Ke-Jung Chen

SUPERMASSIVE POPULATION III SUPERNOVAE AND THE BIRTH OF THE FIRST QUASARS

The existence of supermassive black holes as early as z ~ 7 is one of the great, unsolved problems in cosmological structure formation. One leading theory argues that they are born during catastrophic baryon collapse in z ~?15 protogalaxies that form in strong Lyman-Werner UV backgrounds. Atomic line cooling in such galaxies fragments baryons into massive clumps that are thought to directly collapse to 104-105 M ? black holes. We have now discovered that some of these fragments can instead become supermassive stars that eventually explode as thermonuclear supernovae (SNe) with energies of ~1055 erg, the most energetic explosions in the universe. We have calculated light curves and spectra for supermassive Pop III SNe with the Los Alamos RAGE and SPECTRUM codes. We find that they will be visible in near-infrared all-sky surveys by Euclid out to z ~ 10-15 and by WFIRST and WISH out to z ~ 15-20, perhaps revealing the birthplaces of the first quasars.

THE BIGGEST EXPLOSIONS IN THE UNIVERSE

Supermassive primordial stars are expected to form in a small fraction of massive protogalaxies in the early universe, and are generally conceived of as the progenitors of the seeds of supermassive black holes (BHs). Supermassive stars with masses of ∼ 55,000M⊙, however, have been found to explode and completely disrupt in a supernova (SN) with an energy of up to ∼ 10 55 erg instead of collapsing to a BH. Such events, ∼ 10,000 times more energetic than typical SNe today, would be among the biggest explosions in the history of the universe. Here we present a simulation of such a SN in two stages. Using the RAGE radiation hydrodynamics code we first evolve the explosion from an early stage through the breakout of the shock from the surface of the star until the blast wave has propagated out to several parsecs from the explosion site, which lies deep within an atomic cooling dark matter (DM) halo at z ≃ 15. Then, using the GADGET cosmological hydrodynamics code we evolve the explosion out to several kiloparsecs from the explosion site, far into the low-density intergalactic medium. The host DM halo, with a total mass of 4 × 10 7 M⊙, much more massive than typical primordial star-forming halos, is completely evacuated of high density gas after . 10Myr, although dense metal-enriched gas recollapses into the halo, where it will likely form second-generation stars with metallicities of ≃ 0.05Z⊙ after & 70Myr. The chemical signature of supermassive star explosions may be found in such long-lived second-generation stars today. Subject headings: Cosmology: theory — early universe — supernovae: general

TWO-DIMENSIONAL SIMULATIONS OF PULSATIONAL PAIR-INSTABILITY SUPERNOVAE

Massive stars that end their lives with helium cores in the range of 35-65 M ☉ are known to produce repeated thermonuclear outbursts due to a recurring pair-instability. In some of these events, solar masses of material are ejected in repeated outbursts of several × 1050 erg each. Collisions between these shells can sometimes produce very luminous transients that are visible from the edge of the observable universe. Previous one-dimensional (1D) studies of these events produce thin, high-density shells as one ejection plows into another. Here, in the first multi-dimensional simulations of these collisions, we show that the development of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability truncates the growth of the high-density spike and drives mixing between the shells. The progenitor is a 110 M ☉ solar-metallicity star that was shown in earlier work to produce a superluminous supernova. The light curve of this more realistic model has a peak luminosity and duration that are similar to those of 1D models but a structure that is smoother.

PAIR INSTABILITY SUPERNOVAE OF VERY MASSIVE POPULATION III STARS

Numerical studies of primordial star formation suggest that the first stars in the universe may have been very massive. Stellar models indicate that non-rotating Population III stars with initial masses of 140-260 M ☉ die as highly energetic pair-instability supernovae. We present new two-dimensional simulations of primordial pair-instability supernovae done with the CASTRO code. Our simulations begin at earlier times than previous multidimensional models, at the onset of core contraction, to capture any dynamical instabilities that may be seeded by core contraction and explosive burning. Such instabilities could enhance explosive yields by mixing hot ash with fuel, thereby accelerating nuclear burning, and affect the spectra of the supernova by dredging up heavy elements from greater depths in the star at early times. Our grid of models includes both blue supergiants and red supergiants over the range in progenitor mass expected for these events. We find that fluid instabilities driven by oxygen and helium burning arise at the upper and lower boundaries of the oxygen shell ~20-100 s after core bounce. Instabilities driven by burning freeze out after the SN shock exits the helium core. As the shock later propagates through the hydrogen envelope, a strong reverse shock forms that drives the growth of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. In red supergiant progenitors, the amplitudes of these instabilities are sufficient to mix the supernova ejecta.

