Plasma Instabilities Dominate Radioactive Transients Magnetic Fields: The self-confinement of leptons in Type Ia and Core-Collapse Supernovae, and Kilonovae

Abstract

The light curves of radioactive transients, such as supernovae and kilonovae, are powered by the decay of radioisotopes, which release high-energy leptons through ${\beta }^{+}$ and ${\beta }^{-}$ decays. These leptons deposit energy into the expanding ejecta. As the ejecta density decreases during expansion, the plasma becomes collisionless, with particle motion governed by electromagnetic forces. In such environments, strong or turbulent magnetic fields are thought to confine particles, though the origin of these fields and the confinement mechanism have remained unclear. Using fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we demonstrate that plasma instabilities can naturally confine high-energy leptons. These leptons generate magnetic fields through plasma streaming instabilities, even in the absence of pre-existing fields. The self-generated magnetic fields slow lepton diffusion, enabling confinement and transferring energy to thermal electrons and ions. Our results naturally explain the positron trapping inferred from late-time observations of thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae. Furthermore, they suggest potential implications for electron dynamics in the ejecta of kilonovae. We also estimate synchrotron radio luminosities from positrons for Type Ia supernovae and find that such emission could only be detectable with next-generation radio observatories from a Galactic or local-group supernova in an environment without any circumstellar material.

19 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, accepted to MNRAS

References in corpus (158)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• LOFAR: The LOw-Frequency ARray
• How Massive Single Stars End their Life
• Nucleosynthesis in Chandrasekhar Mass Models for Type Ia Supernovae and Constraints on Progenitor Systems and Burning-Front Propagation
• The Physics of Neutron Stars
• Transient Events from Neutron Star Mergers
• Progenitors of core-collapse supernovae
• Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational wave event
• Electromagnetic Counterparts of Compact Object Mergers Powered by the Radioactive Decay of R-process Nuclei
• Swope Supernova Survey 2017a (SSS17a), the Optical Counterpart to a Gravitational Wave Source
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/VIRGO GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-IR Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models
• Observational clues to the progenitors of Type-Ia supernovae
• Magnetars
• Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars With Improved Nuclear and Stellar Physics
• The r-process of stellar nucleosynthesis: Astrophysics and nuclear physics achievements and mysteries
• A kilonova as the electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave source
• Light Curves of the Neutron Star Merger GW170817/SSS17a: Implications for R-Process Nucleosynthesis
• Illuminating Gravitational Waves: A Concordant Picture of Photons from a Neutron Star Merger
• The Emergence of a Lanthanide-Rich Kilonova Following the Merger of Two Neutron Stars
• Observational constraints on the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae : the case for missing high mass stars
• Optical emission from a kilonova following a gravitational-wave-detected neutron-star merger
• On the astrophysical robustness of neutron star merger r-process
• Effect of a High Opacity on the Light Curves of Radioactively Powered Transients from Compact Object Mergers
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. I. Dark Energy Camera Discovery of the Optical Counterpart
• Opacities and Spectra of the r-process Ejecta from Neutron Star Mergers
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/VIRGO GW170817. IV. Detection of Near-infrared Signatures of r-process Nucleosynthesis with Gemini-South
• Three-dimensional delayed-detonation models with nucleosynthesis for Type Ia supernovae
• The Effects of Binary Evolution on the Dynamics of Core Collapse and Neutron-Star Kicks
• R-Process Nucleosynthesis in Dynamically Ejected Matter of Neutron Star Mergers
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/VIRGO GW170817. III. Optical and UV Spectra of a Blue Kilonova From Fast Polar Ejecta
• The Effective Temperature Scale of Galactic Red Supergiants: Cool, But Not As Cool As We Thought
• Radiative Transfer Simulations for Neutron Star Merger Ejecta
• Observed and Physical Properties of Core-Collapse Supernovae
• Sonic-Point Model of Kilohertz Quasi-Periodic Brightness Oscillations in Low-Mass X-ray Binaries
• The Neutron Star Mass-Radius Relation and the Equation of State of Dense Matter
• Particle Acceleration in Relativistic Magnetized Collisionless Electron-Ion Shocks
• The Maximum Energy of Accelerated Particles in Relativistic Collisionless Shocks
• A Common Explosion Mechanism for Type Ia Supernovae
• Magnetic White Dwarfs
• Early Spectra of the Gravitational Wave Source GW170817: Evolution of a Neutron Star Merger
