The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2024)
Double “acct”: A Distinct Double-peaked Supernova Matching Pulsational Pair Instability Models
- C. R. Angus,
- S. E. Woosley,
- R. J. Foley,
- M. Nicholl,
- V. A. Villar,
- K. Taggart,
- M. Pursiainen,
- P. Ramsden,
- S. Srivastav,
- H. F. Stevance,
- T. Moore,
- K. Auchettl,
- W. B. Hoogendam,
- N. Khetan,
- S. K. Yadavalli,
- G. Dimitriadis,
- A. Gagliano,
- M. R. Siebert,
- A. Aamer,
- T. de Boer,
- K. C. Chambers,
- A. Clocchiatti,
- D. A. Coulter,
- M. R. Drout,
- D. Farias,
- M. D. Fulton,
- C. Gall,
- H. Gao,
- L. Izzo,
- D. O. Jones,
- C.-C. Lin,
- E. A. Magnier,
- G. Narayan,
- E. Ramirez-Ruiz,
- C. L. Ransome,
- A. Rest,
- S. J. Smartt,
- K. W. Smith
Affiliations
- C. R. Angus
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
- S. E. Woosley
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- R. J. Foley
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- M. Nicholl
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
- V. A. Villar
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; The NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions ,77 Massachusetts Avenue, 26-555 Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- K. Taggart
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- M. Pursiainen
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick , Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
- P. Ramsden
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham , Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- S. Srivastav
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
- H. F. Stevance
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
- T. Moore
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; European Southern Observatory , Alonso de Córdova 3107, Casilla 19, Santiago, Chile
- K. Auchettl
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; School of Physics, The University of Melbourne , VIC 3010, Australia
- W. B. Hoogendam
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- N. Khetan
- ORCiD
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland , QLD 4072, Australia
- S. K. Yadavalli
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- G. Dimitriadis
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Lancaster University , Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK
- A. Gagliano
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; The NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions ,77 Massachusetts Avenue, 26-555 Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- M. R. Siebert
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- A. Aamer
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
- T. de Boer
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- K. C. Chambers
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- A. Clocchiatti
- ORCiD
- Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Of. 104, Providencia, Santiago, Chile; Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile
- D. A. Coulter
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- M. R. Drout
- ORCiD
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- D. Farias
- ORCiD
- DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
- M. D. Fulton
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
- C. Gall
- ORCiD
- DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
- H. Gao
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- L. Izzo
- ORCiD
- DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark; INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte , Salita Moiariello 16, 80131 Naples, Italy
- D. O. Jones
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 640 North A‘ohoku Place, Hilo, HI, USA
- C.-C. Lin
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- E. A. Magnier
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- G. Narayan
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Center for Astrophysical Surveys , National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- E. Ramirez-Ruiz
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- C. L. Ransome
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- A. Rest
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- S. J. Smartt
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
- K. W. Smith
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast , Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9264
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 977,
no. 2
p. L41
Abstract
We present multiwavelength data of SN 2020acct, a double-peaked stripped-envelope supernova (SN) in NGC 2981 at ∼150 Mpc. The two peaks are temporally distinct, with maxima separated by 58 rest-frame days and a factor of 20 reduction in flux between. The first is luminous ( M _r = −18.00 ± 0.02 mag) and blue ( g − r = 0.27 ± 0.03 mag) and displays spectroscopic signatures of interaction with hydrogen-free circumstellar material. The second peak is fainter ( M _r = −17.29 ± 0.03 mag) and has some spectroscopic similarities to an evolved stripped-envelope SN, with strong forbidden [Ca ii ] and [O ii ] features. No other known double-peaked SN exhibits a light curve similar to that of SN 2020acct. We find the likelihood of two individual SNe occurring in the same star-forming region within that time to be highly improbable, while an implausibly fine-tuned configuration would be required to produce two SNe from a single binary system. We find that the peculiar properties of SN 2020acct match models of pulsational pair instability (PPI), in which the initial peak is produced by collisions of shells of ejected material, shortly followed by core collapse. Pulsations from a star with a 72 M _⊙ helium core provide an excellent match to the double-peaked light curve. The local galactic environment has a metallicity of 0.4 Z _⊙ , a level where massive single stars are not expected to retain enough mass to encounter the PPI. However, late binary mergers or a low-metallicity pocket may allow the required core mass. We measure the rate of SN 2020acct–like events to be <3.3 × 10 ^−8 Mpc ^−3 yr ^−1 at z = 0.07, or <0.1% of the total core-collapse SN rate.
Keywords