Abstract
Why the progenitor of supernova 1987A was a blue supergiant has been a fundamental question, because the occurrence of a type II supernova from such a progenitor had not been known before. Recent ultraviolet observations have provided crucial evidence that bears on this problem. Emission lines of CNO elements show that the expansion velocity of the emitting gas is <30 km s-1, and that the abundance ratios of N/C and N/O are larger than the solar ratios by factors of ∼30 and 10, respectively1,2, indicating that the ultraviolet emissions come from circumstellar material which had been processed by hydrogen burning in the interior and ejected into space when the progenitor was a red supergiant. The progenitor of SN1987A must therefore have evolved first to a red supergiant and then back to the blue. From calculations of massive star evolution, we show how the star can undergo blue-red-blue evolution. By comparing these theoretical models with the abundance information from the ultraviolet observations, we conclude that the hydrogen-rich envelope of the progenitor was as massive as 7-11 M⊙ and almost the whole envelope was uniformly mixed, probably because of rapid rotation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 508-510 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Volume | 334 |
| Issue number | 6182 |
| Publication status | Published - 1988 |
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Nitrogen and helium enhancement in the progenitor of supernova 1987 A. / Saio, Hideyuki; Nomoto, Ken'ichi; Kato, Mariko.
In: Nature, Vol. 334, No. 6182, 1988, p. 508-510.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Nitrogen and helium enhancement in the progenitor of supernova 1987 A
AU - Saio, Hideyuki
AU - Nomoto, Ken'ichi
AU - Kato, Mariko
PY - 1988
Y1 - 1988
N2 - Why the progenitor of supernova 1987A was a blue supergiant has been a fundamental question, because the occurrence of a type II supernova from such a progenitor had not been known before. Recent ultraviolet observations have provided crucial evidence that bears on this problem. Emission lines of CNO elements show that the expansion velocity of the emitting gas is <30 km s-1, and that the abundance ratios of N/C and N/O are larger than the solar ratios by factors of ∼30 and 10, respectively1,2, indicating that the ultraviolet emissions come from circumstellar material which had been processed by hydrogen burning in the interior and ejected into space when the progenitor was a red supergiant. The progenitor of SN1987A must therefore have evolved first to a red supergiant and then back to the blue. From calculations of massive star evolution, we show how the star can undergo blue-red-blue evolution. By comparing these theoretical models with the abundance information from the ultraviolet observations, we conclude that the hydrogen-rich envelope of the progenitor was as massive as 7-11 M⊙ and almost the whole envelope was uniformly mixed, probably because of rapid rotation.
AB - Why the progenitor of supernova 1987A was a blue supergiant has been a fundamental question, because the occurrence of a type II supernova from such a progenitor had not been known before. Recent ultraviolet observations have provided crucial evidence that bears on this problem. Emission lines of CNO elements show that the expansion velocity of the emitting gas is <30 km s-1, and that the abundance ratios of N/C and N/O are larger than the solar ratios by factors of ∼30 and 10, respectively1,2, indicating that the ultraviolet emissions come from circumstellar material which had been processed by hydrogen burning in the interior and ejected into space when the progenitor was a red supergiant. The progenitor of SN1987A must therefore have evolved first to a red supergiant and then back to the blue. From calculations of massive star evolution, we show how the star can undergo blue-red-blue evolution. By comparing these theoretical models with the abundance information from the ultraviolet observations, we conclude that the hydrogen-rich envelope of the progenitor was as massive as 7-11 M⊙ and almost the whole envelope was uniformly mixed, probably because of rapid rotation.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0000610667
VL - 334
SP - 508
EP - 510
JO - Nature Cell Biology
JF - Nature Cell Biology
SN - 1465-7392
IS - 6182
ER -