Impact of stellar rotation on type II supernova progenitor masses from pre-explosion imaging

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Martinez, L., Benvenuto, O. G., De Vito, M. A.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Martinez, L.
Benvenuto, O. G.
De Vito, M. A.
author_facet Martinez, L.
Benvenuto, O. G.
De Vito, M. A.
contents The initial masses of red supergiant (RSG) type II supernova (SN II) progenitors are commonly inferred from pre-explosion imaging by converting the progenitor luminosity into an initial mass estimate using non-rotating stellar evolution models. However, stellar rotation affects the evolution and may influence these estimates. We investigate how the observed distribution of rotational velocities in massive stars influences the progenitor initial masses of SNe II inferred from pre-SN imaging. We compare initial mass estimates obtained from non-rotating models with those derived from rotating models, where the initial rotational velocities of the stellar models are sampled from the observed distribution. We analyse the inferred progenitor initial masses by (i) comparing the results for each SN individually, (ii) examining the overall probability density function, (iii) constructing the cumulative distribution function, and (iv) determining the upper initial-mass boundary. In all cases, the distributions obtained from rotating models are slightly shifted towards lower masses, although the differences remain smaller than the typical uncertainties. When using the observed distribution of initial rotational velocities for massive stars, we infer an upper initial-mass limit for SN II progenitors of 20.4$^{+2.3}_{-1.9} M_{\odot}$. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate that stellar rotation has only a modest impact on progenitor mass estimates from pre-SN imaging within the current observational and model uncertainties when the observed distribution of initial rotational velocities is taken into account. Therefore, adopting this distribution leads to small differences compared to non-rotating models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_23201
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Impact of stellar rotation on type II supernova progenitor masses from pre-explosion imaging
Martinez, L.
Benvenuto, O. G.
De Vito, M. A.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
The initial masses of red supergiant (RSG) type II supernova (SN II) progenitors are commonly inferred from pre-explosion imaging by converting the progenitor luminosity into an initial mass estimate using non-rotating stellar evolution models. However, stellar rotation affects the evolution and may influence these estimates. We investigate how the observed distribution of rotational velocities in massive stars influences the progenitor initial masses of SNe II inferred from pre-SN imaging. We compare initial mass estimates obtained from non-rotating models with those derived from rotating models, where the initial rotational velocities of the stellar models are sampled from the observed distribution. We analyse the inferred progenitor initial masses by (i) comparing the results for each SN individually, (ii) examining the overall probability density function, (iii) constructing the cumulative distribution function, and (iv) determining the upper initial-mass boundary. In all cases, the distributions obtained from rotating models are slightly shifted towards lower masses, although the differences remain smaller than the typical uncertainties. When using the observed distribution of initial rotational velocities for massive stars, we infer an upper initial-mass limit for SN II progenitors of 20.4$^{+2.3}_{-1.9} M_{\odot}$. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate that stellar rotation has only a modest impact on progenitor mass estimates from pre-SN imaging within the current observational and model uncertainties when the observed distribution of initial rotational velocities is taken into account. Therefore, adopting this distribution leads to small differences compared to non-rotating models.
title Impact of stellar rotation on type II supernova progenitor masses from pre-explosion imaging
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23201