Professor Stephen Smartt CBE FRS MRIA

Abstract:

We present a study of the nebular phase spectra of a sample of Type II-Plateau supernovae with identified progenitors or restrictive limits. The evolution of line fluxes, shapes and velocities is compared within the sample, and interpreted by the use of a spectral synthesis code. The small diversity within the data set can be explained by strong mixing occurring during the explosion, and by recognizing that most lines have significant contributions from primordial metals in the H envelope, which dominates the total ejecta mass in these types of objects. In particular, when using the [Oi] 6300, 6364Å doublet for estimating the core mass of the star, care has to be taken to account for emission from primordial O in the envelope. Finally, a correlation between the Hα line width and the mass of 56Ni is presented, suggesting that higher energy explosions are associated with higher 56Ni production. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS.

Abstract:

The core collapse supernova (CC SN) rate provides a strong lower limit for the star formation rate (SFR). Progress in using it as a cosmic SFR tracer requires some confidence that it is consistent with more conventional SFR diagnostics. We compare standard SFR measurements based on Hα, Far Ultraviolet (FUV) and Total Infrared (TIR) galaxy luminosities with the observed CC SN rate in the same galaxy sample. The comparison can be viewed from two perspectives. Firstly, by adopting an estimate of the minimum stellar mass to produce a CC SN one can determine a SFR from SN numbers. Secondly, the radiative SFRs can be assumed to be robust and then the SN statistics provides a constraint on the minimum stellar mass for CC SN progenitors. We exploit the multi-wavelength data set from 11HUGS, a volume-limited survey designed to provide a census of SFR in the local Volume. There are 14 SNe discovered in this sample of galaxies within the last 13 years. Assuming a lower limit for CC SN progenitor of 8 M⊙, the CC SN rate matches the SFR from the FUV luminosity. However, the SFR based on Hα luminosity is lower than these two estimates by a factor of about 2. If we assume that the FUV or Hα based luminosities are a true reflection of the SFR, we find that the minimum mass for CC SN progenitors is 8 ± 1 M⊙ and 6 ± 1 M⊙, respectively.