MAGNETAR-POWERED SUPERNOVAE IN TWO DIMENSIONS. I. SUPERLUMINOUS SUPERNOVAE

Previous studies have shown that the radiation emitted by a rapidly rotating magnetar embedded in a young supernova can greatly amplify its luminosity. These one-dimensional studies have also revealed the existence of an instability arising from the piling up of radiatively accelerated matter in a thin dense shell deep inside the supernova. Here we examine the problem in two dimensions and find that, while instabilities cause mixing and fracture this shell into filamentary structures that reduce the density contrast, the concentration of matter in a hollow shell persists. The extent of the mixing depends upon the relative energy input by the magnetar and the kinetic energy of the inner ejecta. The light curve and spectrum of the resulting supernova will be appreciably altered, as will the appearance of the supernova remnant, which will be shellular and filamentary. A similar pile up and mixing might characterize other events where energy is input over an extended period by a centrally concentrated source, e.g. a pulsar, radioactive decay, a neutrino-powered wind, or colliding shells. The relevance of our models to the recent luminous transient ASASSN-15lh is briefly discussed.

Very Massive Stars in the local Universe

Recent studies suggest the existence of very massive stars (VMS) up to 300 solar masses in the local Universe. As this finding may represent a paradigm shift for the canonical stellar upper-mass limit of 150 solar masses, it is timely to evaluate the physics specific to VMS, which is currently missing. For this reason, we decided to construct a book entailing both a discussion of the accuracy of VMS masses (Martins), as well as the physics of VMS formation (Krumholz), mass loss (Vink), instabilities (Owocki), evolution (Hirschi), and fate (theory -- Woosley & Heger; observations -- Smith).

The AMiBA Hexapod Telescope Mount

The Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) is the largest hexapod astronomical telescope in current operation. We present a description of this novel hexapod mount with its main mechanical components—the support cone, universal joints, jack screws, and platform—and outline the control system with the pointing model and the operating modes that are supported. The AMiBA hexapod mount performance is verified based on optical pointing tests and platform photogrammetry measurements. The photogrammetry results show that the deformations in the inner part of the platform are less than 120 μm rms. This is negligible for optical pointing corrections, radio alignment, and radio phase errors for the currently operational seven-element compact configuration. The optical pointing error in azimuth and elevation is successively reduced by a series of corrections to about 0 4 rms which meets our goal for the seven-element target specifications.

Finding the first cosmic explosions. IV. 90–140

Population III stars that die as pair-instability supernovae are usually thought to fall in the mass range of 140 - 260 M⊙. However, several lines of work have now shown that rotation can build up the He cores needed to encounter the pair instability at stellar masses as low as 90 M⊙. Depending on the slope of the initial mass function of Population III stars, there could be 4 - 5 times as many stars from 90 - 140 M⊙ in the primordial universe than in the usually accepted range. We present numerical simulations of the pair-instability explosions of such stars performed with the MESA, FLASH and RAGE codes. We find that they will be visible to supernova factories such as Pan-STARRS and LSST in the optical out to z ~ 1-2 and JWST and the 30 m-class telescopes in the NIR out to z ~ 7-10. Such explosions will thus probe the stellar populations of the first galaxies and cosmic star formation rates in the era of cosmological reionization. These supernovae are also easily distinguished from more massive pair-instability explosions, underscoring the fact that there is far greater variety to the light curves of these events than previously understood.

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We present the results of the stellar feedback from Pop III binaries by employing improved, more realistic Pop III evolutionary stellar models. To facilitate a meaningful comparison, we consider a fixed mass of 60 solar masses (Msun) incorporated in Pop III stars, either contained in a single star, or split up in binary stars of 30 Msun each or an asymmetric case of one 45 Msun and one 15 Msun star. Whereas the sizes of the resulting HII regions are comparable across all cases, the HeIII regions around binary stars are significantly smaller than that of the single star. Consequently, the He

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