Speaker
Description
Massive stars end their hydrostatic evolution in energetic explosions known as core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), synthesizing and ejecting intermediate-mass and iron-peak isotopes into the interstellar medium. Following the initial explosion, CCSNe can be observed for several hundred days, powered primarily by the radioactive decay of newly synthesized radioactive isotopes, mainly associated with Ni. In this study, I analyze the light curves of 10 observed CCSNe to compare two different theoretical modeling approaches. For light curves extending beyond 500 days, I utilized an upgraded version of an open-source Python-based fitting code to model late-time light curves and determine the isotopic yields driving their radioactive tails. This approach allows the examination of the late-time emissions and facilitates direct comparisons with 1D CCSN models developed in recent decades. To make accurate long-term light curve predictions, tighter constraints on isotopic ratios like 44Ti/56Co and 60Co/56Co are required. For this, I utilized a hydrodynamic evolution code to fit the plateau phase of the observed light curves, enabling the calculation of the resulting explosive nucleosynthesis yields. From the synergy of these observational and theoretical approaches, we can better understand explosion dynamics and mixing mechanisms and establish robust constraints for future supernova research, bridging the gap between photometric observations and explosive CCSN nucleosynthesis.