2025 Project Description

Deciphering the diverse stellar evolution of massive stars via radiative modeling of supernovae

Supervisors

Tomoki Matsuoka
Find out more about supervisors on ASIAA website

Task Description and Goals

A core-collapse supernova is an explosive phenomenon that a massive star experiences at the endpoint of its stellar evolution. It is considered that a large fraction of massive stars explode in a theoretical-established mechanism called "neutrino-driven explosion", while the practically observed supernovae exhibit diverse ways of brightening. This diversity is supposed to originate from the difference in radiative process, which reflects the personality of the stellar evolutionary history of the progenitor, or even the explosion mechanism. Hence, understanding the radiative process of supernovae would serve as an essential procedure to reveal how massive stars evolve and how they explode. In this project, we will work on model construction of the radiative process of supernovae, focusing on radio and X-ray emission. Based on the supernova subject given by PIs, students are supposed to practically develop the programming code that calculates the luminosity from supernovae. Then we will discuss the properties of time evolutions of the luminosity or spectra, as well as their detectability by currently operated / future-planned observational facilities. Through this series of activities, we will aim to gain an understanding of the process where astronomers interpret observed astrophysical phenomena and reveal their nature. Note: Unlike programs served by Ken Chen where students are supposed to conduct multi-dimensional simulations, we will not conduct computationally expensive numerical simulations unless the student wants (we will treat at most one-dimensional models). Instead, we put emphasis on idealizing the situation to shed light on the essential physical process via the model construction.

Required Background

1. Basic skills in programming (C, Fortran90, Python, or anything else you like) and Linux/UNIX operation. 2. Basic knowledge about physics you've ever learned. Having astronomy knowledge is desirable, but not necessarily required. 3. Logical thinking. 4. A mindset of trying what you come up with once you come up with that.