R.-P. Kudritzki

Generic Spectrum and Ionization Efficiency of a Heavy Initial Mass Function for the First Stars

We calculate the generic spectral signature of an early population of massive stars at high redshifts. For metal-free stars with mass above 300 M☉, we find that the combined spectral luminosity per unit stellar mass is almost independent of the mass distribution of these stars. To zeroth order, the generic spectrum resembles a blackbody with an effective temperature of ~105 K, making these stars highly efficient at ionizing hydrogen and helium. The production rate of ionizing radiation per stellar mass by stars more massive than ~300 M☉ is larger by ~1 order of magnitude for hydrogen and He I and by ~2 orders of magnitude for He II than the emission from a standard initial mass function. This would result in unusually strong hydrogen and helium recombination lines from the surrounding interstellar medium. It could also alleviate the current difficulty of ionizing the intergalactic medium at z 6 with the cosmic star formation rate inferred at somewhat lower redshifts.

An ultraviolet-optical flare from the tidal disruption of a helium-rich stellar core.

The flare of radiation from the tidal disruption and accretion of a star can be used as a marker for supermassive black holes that otherwise lie dormant and undetected in the centres of distant galaxies. Previous candidate flares have had declining light curves in good agreement with expectations, but with poor constraints on the time of disruption and the type of star disrupted, because the rising emission was not observed. Recently, two ‘relativistic’ candidate tidal disruption events were discovered, each of whose extreme X-ray luminosity and synchrotron radio emission were interpreted as the onset of emission from a relativistic jet. Here we report a luminous ultraviolet–optical flare from the nuclear region of an inactive galaxy at a redshift of 0.1696. The observed continuum is cooler than expected for a simple accreting debris disk, but the well-sampled rise and decay of the light curve follow the predicted mass accretion rate and can be modelled to determine the time of disruption to an accuracy of two days. The black hole has a mass of about two million solar masses, modulo a factor dependent on the mass and radius of the star disrupted. On the basis of the spectroscopic signature of ionized helium from the unbound debris, we determine that the disrupted star was a helium-rich stellar core.

Line-driven Winds, Ionizing Fluxes, and Ultraviolet Spectra of Hot Stars at Extremely Low Metallicity. I. Very Massive O Stars

Wind models of very massive stars with metallicities in a range from 10-4 to 1.0 solar are calculated using a new treatment of radiation-driven winds with depth-dependent radiative force multipliers and a comprehensive list of more than two million spectral lines in non-LTE (NLTE). The models are tested by a comparison with observed stellar wind properties of O stars in the Galaxy and the SMC. Satisfying agreement is found. The calculations yield mass-loss rates, wind velocities, wind momenta, and wind energies as functions of metallicity and can be used to discuss the influence of stellar winds on the evolution of very massive stars in the early universe and on the interstellar medium in the early phases of galaxy formation. It is shown that the normal scaling laws, which predict stellar mass-loss rates and wind momenta to decrease as a power law with metal abundance, break down at a certain threshold. Analytical fit formulae for mass-loss rates are provided as a function of stellar parameters and metallicity. Ionizing fluxes of hot stars depend crucially on the strengths of their stellar winds, which modify the absorption edges of hydrogen and helium (neutral and ionized) and the line blocking in the far-UV. The new wind models are therefore also applied to calculate ionizing fluxes and observable spectra of very massive stars as a function of metallicity using the new hydrodynamic, NLTE line-blanketed flux constant model atmosphere code developed by Pauldrach and coworkers. Numbers of ionizing photons for the crucial ionization stages are given. For a fixed effective temperature, the He II ionizing emergent flux depends very strongly on metallicity but also on stellar luminosity. A strong dependence on metallicity is also found for the C III, Ne II, and O II ionizing photons, whereas the H I and He I ionizing flux is almost independent of metallicity. We also calculate UV spectra for all the models and discuss the behavior of significant line features as a function of metallicity.

