An outburst from a massive star 40 days before a supernova explosion

作者：Ofek E O^*; Sullivan M; Cenko S B; Kasliwal M M; Gal Yam A; Kulkarni S R; Arcavi I; Bildsten L; Bloom J S; Horesh A; Howell D A; Filippenko A V; Laher R; Murray D; Nakar E; Nugent P E; Silverman J M; Shaviv N J; Surace J; Yaron O

来源：Nature, 2013, 494(7435): 65-67.

DOI：10.1038/nature11877

Some observations suggest that very massive stars experience extreme mass-loss episodes shortly before they explode as supernovae(1-4), as do several models(5-7). Establishing a causal connection between these mass-loss episodes and the final explosion would provide a novel way to study pre-supernova massive-star evolution. Here we report. observations of a mass-loss event detected 40 days before the explosion of the type IIn supernova SN 2010mc (also known as PTF 10tel). Our photometric and spectroscopic data suggest that this event is a result of an energetic outburst, radiating at least 6 x 10(47) erg of energy and releasing about 10(-2) solar masses of material at typical velocities of 2,000 km s(-1). The temporal proximity of the mass-loss outburst and the supernova explosion implies a causal connection between them. Moreover, we find that the outburst luminosity and velocity are consistent with the predictions of the wave-driven pulsation model(6), and disfavour alternative suggestions(7).

• 出版日期2013-2-7
• 单位中国科学院理论物理研究所