The progenitor of SN 1987A

The nature of the progenitor has been one of the major mysteries of SN 1987A. It has long been suspected that the various anomalies of the supernova, the blue color of the progenitor, the chemical anomalies in the envelope and the triple-ring nebula surrounding it, could be the direct consequence of...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Podsiadlowski, P, Morris, T, Ivanova, N
Format: Conference item
Published: 2007
_version_ 1826267073109557248
author Podsiadlowski, P
Morris, T
Ivanova, N
author_facet Podsiadlowski, P
Morris, T
Ivanova, N
author_sort Podsiadlowski, P
collection OXFORD
description The nature of the progenitor has been one of the major mysteries of SN 1987A. It has long been suspected that the various anomalies of the supernova, the blue color of the progenitor, the chemical anomalies in the envelope and the triple-ring nebula surrounding it, could be the direct consequence of the merger of two massive stars some 20,000yr before the explosion. Here we present the results of detailed recent numerical simulations of such mergers and show that these can indeed explain all of the main anomalies. In particular, we present detailed 3-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations that show how the triple-ring nebula is likely to have formed, providing the best evidence for a binary merger to date. We also discuss how a merger may naturally explain other structures in the nebula, further strengthening the model and providing future observational tests.
first_indexed 2024-03-06T20:48:36Z
format Conference item
id oxford-uuid:36cb8305-4f8d-4de3-92cd-603ecf98543f
institution University of Oxford
last_indexed 2024-03-06T20:48:36Z
publishDate 2007
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:36cb8305-4f8d-4de3-92cd-603ecf98543f2022-03-26T13:40:06ZThe progenitor of SN 1987AConference itemhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_5794uuid:36cb8305-4f8d-4de3-92cd-603ecf98543fSymplectic Elements at Oxford2007Podsiadlowski, PMorris, TIvanova, NThe nature of the progenitor has been one of the major mysteries of SN 1987A. It has long been suspected that the various anomalies of the supernova, the blue color of the progenitor, the chemical anomalies in the envelope and the triple-ring nebula surrounding it, could be the direct consequence of the merger of two massive stars some 20,000yr before the explosion. Here we present the results of detailed recent numerical simulations of such mergers and show that these can indeed explain all of the main anomalies. In particular, we present detailed 3-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations that show how the triple-ring nebula is likely to have formed, providing the best evidence for a binary merger to date. We also discuss how a merger may naturally explain other structures in the nebula, further strengthening the model and providing future observational tests.
spellingShingle Podsiadlowski, P
Morris, T
Ivanova, N
The progenitor of SN 1987A
title The progenitor of SN 1987A
title_full The progenitor of SN 1987A
title_fullStr The progenitor of SN 1987A
title_full_unstemmed The progenitor of SN 1987A
title_short The progenitor of SN 1987A
title_sort progenitor of sn 1987a
work_keys_str_mv AT podsiadlowskip theprogenitorofsn1987a
AT morrist theprogenitorofsn1987a
AT ivanovan theprogenitorofsn1987a
AT podsiadlowskip progenitorofsn1987a
AT morrist progenitorofsn1987a
AT ivanovan progenitorofsn1987a