The massive binary companion star to the progenitor of supernova 1993J

The massive star that underwent a collapse of its core to produce supernova (SN)1993J was subsequently identified as a non-variable red supergiant star in images of the galaxy M81 taken before explosion. It showed an excess in ultraviolet and B-band colours, suggesting either the presence of a hot, massive companion star or that it was embedded in an unresolved young stellar association. The spectra of SN1993J underwent a remarkable transformation from the signature of a hydrogen-rich type II supernova to one of a helium-rich (hydrogen-deficient) type Ib. The spectral and photometric peculiarities were best explained by models in which the 13–20 solar mass supergiant had lost almost its entire hydrogen envelope to a close binary companion, producing a ‘type IIb’ supernova, but the hypothetical massive companion stars for this class of supernovae have so far eluded discovery. Here we report photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN1993J ten years after the explosion. At the position of the fading supernova we detect the unambiguous signature of a massive star: the binary companion to the progenitor.

Cosmological Constraints from Measurements of Type Ia Supernovae Discovered During the First 1.5 Yr of the Pan-STARRS1 Survey

We present griz P1 light curves of 146 spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia; 0.03 < z < 0.65) discovered during the first 1.5 yr of the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey. The Pan-STARRS1 natural photometric system is determined by a combination of on-site measurements of the instrument response function and observations of spectrophotometric standard stars. We find that the systematic uncertainties in the photometric system are currently 1.2% without accounting for the uncertainty in the Hubble Space Telescope Calspec definition of the AB system. A Hubble diagram is constructed with a subset of 113 out of 146 SNe Ia that pass our light curve quality cuts. The cosmological fit to 310 SNe Ia (113 PS1 SNe Ia + 222 light curves from 197 low-z SNe Ia), using only supernovae (SNe) and assuming a constant dark energy equation of state and flatness, yields . When combined with BAO+CMB(Planck)+H 0, the analysis yields and including all identified systematics. The value of w is inconsistent with the cosmological constant value of –1 at the 2.3σ level. Tension endures after removing either the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) or the H 0 constraint, though it is strongest when including the H 0 constraint. If we include WMAP9 cosmic microwave background (CMB) constraints instead of those from Planck, we find , which diminishes the discord to <2σ. We cannot conclude whether the tension with flat ΛCDM is a feature of dark energy, new physics, or a combination of chance and systematic errors. The full Pan-STARRS1 SN sample with ~three times as many SNe should provide more conclusive results.

Ultra-bright optical transients are linked with type IC supernovae.

Recent searches by unbiased, wide-field surveys have uncovered a group of extremely luminous optical transients. The initial discoveries of SN 2005ap by the Texas Supernova Search and SCP-06F6 in a deep Hubble pencil beam survey were followed by the Palomar Transient Factory confirmation of host redshifts for other similar transients. The transients share the common properties of high optical luminosities (peak magnitudes ~-21 to -23), blue colors, and a lack of H or He spectral features. The physical mechanism that produces the luminosity is uncertain, with suggestions ranging from jet-driven explosion to pulsational pair instability. Here, we report the most detailed photometric and spectral coverage of an ultra-bright transient (SN 2010gx) detected in the Pan-STARRS 1 sky survey. In common with other transients in this family, early-time spectra show a blue continuum and prominent broad absorption lines of O II. However, about 25 days after discovery, the spectra developed type Ic supernova features, showing the characteristic broad Fe II and Si II absorption lines. Detailed, post-maximum follow-up may show that all SN 2005ap and SCP-06F6 type transients are linked to supernovae Ic. This poses problems in understanding the physics of the explosions: there is no indication from late-time photometry that the luminosity is powered by 56Ni, the broad light curves suggest very large ejected masses, and the slow spectral evolution is quite different from typical Ic timescales. The nature of the progenitor stars and the origin of the luminosity are intriguing and open questions.

