NEUTRINO SIGNAL OF COLLAPSE-INDUCED THERMONUCLEAR SUPERNOVAE: THE CASE FOR PROMPT BLACK HOLE FORMATION IN SN 1987A

Abstract

ABSTRACT Collapse-induced thermonuclear explosion (CITE) may explain core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). We analyze the neutrino signal in CITE and compare it to the neutrino burst of SN 1987A. For strong ( erg) CCSNe, such as SN 1987A, CITE predicts a proto-neutron star (PNS) accretion phase lasting up to a few seconds that is cut off by black hole (BH) formation. The neutrino luminosity can later be revived by accretion disk emission after a dead time of a few to a few tens of seconds. In contrast, the neutrino mechanism for CCSNe predicts a short (≲s) PNS accretion phase, followed by slowly declining PNS cooling luminosity. We repeat statistical analyses used in the literature to interpret the neutrino mechanism, and apply them to CITE. The first 1–2 s of the neutrino burst are equally compatible with CITE and with the neutrino mechanism. However, the data points toward a luminosity drop at t = 2–3 s, which is in some tension with the neutrino mechanism but can be naturally attributed to BH formation in CITE. The occurrence of neutrino signal events at 5 s suggests that, within CITE, the accretion disk formed by that time. We perform two-dimensional numerical simulations showing that CITE may be able to accommodate this disk formation time while reproducing the ejected 56Ni mass and ejecta kinetic energy within factors of 2–3 of observations. We estimate the accretion disk neutrino luminosity, finding it to be on the low side but compatible with the data to a factor of 10. Given comparable uncertainties in the disk luminosity simulation, we conclude that direct BH formation may have occurred in SN 1987A.