Speaker
Description
New models of so-called electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) suggest that while the full collapse of sAGB stars to a NS is still a possibility, the energy release by the electron-capture reactions can also trigger a thermonuclear runaway initiating explosive thermonuclear burning in a ''thermonuclear ECSN'' (tECSN).
Initial studies suggest that tECSNe could reproduce the solar abundances of so far problematic isotopes such as $^{48}$Ca, $^{50}$Ti, $^{54}$Cr, together with $^{58}$Fe, $^{64}$Ni, $^{82}$Se, and $^{86}$Kr as well as several Zn-Zr isotopes, without introducing new tensions with the solar abundance distribution.
In this work, we heavily expand on the existing tECSNe models, exploring a multitude initial conditions and ignition geometries.
Our initial results suggest that the critical central density below which the collapse can be halted by thermonuclear burning is somewhere between $10.15 < \log \rho_c^\mathrm{ini} < 10.3$ depending on the ignition geometry.
We additionally provide a comprehensive set of nucleosynthesis yields for our tECSN models and investigate the dependency of our results on the used rates.
These results will be used as an input for our 3D radiative transfer simulations, contributing the first-of-its-kind synthetic observables which will allow us to determine the feasibility of tECSNe as a realistic supernova scenario.
