graduate

The Explosive Deaths of Massive Stars

TYPEAstrophysics Seminar
Speaker:Iair Arcavi
Affiliation:Weizmann Institute of Science
Organizer:Hagai Perets
Date:28.11.2012
Time:14:30
Location:Lidow 620
Abstract:Core collapse supernovae (SNe) are highly heterogeneous and mark the
various ways in which massive stars end their lives. Explaining the
observed diversity remains a key unsolved problem. The effects of mass,
metallicity, binarity and rotation on the evolution and subsequent
explosions of massive stars are not well understood. Large samples of
events, recently collected through single untargeted surveys such as the
Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), unlock new observational insights to this
problem. By comparing the light curve shapes of numerous SNe we find three
distinct sub-types of H-rich events, pointing towards different mechanisms
at work and hinting at the effects of binarity. Discovering SNe in a range
of host galaxy types and luminosities has allowed us to elucidate the
significance of metallicity in creating different types of stripped SN
progenitors. Early discovery and rapid followup enable us to constrain
additional properties of SN progenitors, including their radius and
pre-explosion structure. As more data is gathered, we approach a more
complete understanding of the scenarios through which massive stars end
their lives.