The Demographics of Binary Companions to Stripped-Envelope Supernovae: Confronting Observations with Population Synthesis

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zapartas, E., Fox, O. D., Su, J., Souropanis, D., Drout, M. R., Rocha, K. A., van Dyk, S. D., Williams, B. F., Briel, M., Renzo, M., Andrews, J. J., Fragos, T., Gossage, S., Kruckow, M. U., Liotine, C., Ryder, S. D., Srivastava, P. M., Teng, E.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866918321375412224
author Zapartas, E.
Fox, O. D.
Su, J.
Souropanis, D.
Drout, M. R.
Rocha, K. A.
van Dyk, S. D.
Williams, B. F.
Briel, M.
Renzo, M.
Andrews, J. J.
Fragos, T.
Gossage, S.
Kruckow, M. U.
Liotine, C.
Ryder, S. D.
Srivastava, P. M.
Teng, E.
author_facet Zapartas, E.
Fox, O. D.
Su, J.
Souropanis, D.
Drout, M. R.
Rocha, K. A.
van Dyk, S. D.
Williams, B. F.
Briel, M.
Renzo, M.
Andrews, J. J.
Fragos, T.
Gossage, S.
Kruckow, M. U.
Liotine, C.
Ryder, S. D.
Srivastava, P. M.
Teng, E.
contents Stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) mark the deaths of massive stars without hydrogen-rich envelopes. Most SESNe likely originate from binary systems where a companion stripped the progenitor of its envelope. Years of HST imaging of nearby SESNe sites have produced a statistically meaningful sample of constraints on surviving binary companions. We assemble the current sample of six companion detections and six non-detections from the literature, re-analyzing whenever needed. We then conduct the first statistical comparison with binary population-synthesis predictions, primarily based on new calculations performed with the POSYDON framework. Across a metallicity range, our models predict that 80-90% of Type Ib/c and 60-85% of IIb SNe explode with a rapidly rotating, main-sequence companion. The observed luminosity distribution favors fairly inefficient mass accretion and failed explosions of the most massive stripped stars. The companion detection fraction broadly matches predictions, given the imaging depth, but appears elevated for Type IIb SNe. In all but one non-detection, a faint, undetected companion is the most likely scenario. The red, apparently evolved companions in a few Type Ib/c SNe may result from strong interaction with the ejecta, expected in $\sim$12% of them. Companion demographics offer a powerful, independent probe of SESN progenitor systems, with the current sample disfavoring efficient accretion and supporting Wolf-Rayet non-explodability. Larger companion samples and follow-up studies will further clarify binary pathways to SESNe, serving as benchmarks for transient surveys.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_12677
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Demographics of Binary Companions to Stripped-Envelope Supernovae: Confronting Observations with Population Synthesis
Zapartas, E.
Fox, O. D.
Su, J.
Souropanis, D.
Drout, M. R.
Rocha, K. A.
van Dyk, S. D.
Williams, B. F.
Briel, M.
Renzo, M.
Andrews, J. J.
Fragos, T.
Gossage, S.
Kruckow, M. U.
Liotine, C.
Ryder, S. D.
Srivastava, P. M.
Teng, E.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) mark the deaths of massive stars without hydrogen-rich envelopes. Most SESNe likely originate from binary systems where a companion stripped the progenitor of its envelope. Years of HST imaging of nearby SESNe sites have produced a statistically meaningful sample of constraints on surviving binary companions. We assemble the current sample of six companion detections and six non-detections from the literature, re-analyzing whenever needed. We then conduct the first statistical comparison with binary population-synthesis predictions, primarily based on new calculations performed with the POSYDON framework. Across a metallicity range, our models predict that 80-90% of Type Ib/c and 60-85% of IIb SNe explode with a rapidly rotating, main-sequence companion. The observed luminosity distribution favors fairly inefficient mass accretion and failed explosions of the most massive stripped stars. The companion detection fraction broadly matches predictions, given the imaging depth, but appears elevated for Type IIb SNe. In all but one non-detection, a faint, undetected companion is the most likely scenario. The red, apparently evolved companions in a few Type Ib/c SNe may result from strong interaction with the ejecta, expected in $\sim$12% of them. Companion demographics offer a powerful, independent probe of SESN progenitor systems, with the current sample disfavoring efficient accretion and supporting Wolf-Rayet non-explodability. Larger companion samples and follow-up studies will further clarify binary pathways to SESNe, serving as benchmarks for transient surveys.
title The Demographics of Binary Companions to Stripped-Envelope Supernovae: Confronting Observations with Population Synthesis
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.12677