Why did Supernova 1054 shine at late times?

Abstract

The Crab nebula is the remnant of supernova 1054 (SN 1054). The progenitor of this supernova has, based on nucleosynthesis arguments, been modeled as an 8-10 solar mass star. Here we point out that the observations of the late light curve of SN 1054, from the historical records, are not compatible with the standard scenario, in which the late time emission is powered by the radioactive decay of small amounts of Ni-56. Based on model calculations we quantify this discrepancy. The rather large mass of Ni-56 needed to power the late time emission, 0.06[-0.03,+0.02] solar masses, seems inconsistent with abundances in the Crab nebula. The late light curve may well have been powered by the pulsar, which would make SN 1054 unique in this respect. Alternatively, the late light curve could have been powered by circumstellar interaction, in accordance with scenarios in which 8-10 solar mass stars are progenitors to `dense wind' supernovae.

5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

References in corpus (6)

• The Peculiar Type II Supernova 1997 D: A Case for a Very Low 56Ni Mass
• A very low mass of Ni-56 in the ejecta of SN 1994W
• Late Spectral Evolution of SN 1987A: II. Line Emission
• Observations of the Crab Nebula and its pulsar in the far-ultraviolet and in the optical
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• Optical and infrared observations of the Crab Pulsar and its nearby knot
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• Search for Thermal X-ray Features from the Crab nebula with Hitomi Soft X-ray Spectrometer
• A 3D Kinematic Study of the Northern Ejecta "Jet" of the Crab Nebula
• Observational and theoretical constraints for an H$\alpha$-halo around the Crab Nebula