• Radioactivity and thermalization in the ejecta of compact object mergers and their impact on kilonova light curves
• Kilonova from post-merger ejecta as an optical and near-infrared counterpart of GW170817
• Electromagnetic Transients Powered by Nuclear Decay in the Tidal Tails of Coalescing Compact Binaries
• The massive binary companion star to the progenitor of supernova 1993J
• From Shock Breakout to Peak and Beyond: Extensive Panchromatic Observations of the Type Ib Supernova 2008D associated with Swift X-ray Transient 080109
• Electromagnetic Evidence that SSS17a is the Result of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• Formation of contact in massive close binaries
• Grids of stellar models with rotation II. WR populations and supernovae/GRB progenitors at Z = 0.014
• Efficient magnetic-field amplification due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in binary neutron star mergers
• Optical Spectroscopy of Type Ib/c Supernovae
• The long-term evolution of neutron star merger remnants - II. Radioactively powered transients
• The Yellow Supergiant Progenitor of the Type II Supernova 2011dh in M51
• Core-collapse explosions of Wolf-Rayet stars and the connection to type IIb/Ib/Ic supernovae
• High resolution numerical-relativity simulations for the merger of binary magnetized neutron stars
• The progenitor mass of the Type IIP supernova SN 2004et from late-time spectral modeling
• Red supergiants as potential Type IIn supernova progenitors: Spatially resolved 4.6 micron CO emission around VY CMa and Betelgeuse
• A New Cepheid Distance to the Giant Spiral M101 Based On Image Subtraction of HST/ACS Observations
• Hydrodynamics of core-collapse supernovae and their progenitors
• The Carnegie Supernova Project I: analysis of stripped-envelope supernova light curves
• Stellar envelope inflation near the Eddington limit. Implications for the radii of Wolf-Rayet stars and luminous blue variables
• Neutron-powered precursors of kilonovae
• Simulations of relativistic collisionless shocks: shock structure and particle acceleration
• The bolometric light curves and physical parameters of stripped-envelope supernovae
• Late-time spectral line formation in Type IIb supernovae, with application to SN 1993J, SN 2008ax, and SN 2011dh
• The 44Ti-powered spectrum of SN 1987A
• The Disk-Magnetosphere Interaction in the Accretion-Powered Millisecond Pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• Type II supernova spectral diversity I: Observations, sample characterization and spectral line evolution
• The explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae: progress in supernova theory and experiments
• Weibel, Two-Stream, Filamentation, Oblique, Bell, Buneman... which one grows faster ?
• Magnetic White Dwarfs from the SDSS. The First Data Release
• The Rapid Reddening and Featureless Optical Spectra of the optical counterpart of GW170817, AT 2017gfo, During the First Four Days
• The Progenitor of Supernova 2011dh/PTF11eon in Messier 51
• Analyzing the Largest Spectroscopic Dataset of Stripped Supernovae to Improve Their Identifications and Constrain Their Progenitors
• The type IIb SN 2008ax: the nature of the progenitor
• Magnetar heating
• Current challenges in the physics of white dwarf stars
• The Type IIb Supernova 2013df and Its Cool Supergiant Progenitor
• Electron Injection by Whistler Waves in Non-relativistic Shocks
• The ejected mass distribution of type Ia supernovae: A significant rate of non-Chandrasekhar-mass progenitors
• Trends in Ti44 and Ni56 from Core-Collapse Supernovae
• Towards a better understanding of the evolution of Wolf-Rayet stars and Type Ib/Ic supernova progenitors
• Exploring the Potential Diversity of Early Type Ia Supernova Light Curves
• Positron Escape from Type Ia Supernovae
• Analysis of hydrogen-rich magnetic white dwarfs detected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• Evidence for Cocoon Emission from the Early Light Curve of SSS17a
• A Deep Search for Prompt Radio Emission from Thermonuclear Supernovae with the Very Large Array
• The normal Type Ia SN 2003hv out to very late phases
• Supernova 2008bk and Its Red Supergiant Progenitor
• A meta analysis of core-collapse supernova ${}^{56}$Ni masses
• A Binary Progenitor for the Type IIb Supernova 2011dh in M51
• The Red Supergiant Progenitor of Supernova 2012aw (PTF12bvh) in Messier 95
• The Nickel Mass Distribution of Normal Type II Supernovae
• Anticipated Performance of the Square Kilometre Array -- Phase 1 (SKA1)
• Kilonovae across the nuclear physics landscape: The impact of nuclear physics uncertainties on r-process-powered emission
• Nebular spectra and abundance tomography of the type Ia supernova SN 2011fe: a normal SN Ia with a stable Fe core
• On the nature and detectability of Type Ib/c supernova progenitors
• Measuring nickel masses in Type Ia supernovae using cobalt emission in nebular phase spectra
• Cosmic-ray-induced filamentation instability in collisionless shocks
• The light curve of SN 1987A revisited: constraining production masses of radioactive nuclides
• Late-time supernova light curves: The effect of internal conversion and Auger electrons
