1203.1451 (Takashi J. Moriya et al.)

Dip after Precursor of Super-Luminous Supernovae: An Evidence of Shock Breakout in Dense Circumstellar Medium    [PDF]

Takashi J. Moriya, Keiichi Maeda

We suggest that a dip in the light curve observed after the precursor of a hydrogen-poor superluminous supernova 2006oz is an evidence of the shock breakout occurred in the dense circumstellar medium. In other words, the existence of the dip supports the idea that the huge luminosities of hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae are due to the interaction between supernova ejecta and hydrogen-poor dense circumstellar medium. If the dense circumstellar shell locates far from the progenitor inside, it takes time for the supernova ejecta to reach it and the precursor can be caused by the emission from the supernova ejecta before the collision. Once the supernova ejecta reaches the dense circumstellar shell, the opacity increases in the shell and photons cannot escape from the shock until the shock breakout. Thus, the light curve should show a sudden drop when the supernova ejecta starts to collide with the dense circumstellar medium, regardless of the emission mechanisms of the precursor. After the shock breakout, photons start to escape again from the shock and the luminosity starts to get bright again because of the continuing interaction.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.1451