Astronomers using the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA)\u00a0 have made an unprecedented discovery, capturing the first-ever radio signals from a rare class of stellar explosion known as a Type Ibn supernova. This achievement brings fresh insight into the death throes of massive stars and provides a rare glimpse into the final years of a star\u2019s life, previously hidden from view.<\/p>\n
The supernova, designated SN 2023fyq, represents a unique opportunity to observe a massive star\u2019s final act. Type Ibn supernovae result when a star explodes into helium-rich gas previously ejected from its surface. Using the NSF VLA\u2019s powerful radio vision, astronomers tracked radio emissions from this explosion over a span of 18 months, uncovering compelling evidence about the environment around the dying star.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe captured a rare, first-ever radio signal from a star exploding into helium-rich gas it shed shortly before the blast,\u201d said Raphael Baer-Way, a graduate student at UVA working with Maryam Modjaz (UVA) and Poonam Chandra (NRAO) and primary investigator on the study. \u201cRadio observations allowed us to \u2018view\u2019 the final decade of the star\u2019s life before the demise. These observations revealed the star shedding its helium layers, including a significant five-year surge in mass loss immediately preceding the supernova, providing fresh evidence for binary-driven, exotic explosions.\u201d This discovery reveals that the star underwent a dramatic period of mass loss, likely caused by the influence of a gravitationally bound stellar companion.<\/p>\n
Radio and X-ray data revealed the density and extent of the helium-rich material ejected before the explosion. Astronomers determined that the star shed material at an astonishing rate \u2014 up to 0.4% of the mass of the sun per year \u2014 during a short-lived but intense phase leading up to the supernova explosion. This dynamic process aligns with predictions for stars in close binary systems and gives astrophysicists new, direct evidence of the mechanisms driving such rare supernovae.<\/p>\n
Until now, the existence of dense material around most Type Ibn supernovae had only been inferred from optical studies. Dr. A.J. Nayana at UC Berkeley, a co-lead investigator, says \u201cOur study probes the material ejected years before the explosion \u2013 revealing that the star underwent an intense phase of mass-loss in the final 0.7\u20133 years of its life.\u201d By pinpointing the timeframe and magnitude of the mass loss, astronomers have filled a crucial gap in the story of how massive stars end their lives and enrich the Universe.<\/p>\n
This landmark detection sets the stage for future studies of supernovae with radio telescopes, promising to deepen our understanding of the life cycles of stars and the forces that shape our galaxy. Dr. Wynn Jacobson-Galan at Caltech, another lead investigator and VLA program PI, says, \u201cthis study has opened up a whole new avenue for constraining the end points of certain massive stars and really highlights the need for systematic radio follow-up of similar events with incredible instruments like the VLA and GMRT.\u201d<\/p>\n
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About NRAO
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the U.S. National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Astronomers using the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA)\u00a0 have made an unprecedented discovery, capturing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,82,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-190801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}