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T.A. Johnson, T.R. Young (University of North Dakota)
All massive stars end their lives in a huge explosion called a supernova. In supernovae research, it is important to identify the physical characteristics of a star before it explodes. However, it is rare to directly observe the progenitor of a supernova. Important information is lost about the radius and mass of the star that exploded. In this study we have derived several physical characteristics of the progenitor star using a numerical light curve code to simulate supernovae explosions.
The parameters in the simulation are; the initial mass and initial radius of the progenitor and the explosion energy of the supernova. To perform a calculation we first constructed stellar models with representative masses and radii of stars that are expected to explode. Then using a computer code we simulated Type II plateau supernovae with typical explosion energies. The light curve, the brightness of the supernova versus time, is calculated in the simulation. Three characteristics of the light curve will be used to compare simulated models to observations; the duration of the plateau, brightness of the plateau, and velocity of the photosphere. A least squares fit is performed on the data to derive three statistical equations relating the model parameters to the observed light curve values. We find a set of statistical equations that can empirically calculate the initial conditions of various Type II plateau supernovae explosions.
Supported by NSF ND EPSCoR 5477-1902 and NASA NCC5-399.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.