• Turbulent magnetic field amplification in binary neutron star mergers
• Type Iax Supernovae
• The key role of magnetic fields in binary neutron star mergers
• Radioactive Heating and Late Time Kilonova Light Curves
• Type II supernovae from the Carnegie Supernova Project-I. II. Physical parameter distributions from hydrodynamical modelling
• A filamentation instability for streaming cosmic-rays
• The Light Curve of Supernova 1987A: The Structure of the Presupernova and Radioactive Nickel Mixing
• The Gaia DR1 Mass-Radius Relation for White Dwarfs
• Late-Time Photometry of Type Ia Supernova SN 2012cg Reveals the Radioactive Decay of ${}^{57}$Co
• Sub-Chandrasekhar progenitors favoured for type Ia supernovae: Evidence from late-time spectroscopy
• Whimper of a Bang: Documenting the Final Days of the Nearby Type Ia Supernova 2011fe
• Radiation-driven winds of hot luminous stars. XVI. Expanding atmospheres of massive and very massive stars and the evolution of dense stellar clusters
• Abundance stratification in Type Ia Supernovae - IV: the luminous, peculiar SN 1991T
• The resolved stellar populations around 12 Type IIP supernovae
• Probing type Ia supernova properties using bolometric light curves from the Carnegie Supernova Project and the CfA Supernova Group
• Abundance stratification in Type Ia supernovae - V. SN 1986G bridging the gap between normal and subluminous SNe Ia
• Thermonuclear Supernovae: Probing Magnetic Fields by Late-Time IR Line Profiles
• Photometric and spectroscopic observations, and abundance tomography modelling of the type Ia supernova SN 2014J located in M82
• Nebular phase properties of supernova Ibc from He-star explosions
• Non-thermal excitation and ionization in supernovae
• After the Fall: Late-Time Spectroscopy of Type IIP Supernovae
• Radiative-transfer modeling of nebular-phase type II supernovae. Dependencies on progenitor and explosion properties
• Wave generation and heat flux suppression in astrophysical plasma systems
• Measuring surface magnetic fields of red supergiant stars
• Late-time emission of type Ia supernovae: optical and near-infrared observations of SN 2001el
• The detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf at the origin of the low-luminosity Type Ia supernova 1999by
• The Iron Yield of Normal Type II Supernovae
• Parker Solar Probe evidence for scattering of electrons in the young solar wind by narrowband whistler-mode waves
• Physical Properties of Red Supergiants
• Dynamical Effects of Cosmic Rays on the Medium Surrounding Their Sources
• Observations of SN 2015F suggest a correlation between the intrinsic luminosity of Type Ia supernovae and the shape of their light curves >900 days after explosion
• Asteroseismic Signatures of Core Magnetism and Rotation in Hundreds of Low-Luminosity Red Giants
• Evolution of the magnetic field of Betelgeuse from 2009 - 2017
• The morphing of decay powered to interaction powered Type II supernova ejecta at nebular times
• Understanding nebular spectra of Type Ia supernovae
• Carnegie Supernova Project-II: Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to determine the location of the outer ${}^{56}$Ni in Type Ia Supernovae
• Modeling of the nebular-phase spectral evolution of stripped-envelope supernovae. New grids from 100 to 450 days
• Supernova Rates and Luminosity Functions from ASAS-SN I: 2014--2017 Type Ia SNe and Their Subtypes
• The Carnegie Supernova Project-I. Spectroscopic analysis of stripped-envelope supernovae
• The Whisper of a Whimper of a Bang: 2400 Days of the Type Ia SN 2011fe Reveals the Decay of ${}^{55}$Fe
• Physics of Thermonuclear Explosions: Magnetic Field Effects on Deflagration Fronts and Observable Consequences
• Impact of continuous particle injection on generation and decay of the magnetic field in collisionless shocks
• Observations of Type Ia Supernova 2014J for Nearly 900 Days and Constraints on Its Progenitor System
• The Late Time Optical Evolution of Twelve Core-Collapse Supernovae: Detection of Normal Stellar Winds
• Spectropolarimetry of Type II supernovae (II) Intrinsic supernova polarization and its relations with the photometric/spectroscopic properties
• Late-Time Observations of Type Ia Supernova SN 2014J with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3
• The Late-Time Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae: Confronting Models with Observations
• Over 500 Days in the Life of the Photosphere of the Type Iax Supernova SN 2014dt
• Accreting Neutron Stars in Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Systems
• Distribution of Si II $\lambda$6355 Velocities of Type Ia Supernovae and Implications for Asymmetric Explosions
• A Snapshot Survey of Nearby Supernovae with the Hubble Space Telescope
• Constraints on the density distribution of type Ia supernovae ejecta inferred from late-time light-curve flattening
• Neutrino Emissivities as a Probe of the Internal Magnetic Fields of White Dwarfs
• Galactic Positrons from Thermonuclear Supernovae
• Radio Observations of Six Young Type Ia Supernovae
• Fast and Not-so-Furious: Case Study of the Fast and Faint Type IIb SN 2021bxu
• The Red Supergiant Problem: As Seen from the Local Group's Red Supergiant Populations