The First Cosmic Explosions

Daniel WhalenMcWilliams Fellow Carnegie Mellon University

Chris Fryer, Lucy FreyLANL

Candace Joggerst UCSC/LANL

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~ 200 pc

CosmologicalHalo z ~ 20

Transformation of the HaloWhalen, Abel & Norman 2004, ApJ, 610, 14

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Chemical Mixing Prior to Breakout

Joggerst & Whalen 2010, ApJ in prep

PISNCore Collapse SN

Joggerst, Whalen, et al 2010, ApJ, 709, 11

Reverse Shock Collision with the Shell

Primordial SNe in Relic H II RegionsWhalen, Van Veelen, O’Shea & Norman ApJ 2008, 682,49

Late Radiative Phase Fallback

Primordial SNe in Neutral Halos

Conclusions I

• elemental yields of primordial SNe depend on both explosive nucleosynthesis and mixing and fallback within the star

• metals mix with primordial gas on 3 characteristic spatial scales in primordial SNe (inside the star, 10 - 15 pc and 100 - 200 pc)

• Salpeter-type IMF averages of 15 - 40 solar mass Pop III core-collapse SNe are the best fit to EMP star abundances thus far, although considerable work remains

• metal and dust cooling in Pop III SNe remnants may lead to prompt second star formation

LANL Pop III Supernova Light Curve EffortWhalen, Fryer & Frey, ApJ 2010a,b, in prep

• LANL ASC code RAGE (Radiation Adaptive Grid Eulerian)

• 1D RTP AMR radiation hydrodynamics with grey/multigroup FLD and Implicit Monte Carlo transport

• 2T models (radiation and matter not assumed to be at the same temperature)

• PISN, core-collapse, and hypernova models

• post process rad hydro profiles to obtain spectra and light curves

Post Processing Includes Detailed LANL Opacities

but the atomic levels areassumed to be in equilibrium,a clear approximation

PISN Shock Breakout

• X-rays (< 1 keV)

• transient (a few hours in the local frame)

Spectra atBreakout

The spectra evolverapidly as the frontcools

Long-Term Light Curve Evolution

Late Time Spectra

spectral features after breakout may enable usto distinguish betweenPISN and CC SNe

larger parameter studywith well-resolved photospheres is now inprogress

Roadmap Ahead

• current models are grey FLD; next step is multigroup FLD and then multigroup IMC

• advance from 1D RTP AMR calculations to 2D cartesian AMR grids

• incorporate mixing from 2D models to simulate core-collapse SNe (15 - 40 solar mass stars, hypernovae)

• implement non-equilibrium opacities

• investigate progenitor environments on LC and spectra (LBV brightening?)

• explore asymmetric explosion mechanisms

• evolve toward 2D AMR IMC rad hydro with thousands of frequency bins -- eliminate post processing

Conclusions II

• PISN will be visible to JWST out to z ~ 10 - 15; strong lensing may enable their detection out to z ~ 20 (Holz, Whalen & Fryer 2010 ApJ in prep)

• dedicated ground-based followup with 30-meter class telescopes for primordial SNe spectroscopy

• discrimination between Pop III PISN and Pop III CC SNe will be challenging but offers the first direct constraints on the Pop III IMF

• complementary detection of Pop III PISN remnants by the SZ effect may be possible (Whalen, Bhattacharya & Holz 2010, ApJ in prep)