Using LSST late-time photometry to constrain Type Ibc supernovae and their progenitors

Abstract

Over its lifespan, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will monitor millions of supernovae (SNe) from explosion to oblivion, yielding an unprecedented ugrizy photometric dataset on their late-time evolution. Here, we show that the photometric evolution of Type Ibc SNe can be used to constrain numerous properties of their ejecta, without the need for expensive spectroscopic observations. Using radiative-transfer simulations for explosions of He-star progenitors of different initial masses, we show that the g-band filter follows primarily the strength of the FeII emission, the r-band [OI]6300-6364A and [NII]6548-6583A, the i-band [CaII]7291,7323A, and the z-band the CaII NIR triplet, and hence provides information on nucleosynthetic yields. Information on weaker lines, which may be used, for example, to constrain clumping, is absent. However, this deficiency may eventually be cured by improving the physical realism of radiative-transfer simulations through a closer connection to physically consistent 3D explosion models, and by the judicial selection of a much smaller set of spectral observations. Degeneracies inherent to the SN radiation will affect the interpretation of photometric measures, but line fluxes from nebular-phase spectra are similarly compromised. Importantly, our ``family'' of Type Ibc SN models follows a distinct trajectory in color-color magnitude diagrams as the ejecta evolve from 100 to 450d, allowing one to disentangle different progenitors or explosions. This photometric procedure provides a promising approach to study statistical samples of SNe Ibc and to confront them to ever improving progenitor and explosion models, to capture the onset of late-time interaction with circumstellar material, or to identify events currently unknown.

accepted for publication in A&A Letters

References in corpus (10)

• Determining the Type, Redshift, and Age of a Supernova Spectrum
• The Evolution of Massive Helium Stars Including Mass Loss
• Optical Spectra of 73 Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse Supernovae
• Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium. I. Type Ibn (SN 2006jc-like) events
• The Explosion of Helium Stars Evolved With Mass Loss
• Late-time spectral line formation in Type IIb supernovae, with application to SN 1993J, SN 2008ax, and SN 2011dh
• Photometric Redshifts for Next-Generation Surveys
• Modeling the signatures of interaction in Type II supernovae: UV emission, high-velocity features, broad-boxy profiles
• Statistical properties of the nebular spectra of 103 stripped envelope core collapse supernovae
• Oxygen and calcium nebular emission line relationships in core-collapse supernovae and Ca-rich transients

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Far-Ultraviolet to Near-Infrared Observations of SN 2023ixf: A high energy explosion engulfed in complex circumstellar material
• The morphing of decay powered to interaction powered Type II supernova ejecta at nebular times
• Modeling of the nebular-phase spectral evolution of stripped-envelope supernovae. New grids from 100 to 450 days
• Long-duration Gamma-ray Burst Progenitors and Magnetar Formation
• Using CSST and ejecta-wind interaction in type II-P supernovae to constrain the wind-mass loss of red supergiant stars