Radiation Transport Modeling of Kilonovae and Broad-Lined Ic Supernovae
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Radiation Transport Modeling of Kilonovae and Broad-lined Ic Supernovae by Jennifer Barnes A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Physics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Associate Professor Daniel Kasen, Chair Professor Eliot Quataert Professor Joshua Bloom Summer 2017 Radiation Transport Modeling of Kilonovae and Broad-lined Ic Supernovae Copyright 2017 by Jennifer Barnes 1 Abstract Radiation Transport Modeling of Kilonovae and Broad-lined Ic Supernovae by Jennifer Barnes Doctor of Philosophy in Physics University of California, Berkeley Associate Professor Daniel Kasen, Chair This thesis presents models of the radiative signatures of two unusual electromagnetic transients: radioactive transients (“kilonovae”) associated with the merger of a neutron star with a second neutron star or a black hole, and broad-lined Type Ic supernovae. The first portion of the thesis focuses on improving inputs for radiation transport simulations of kilonovae. I first address opacity. I present new calculations of the opacities of elements synthesized in the kilonova ejecta, and carry out radiation transport simulations of kilonovae using these new opacities. Next, I develop detailed models of the radioactive heating of the kilonova ejecta and explore its effects on kilonova light curves. These two projects advanced our understanding of the expected emission from kilonovae, and will inform efforts to find and analyze these elusive transients. The final part of this thesis considers broad-lined Type Ic supernovae. I use multidimensional hydrodynamics and radiation transport simulations to investigate the validity of the single-engine model for broad-lined superonva Ic/gamma-ray burst systems. I demonstrate that a jet engine injected into a stripped-envelope progenitor star can produce both a supernova with broad spectral features and a long-duration gamma- ray burst. i I dedicate this dissertation to my parents. ii Contents Acknowledgments iv 1 Introduction1 1.1 Compact object mergers and their electromagnetic counterparts.......2 1.1.1 Modeling kilonovae............................4 1.2 Broad-lined Type Ic supernovae.........................6 1.3 Monte Carlo radiation transport in expanding atmospheres..........7 1.4 Thesis outline................................... 10 2 Effect of a high opacity on the light curves of radioactively-powered tran- sients from compact object mergers 11 2.1 Introduction.................................... 12 2.2 Opacity of r-process ejecta............................ 13 2.3 Light curves of r-process transients....................... 16 2.3.1 Ejecta Model............................... 16 2.3.2 Light Curves............................... 18 2.3.3 Uncertainties in the Opacities...................... 24 2.3.4 A 56Ni-powered transient......................... 25 2.4 Conclusion..................................... 28 3 Radioactivity and thermalization in the ejecta of compact object mergers and their impact on kilonova light curves 31 3.1 Introduction.................................... 32 3.2 Properties of the kilonova ejecta......................... 33 3.2.1 Ejecta model............................... 33 3.2.2 Magnetic fields.............................. 34 3.2.3 Composition................................ 35 3.2.4 Radioactivity............................... 36 3.2.5 Emission Spectra of Decay Products.................. 38 3.3 Thermalization Physics.............................. 43 3.3.1 Gamma-rays................................ 43 3.3.2 Beta particles............................... 44 Contents iii 3.3.3 Alpha-particles.............................. 46 3.3.4 Fission fragments............................. 48 3.4 Analytic Results................................. 49 3.4.1 Analytic estimates of thermalization timescales............ 49 3.4.2 Summary of thermalization timescales................. 52 3.4.3 Analytic thermalization model...................... 52 3.5 Numerical Results................................. 54 3.5.1 Thermalization efficiencies........................ 54 3.5.2 Total heating efficiency.......................... 57 3.6 Effect on Kilonova Light curves......................... 62 3.6.1 Analytic fit to thermalization efficiency................. 64 3.6.2 Light curves................................ 65 3.6.3 Implications for the kilonova accompanying GRB 130603B...... 66 3.6.4 Late-time light curve........................... 69 3.7 Conclusion..................................... 71 4 A GRB and Broad-lined Type Ic Supernova from a Single Central Engine 74 4.1 Introduction.................................... 74 4.2 Numerical Methods................................ 