Slowly fading super-luminous supernovae that are not pair-instability explosions

Super-luminous supernovae that radiate more than 1044 ergs per second at their peak luminosity have recently been discovered in faint galaxies at redshifts of 0.1–4. Some evolve slowly, resembling models of ‘pair-instability’ supernovae. Such models involve stars with original masses 140–260 times that of the Sun that now have carbon–oxygen cores of 65–130 solar masses. In these stars, the photons that prevent gravitational collapse are converted to electron–positron pairs, causing rapid contraction and thermonuclear explosions. Many solar masses of 56Ni are synthesized; this isotope decays to 56Fe via 56Co, powering bright light curves. Such massive progenitors are expected to have formed from metal-poor gas in the early Universe. Recently, supernova 2007bi in a galaxy at redshift 0.127 (about 12 billion years after the Big Bang) with a metallicity one-third that of the Sun was observed to look like a fading pair-instability supernova. Here we report observations of two slow-to-fade super-luminous supernovae that show relatively fast rise times and blue colours, which are incompatible with pair-instability models. Their late-time light-curve and spectral similarities to supernova 2007bi call the nature of that event into question. Our early spectra closely resemble typical fast-declining super-luminous supernovae, which are not powered by radioactivity. Modelling our observations with 10–16 solar masses of magnetar-energized ejecta demonstrates the possibility of a common explosion mechanism. The lack of unambiguous nearby pair-instability events suggests that their local rate of occurrence is less than 6 × 10−6 times that of the core-collapse rate.

The Physical Properties and Effective Temperature Scale of O-Type Stars as a Function of Metallicity. II. Analysis of 20 More Magellanic Cloud Stars and Results from the Complete Sample

In order to determine the physical properties of the hottest and most luminous stars and understand how these properties change as a function of metallicity, we have analyzed HST/UV and high-S/N optical spectra of an additional 20 Magellanic Cloud stars, doubling the sample presented in the first paper in this series. Our analysis uses non-LTE line-blanketed models that include spherical extension and the hydrodynamics of the stellar wind. In addition, our data set includes FUSE observations of O VI and HST near-UV He I and He II lines to test for consistency of our derived stellar properties for a few stars. The results from the complete sample are as follows: (1) We present an effective temperature scale for O stars as a function of metallicity. We find that the SMC O3-7 dwarfs are 4000 K hotter than Galactic stars of the same spectral type. The difference is in the sense expected due to the decreased significance of line blanketing and wind blanketing at the lower metallicities that characterize the SMC. The temperature difference between the SMC and Milky Way O dwarfs decreases with decreasing temperature, becoming negligible by spectral type B0, in accord with the decreased effects of stellar winds at lower temperatures and luminosities. The temperatures of the LMC stars appear to be intermediate between that of the Milky Way and SMC, as expected based on their metallicities. Supergiants show a similar effect but are roughly 3000-4000 K cooler than dwarfs for early O stars, also with a negligible difference by B0. The giants appear to have the same effective temperature scale as dwarfs, consistent with there being little difference in the surface gravities. When we compare our scale to other recent modeling efforts, we find good agreement with some CMFGEN results, while other CMFGEN studies are discordant, although there are few individual stars in common. WM-BASIC modeling by others has resulted in significantly cooler effective temperatures than what we find, as does the recent TLUSTY/CMFGEN study of stars in the NGC 346 cluster, but our results lead to a far more coeval placement of stars in the H-R diagram for this cluster. (2) We find that the wind momentum of these stars scales with luminosity and metallicity in the ways predicted by radiatively driven wind theory, supporting the use of photospheric analyses of hot luminous stars as a distance indicator for galaxies with resolved massive star populations. (3) A comparison of the spectroscopic masses with those derived from stellar evolutionary theory shows relatively good agreement for stars with effective temperatures below 45,000 K; however, stars with higher temperatures all show a significant mass discrepancy, with the spectroscopic masses a factor of 2 or more smaller than the evolutionary masses. This problem may in part be due to unrecognized binaries in our sample, but the result suggests a possible systematic problem with the surface gravities or stellar radii derived from our models. (4) Our sample contains a large number of stars of the earliest O types, including those of the newly proposed O2 subtype. We provide the first quantitative descriptions of their defining spectral characteristics and investigate whether the new types are a legitimate extension of the effective temperature sequence. We find that the N III/N IV emission line ratio used to define the new classes does not, by itself, serve as an effective temperature indicator within a given luminosity class: there are O3.5 V stars that are as hot or hotter than O2 V stars. However, the He I/He II ratio does not fair much better for stars this hot, as we find that He I λ4471/He II λ4542, usually taken primarily as a temperature indicator, becomes sensitive to both the mass-loss rate and surface gravities for the hottest stars. This emphasizes the need to rely on all of the spectroscopic diagnostic lines, and not simply N III/N IV or even He I/He II, for these extreme objects. (5) The two stars with the most discordant radial velocities in our sample happen to be O3 field stars, i.e., found far from the nearest OB associations. This provides the first compelling observational evidence as to the origin of the field O stars in the Magellanic Clouds, i.e., that these are classic runaway OB stars, ejected from their birthplaces.

