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Massive Stars and Their Supernovae

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Astrophysics with Radioactive Isotopes

Abstract

Stars more massive than about 8–10 solar masses evolve differently from their lower-mass counterparts: nuclear energy liberation is possible at higher temperatures and densities, due to gravitational contraction caused by such high masses, until forming an iron core that ends this stellar evolution. The star collapses thereafter, as insufficient pressure support exists when energy release stops due to Fe/Ni possessing the highest nuclear binding per nucleon, and this implosion turns into either a supernova explosion or a compact black hole remnant object. Neutron stars are the likely compact-star remnants after supernova explosions for a certain stellar mass range. In this chapter, we discuss this late-phase evolution of massive stars and their core collapse, including the nuclear reactions and nucleosynthesis products. We also include in this discussion more exotic outcomes, such as magnetic jet supernovae, hypernovae, gamma-ray bursts and neutron star mergers. In all cases we emphasize the viewpoint with respect to the role of radioactivities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We focus especially on long-lived radioactivities which can be observed with gamma-ray satellites, and refractory isotopes which can be observed in dust condensations included in meteorites.

  2. 2.

    Empirical descriptions derived from observations of a multitude of galaxies are often used in cosmological simulations, as a substitute to such astrophysical models.

  3. 3.

    A review of the sources for this microphysics input is given for (1) in Chap. 9 and for (3) in Chap. 8. We will review some of the required weak interaction rates (2) in the subsections on late phases of stellar evolution/core collapse and the description of the explosion.

  4. 4.

    The formal difference to Eq. (9.1) is that one does not sum here over the reactions but rather over all reaction partners (see also the equation following Table 3.2 in Chap. 3). However, in total, all the terms which appear are identical. Due to the different summation indices, the P’s have a slightly different notation, λ’s stand for decay rates L of Chap. 9 and < j, k >  for < σ v >  of reactions between nuclei j and k, while < j, k, l >  includes a similar expression for three-body reactions (Nomoto et al. 1985). A survey of computational methods to solve nuclear networks is given in (Hix and Thielemann 1999a; Timmes 1999; Hix and Meyer 2006; Lippuner and Roberts 2017). (The abundances Y i occurring in Eq. (4.2) are related—like electron abundances Y e—to number densities n i = ρN A Y i and mass fractions of the corresponding nuclei via X i = A i Y i, where A i is the mass number of nucleus i and \(\sum X_i = 1\).)

  5. 5.

    All strong (thermonuclear) and photo-disintegration reactions are equilibrated, while weak interaction reactions, changing Y e, may occur on longer timescales.

  6. 6.

    Such neutron/seed ratio is required in order to produce all, including the heaviest, r-process nuclei via neutron capture from seed nuclei at their abundances before freeze-out.

  7. 7.

    It takes a photon about 105 years to reach the surface, after it has been launched in the hot core of, e.g., our Sun.

  8. 8.

    The current value of solar metallicity is believed to be Z = 0.014, see Chap. 1; the value of Z = 0.02, which had been established before and was in common use till∼2005, remains a reference for comparisons, though.

  9. 9.

    The term ‘kilonova’ appears to imply luminosities of 103 times those of novae; therefore, many scientists prefer the term ‘macronova’ for these transients, with their luminosities in between novae ad supernovae.

  10. 10.

    This contribution was recently re-evaluated by Seitenzahl et al. (2009). The electron capture occurs from an electron in an atomic orbit, leaving a hole which can be filled by other electrons cascading down to fill this hole, thus emitting photons—X-rays— or depositing the energy in ejecting outer electrons—Auger electrons. Thus, in cases where only ground-state to ground-state electron capture occurs and the energy is emitted in an escaping neutrino only Auger electrons or X-rays can contribute to local energy deposition.

  11. 11.

    Deposition of energy from radioactive decay involves absorption of high-energy photons, slowing down of ∼MeV-type energy electrons and positrons, and proper treatment of temporary energy reservoirs such as ionization and inhibited radioactive decay from completely-ionized nuclei (see, e.g., Sim et al. 2009; Mochizuki et al. 1999; Kerzendorf and Sim 2014).

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Correspondence to Friedrich-Karl Thielemann .

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Thielemann, FK., Diehl, R., Heger, A., Hirschi, R., Liebendörfer, M. (2018). Massive Stars and Their Supernovae. In: Diehl, R., Hartmann, D., Prantzos, N. (eds) Astrophysics with Radioactive Isotopes. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 453. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91929-4_4

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