An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A type of supernova whose spectra lacks hydrogen lines. Its → light curve exhibits a sharp maximum with a gradual decrease. Typical magnitudes M_V = -14 to -17. Ejecta velocities about 10,000 km/sec. Type I supernovae have several subtypes: → Type Ia, → Type Ib, and → Type Ic.

Type I initially introduced by R. Minkowski (1941, PASP 53, 224); → type; → supernova.

A → Type I supernova that presents a singly-ionized silicon (Si II) absorption feature at 6150 Å near peak brightness. Type Ia SNe are believed to result from mass → accretion to a carbon-oxygen → white dwarf in a → close binary system. When the white dwarf mass exceeds the → Chandrasekhar limit, the → degenerate electron pressure can no longer support the accumulated mass and the star collapses in a thermonuclear explosion producing a supernova. The → peak luminosity of SNe Ia is set by the radioactive decay chain ⁵⁶Ni → ⁵⁶Co → ⁵⁶Fe, and the observed photometric correlation between the peak luminosity and the time-scale over which the → light curve decays from its maximum is understood physically as having both the luminosity and → opacity being set by the mass of ⁵⁶Ni synthesized in the explosion. Type Ia supernovae occur in all types of galaxies. Type Ia SNe are used as → standard candles in determining cosmological distances, after normalizing their light curves with the → Phillips relation.

→ type; → supernova.

A → Type I supernova that has neutral helium line (He I) at 5876 Å, and no strong silicon (Si II) absorption feature at 6150 Å. Type Ib supernovae are believed to result from the evolution of → massive stars.

→ type; → supernova.

A → Type I supernova that shows weak or no helium lines and no strong silicon (Si II) absorption feature near 6150 Å. Type Ic supernovae are believed to result from the evolution of → massive stars.

→ type; → supernova.

A supernova type whose spectrum contains hydrogen lines. Compared with → Type I supernovae, its → light curve has a broader peak at maximum and dies away more rapidly. The magnitudes are smaller, ranging from M_V = -12 to -13.5, and the ejecta have lower velocities (about 5,000 km/sec). These supernovae, which result from the final evolution of → massive stars, have three main divisions: → Type II-P, → Type II-L, and → Type II-n.

Type II initially introduced by R. Minkowski (1941, PASP 53, 224); → type; → supernova.

A → Type II supernova which displays a linear decrease in its → light curve.

→ Type II supernova; L short for → linear.

A → Type II supernova which shows intermediate or very narrow width hydrogen → emission lines in the spectra.

→ Type II supernova; n short for → narrow.

A → Type II supernova which reaches a plateau in its → light curve. The vast majority of Type II SNe are characterized by a fast (few days) rise to a flat light curve, most pronounced in the reddest optical bands, with a duration of 80-100 days. This plateau phase is interpreted as the recession of the photosphere as the ejecta expand and cool. The spectra of SNe II-P are typically dominated by strong → P Cygni profiles of hydrogen lines, as well as iron absorption features (for a review, e.g., see Filippenko 1997, ARA&A 35, 309).

→ Type II supernova; P short for → plateau.

A → supernova remnant located in the southern Milky Way in the constellation → Vela. It has a large angular diameter of about 8° and lies 250 ± 30 pc away (Cha et al. 1999, ApJ 515, L25). Its overall emission is dominated by the interaction of the → supernova blast wave with the → interstellar medium. This SNR is also notable for a number of protrusions extending well beyond its rim, which were suggested to be fragments of ejecta from the supernova explosion. X-ray spectroscopy has since confirmed several of these protrusions to indeed be strongly enriched with ejecta. The age of the SNR is estimated to be ~11,000 years, based on the spin-down rate of the associated → Vela pulsar, but ages as large as 20,000-30,000 years have also been argued.

→ Vela; → supernova remnant.