2002/04/30 by P. A. Mazzali, J. Deng, P.A. Mazzali +32 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Hypernova #Light curve #Sequence (biology) #Spectral line #Supernova #Type (biology) #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/s0375-9474(03)00855-8
published as Nucl.Phys.A718:569-571,2003; Astrophys.J.572:L61-L65,2002 · 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL, 30 April 2002 (minor changes to match the accepted version, with figures being colored)
arxiv created 2002/05/01 · openalex publication_date 2003/05/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Photometric and spectroscopic data of the energetic Type Ic supernova (SN) 2002ap are presented, and the properties of the SN are investigated through models of its spectral evolution and its light curve. The SN is spectroscopically similar to the "hypernova" SN 1997ef. However, its kinetic energy [∼ (4-10) × 1051 erg] and the mass ejected (2.5-5 M\odot) are smaller, resulting in a faster-evolving light curve. The SN synthesized ∼ 0.07 M\odot of 56Ni, and its peak luminosity was similar to that of normal SNe. Brightness alone should not be used to define a hypernova, whose defining character, namely very broad spectral features, is the result of a high kinetic energy. The likely main-sequence mass of the progenitor star was 20-25 M\odot, which is also lower than that of both hypernovae SNe 1997ef and 1998bw. SN 2002ap appears to lie at the low-energy and low-mass end of the hypernova sequence as it is known so far. Observations of the nebular spectrum, which is expected to dominate by summer 2002, are necessary to confirm these values.