A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Peculiar SN Ic 2022esa: An explosion of a massive Wolf–Rayet star in a binary as a precursor to a BH–BH binary?
Authors: Maeda, Keiichi; Kuncarayakti, Hanindyo; Nagao, Takashi; Kawabata, Miho; Taguchi, Kenta; Uno, Kohki; De, Kishalay
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Publications- Astronomical Society of Japan
Article number: psaf140
ISSN: 0004-6264
eISSN: 2053-051X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psaf140
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psaf140
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508378406
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
A class of supernovae (SNe) called SN Ic-CSM are characterized by late-time emergence of narrow emission lines of elements formed in the oxygen core of a massive star. A popular scenario is the interaction of the SN ejecta and O-rich circumstellar medium (CSM), i.e., circumstellar interaction (CSI). Uncovering the progenitor system of SNe Ic-CSM plays a critical role in understanding the final evolution of a massive star to a bare C+O star. In this letter, we present observations of SN 2022esa, which we show is an SN Ic-CSM. Surprisingly, a stable periodicity of ~32 d is found in its light-curve evolution with a hint of a slowly increasing period over ~200 d. We argue that the main power source is likely the interaction of the SN ejecta and O-rich CSM, while the energy input by the post-SN eccentric binary interaction within the SN ejecta is another possibility. In either case, we propose a massive Wolf–Rayet (WR) star as the progenitor, in a WR–WR or WR–BH (black hole) binary that will eventually evolve to a BH–BH binary. Specifically, in the CSI scenario, the progenitor system is an eccentric binary system with an orbital period of about a year, leading to the observed periodicity through the modulation in the CSM density structure. We also show that some other objects, superluminous SN I 2018ibb (a pair-instability SN candidate) and peculiar SN Ic 2022jli (the first example showing stable periodic modulation), show observational similarities to SNe Ic-CSM and may be categorized as SN Ic-CSM variants. Complemented with a large diversity in their light-curve evolution, we propose that SNe Ic-CSM (potentially linked to SNe Ibn/Icn) are a mixture of multiple channels that cover a range of properties in the progenitor star, the binary companion, and the binary orbit.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |
Funding information in the publication:
KM acknowledges support from JSPS KAKENHI grants (JP24KK0070, JP24H01810, JP24K00682, and JP20H00174). HK was funded by the Research Council of Finland projects 324504, 328898, and 353019. The work is partly supported by the JSPS Open Partnership Bilateral Joint Research Projects between Japan and Finland (KM and HK; JPJSBP120229923).