Abstract
We present nebular-phase optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of the Type IIP supernova SN 2012aw combined with non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfer calculations applied to ejecta from stellar evolution/explosion models. Our spectral synthesis models generally show good agreement with the ejecta from a MZAMS = 15 M⊙progenitor star. The emission lines of oxygen, sodium, and magnesium are all consistent with the nucleosynthesis in a progenitor in the 14-18 M⊙ range.We also demonstrate how the evolution of the oxygen cooling lines of [O I] λ5577, [O I] λ6300, and [O I] λ6364 can be used to constrain the mass of oxygen in the non-molecularly cooled ashes to < 1 M⊙, independent of the mixing in the ejecta. This constraint implies that any progenitor model of initial mass greater than 20 M⊙ would be difficult to reconcile with the observed line strengths. A stellar progenitor of around MZAMS = 15 M⊙ can consistently explain the directly measured luminosity of the progenitor star, the observed nebular spectra, and the inferred pre-supernova mass-loss rate.We conclude that there is still no convincing example of a Type IIP supernova showing the nucleosynthesis products expected from an MZAMS > 20 M⊙ progenitor.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3694-3703 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 439 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 03 Mar 2014 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- Radiative transfer
- Stars: evolution
- Supernovae: general
- Supernovae: individual: SN 2012aw
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Space and Planetary Science
- Astronomy and Astrophysics