Inferring the evolution pathways and the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernova through late-phase spectroscopy
Speaker: Qiliang Fang
Abstract:
Core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are considered as the final explosions of massive stars, following the depletion of the nuclear products in their cores. These catastrophe events are diverse in observation especially the chemical composition in the expelled material (ejecta), which implies varied mass-loss histories preceding the explosion. Despite over a century of discoveries, the mechanism responsible for the diversity in CCSNe, and its potential connection with the still-unresolved core-collapse process, is still a topic of active debate. In this talk, I will introduce the application of late-phase (nebular) spectroscopy of CCSNe to reveal these longstanding mysteries. Beginning with the fundamental concepts of CCSNe, I will provide an overview of the physical quantities that can be inferred from nebular spectroscopy. Next, I will demonstrate how the statistics analysis of nebular spectroscopy can be employed to constrain the properties of the progenitor, the dynamics of the ejecta, and their mutual relations. This investigation suggests massive stars leads to more aspheric and energetic explosions. Finally, I will introduce my future research plan, which aims to connect the diverse pre-SN activities discovered by recent transient surveys with the properties of their progenitors.