Pan-STARRS1 DISCOVERY OF TWO ULTRALUMINOUS SUPERNOVAE AT z ≈ 0.9

We present the discovery of two ultraluminous supernovae (SNe) at z ≈ 0.9 with the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey. These SNe, PS1-10ky and PS1-10awh, are among the most luminous SNe ever discovered, comparable to the unusual transients SN 2005ap and SCP 06F6. Like SN 2005ap and SCP 06F6, they show characteristic high luminosities (M_(bol) ≈ –22.5 mag), blue spectra with a few broad absorption lines, and no evidence for H or He. We have constructed a full multi-color light curve sensitive to the peak of the spectral energy distribution in the rest-frame ultraviolet, and we have obtained time series spectroscopy for these SNe. Given the similarities between the SNe, we combine their light curves to estimate a total radiated energy over the course of explosion of (0.9-1.4) × 10^(51) erg. We find photospheric velocities of 12,000-19,000 km s^(–1) with no evidence for deceleration measured across ~3 rest-frame weeks around light curve peak, consistent with the expansion of an optically thick massive shell of material. We show that, consistent with findings for other ultraluminous SNe in this class, radioactive decay is not sufficient to power PS1-10ky, and we discuss two plausible origins for these events: the initial spin-down of a newborn magnetar in a core-collapse SN, or SN shock breakout from the dense circumstellar wind surrounding a Wolf-Rayet star.

Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in Virgo: Photometric Selection, Spectroscopic Validation, and Cluster Depth*

We have imaged an empty area of 34 × 34 arcmin2 15 north of the Virgo Cluster core to survey for intracluster planetary nebula (PN) candidates. We have implemented and tested a fully automatic procedure for the selection of emission-line objects in wide-field images, based on the on-off technique from Ciardullo and Jacoby. Freeman et al. have spectroscopically confirmed a sample of intracluster planetary nebulae in one Virgo field. We use the photometric and morphological properties of this sample to test our selection procedure. In our newly surveyed Virgo field, 75 objects were identified as best candidates for intracluster PNe. The luminosity function of the spectroscopically confirmed PNe shows a brighter cutoff than the planetary nebula luminosity function for the inner regions of M87. Such a brighter cutoff is also observed in the newly surveyed field and indicates a smaller distance modulus, implying that the front end of the Virgo Cluster is closer to us by a significant amount: 14% closer (2.1 Mpc) than M87 for the spectroscopic field, using the PN luminosity function distance of 14.9 Mpc to M87, and 18% closer (2.8 Mpc) than M87 for the newly surveyed field. Independent distance indicators (Tully-Fisher relation for Virgo spirals and surface brightness fluctuations for Virgo ellipticals) agree with these findings. From these two Virgo Cluster fields there is no evidence that the surface luminosity density for the diffuse stellar component in the cluster decreases with radius. The luminosity surface density of the diffuse stellar population is comparable to that of the galaxies.