Multidimensional Simulations of Magnetar-Powered Supernovae
Kiran Eiden, University of California, Berkeley
Core-collapse supernovae are the explosive deaths of massive stars, and are so luminous that they can briefly outshine entire galaxies. These explosions help to drive cosmic evolution by forging and dispersing new elements and injecting energy into the interstellar medium. Surveys with telescopes have discovered a subpopulation of "superluminous" supernovae that release an exceptional amount of light even for supernovae, capable of achieving peak luminosities that are hundreds of times higher than those of ordinary stellar explosions. Several theories have been put forth to explain the exceptional luminosities of these supernovae. One such theory is that they are powered by radiation from an ultra-compact, ultra-magnetic object at their center — these objects are called magnetars. We present an ongoing two-dimensional numerical study of magnetar-powered supernovae, where we investigate the dynamics of the explosion and whether they can be connected to the observational properties of superluminous supernovae. We also discuss plans to extend our current study to three dimensions and to a wider parameter space, and the possibility of exploring the effects of magnetar central engines in other astrophysical contexts (e.g., kilonovae).
Authors: Kiran Eiden1, Daniel Kasen1,2,3
2Department of Physics and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, USA
3Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
Abstract Author(s): (see above entries)