-curve codes must include all of these energy sources. Here we present a supernova light-curve code implementing analytic source models to compare the role of different energy sources in these transients. To demonstrate the utility of this code, we conduct an extensive study of type Ic broad-line supernovae. A diverse set of energy sources have been linked to Ic broad-line supernovae making them an excellent candidate for this light-curve code. In this paper, we explore which features of the explosion (mass, velocity, etc.) affect the type Ic supernovae light-curves, focusing on shock-interaction and radioactive decay energy sources. Although the explosion properties under both energy sources can be tuned to match the peak emission, matching the light-curve evolution in many Ic broad-line supernovae requires fine-tuned conditions. We find that shock interactions in the stellar wind are likely to be the dominant energy source at peak for these supernovae.