Astrophysicists have observed the explosion of a rare supernova. She “thrown” almost two Suns into space

An international team of researchers conducted observations in the optical and infrared ranges of

supernova SN 2022ann. She belongs to the rare type Icn. The results, presented in a preprint of a scientific publication, suggest that such explosions occur only in double star systems.

Observations show that in the optical spectraThe emission from SN 2022ann immediately after the explosion is dominated by narrow carbon and oxygen trails with absorption velocities of about 800 km/s. This is slower than other supernovae of this type, and below the escape velocity of a compact massive star needed to prevent a large burst of hydrogen. The researchers believe that the progenitor star SN 2022ann was "bloated" by the outburst and got out of hydrostatic equilibrium before the explosion.

The study showed that SN 2022ann hasa unique constant brightness in the first moments of time after the explosion and a relatively rapid decrease in more red bands in the later periods after this plateau. Based on the bolometric light curve of SN 2022ann, the researchers estimate the mass of its ejection at 1.73 solar masses.

Observational data for supernova SN 2022ann. Image: Kyle Davis et al., arXiv

According to astrophysicists, all resultsshow that a binary companion star is required to adequately separate the progenitor before the explosion and create a low-velocity outflow such as in SN 2022ann. They added that the rarity of type Icn supernovae could indicate that they were created during a short or unusual stage in the evolution of binary star systems.

Supernovae are bright and powerful stellar explosions. Most supernovae are one of two types: Type I and Type II. They differ in that there is no hydrogen in the emission spectra of the first type.

An Icn-type supernova is an extreme subtypesupernova with a broken shell. A total of five such explosions are known. This type of radiation contains strong narrow oxygen and carbon lines, but weak or absent hydrogen and helium lines. In addition, the glow of this type of supernova contains signs of circumstellar interaction. The unusual spectrum for many years baffled scientists who tried to explain the nature of the explosion.

Read more:

Created a navigation system that is more accurate than GPS

Look at the result of a "head-on collision" of two galaxies: this is a very rare occurrence.

Named the main danger of the lunar mission "Artemis"