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On the Formation of the W-shaped O ii Lines in Spectra of Type I Superluminous Supernovae

Saito, S, Tanaka, M, Mazzali, PA, Hachinger, S and Hotokezaka, K (2024) On the Formation of the W-shaped O ii Lines in Spectra of Type I Superluminous Supernovae. Astrophysical Journal, 967. ISSN 0004-637X

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Abstract

H-poor Type I superluminous supernovae (SLSNe I) are characterized by O ii lines around 4000-4500 Å in pre-/near-maximum spectra, the so-called W-shaped O ii lines. As these lines are from relatively high excitation levels, they have been considered a sign of nonthermal processes, which may provide a hint of the power sources of SLSNe I. However, the conditions for these lines to appear have not been well understood. In this work, we systematically calculate synthetic spectra to reproduce the observed spectra of eight SLSNe I, parameterizing departure coefficients from the nebular approximation in the supernova ejecta (expressed as b neb). We find that most of the observed spectra can be well reproduced with b neb ≲ 10, which means that no strong departure is necessary for the formation of the W-shaped O ii lines. We also show that the appearance of the W-shaped O ii lines is sensitive to temperature; only spectra with temperatures in the range of T ∼ 14,000-16,000 K can produce the W-shaped O ii lines without large departures. Based on this, we constrain the nonthermal ionization rate near the photosphere. Our results suggest that spectral features of SLSNe I can give independent constraints on the power source through the nonthermal ionization rates.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences; 0202 Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics; 0306 Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural); Astronomy & Astrophysics
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy
Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Astrophysics Research Institute
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
SWORD Depositor: A Symplectic
Date Deposited: 25 Sep 2024 15:23
Last Modified: 25 Sep 2024 15:30
DOI or ID number: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad39e8
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/24272
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