77 4.3 Progenitor and Engine Models.......................... 79 4.4 Gas Dynamics................................... 81 4.5 Supernova Observables.............................. 85 4.5.1 Bolometric Light Curves......................... 85 4.5.2 Spectra.................................. 87 4.6 Discussion and Conclusion............................ 92 Bibliography 94 A Transport Methods for Radioactive Decay Products 100 A.1 Grid........................................ 100 A.2 Gamma rays.................................... 100 A.3 Massive particles................................. 101 A.3.1 Influence of magnetic fields........................ 102 A.3.2 Fission fragment transport........................ 103 iv Acknowledgments Like all dissertations, mine has been a collaborative effort, and I recognize with gratitude the contributions of the many people who have helped me along the way. Much credit is due to my advisor, Dan Kasen, whose guidance and mentorship I have relied on for the past six years. I am also indebted to my groupmates, Nathan Roth and János Botyánszki, who I consider friends as well as colleagues. I have been fortunate to have dedicated and insightful collaborators. I feel especially lucky to have worked with Paul Duffel, who taught me everything I know about computa- tional hydrodynamics, and Samaya Nissanke, whose support and encouragement have been unwavering and invaluable. I am grateful to my parents, Jay and Karen, my sisters, Kelly and Lisa, and my partner Patrick; their faith in me reminded me to have faith in myself. Lastly, I am thankful for friends both inside and outside the department whose company made the last seven years more joyful and whose support made the Ph.D. grind less daunting. This dissertation was typeset using the ucastrothesis LATEX template. 1 Chapter 1 Introduction The answers to several open questions in astrophysics research lie in understanding stellar life-cycles, in particular stellar deaths. Violent stellar deaths like supernova explosions and stellar mergers are some of the most energetic events in the Universe, and are thought to be the furnaces where the heaviest elements are forged. In their demise, stars can also form ultra-dense neutron stars or black holes. In certain cases—core collapse supernovae and compact object mergers—stellar destruction may produce gravitational radiation: ripples in the fabric of spacetime that have only recently been observed. The study of explosive systems is a means for understanding physics in the extreme energy, gravity, temperature, and velocity regimes that apply to these systems. Detailed and accurate models of explosive astrophysical transients are essential for un- derstanding the explosions themselves, their progenitor systems, and the physical processes at play in their evolution. Radiation transport calculations are an important component of modeling efforts because they serve as a bridge between theory and observation, allowing astronomers to link particular observational fingerprints to the underlying physical features or processes that produce them, and therefore to test explosion and progenitor models. My thesis research focuses on two types of astrophysical explosions: radioactive transients associated with compact object (CO) mergers, and broad-lined Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL). These two types of transients are, in some ways, distinct. The former accompany the deaths of young, massive stars; the latter are triggered by the coalescence of two stellar corpses that have spent hundreds of millions or billions of years circling each other in a stellar danse macabre. Broad-lined Ic supernova have a composition similar to other explosive systems; in contrast, merger-driven explosions are expected to synthesize and draw their power from an exotic cocktail of heavy, radioactive nuclei. And while SNe Ic-BL are relatively bright and long-lived, transients from mergers are believed to be short and dim. (Another difference: transients from mergers have not been definitely identified, while observers have identified a sizable catalog of SNe Ic-BL.) However, there are also similarities. Both explosions are associated with gamma-ray bursts, whether short, in the case of CO mergers, or long, as for SNe Ic-BL. Both are impacted by the physics of compact objects: SNe Ic-BL because they produce them, and 1.1. COMPACT OBJECT MERGERS AND THEIR ELECTROMAGNETIC COUNTERPARTS 2 CO mergers because they violently disrupt them. Each event is also a claimed formation channel for magnetars. Fundamentally, they are both non-standard explosions with masses or energies than set them apart from their better-sampled, more uniform cousins (e.g. SNe Ia, or classical novae). Modeling these two transients, which seemingly represent opposite extrema in the distribution of explosive transient