Theoretical light curve of a type IIp supernova

The light curve and other observable diagnostics are presented for what should be a typical Type II "plateau" supernova, the explosion of a 15 M_⊙ red supergiant. The calculations are carried out using a multifrequency radiation transport code that includes opacity from all important mechanisms - bound-bound, bound-free, free-free, and electron scattering. It is found that the inclusion of opacity sources besides electron scattering increases the computed length of the plateau in the 15 M_⊙ model by ∼30 days. Especially important is the ultraviolet cutoff caused by a thick forest of lines. Deposition and escape of γ-rays from radioactive decay are also accurately simulated. We find that the presence of 0.06 M_⊙ of ejected ⁵⁶Ni extends the length of the plateau from ∼100 days to ∼140 days. Because of the large hydrogen envelope and radius in this model, mixing does not appreciably alter the bolometric light curve, although it does change the γ-ray light curve significantly. With 0.06 M_⊙ of ejected ⁵⁶Ni, the unmixed (mixed) model peaks in escaping γ-rays at 576 (466) days with a γ-ray luminosity of 3 × 10³⁸ (7 × 10³⁸) ergs s^-1. Except for the local group, the γ-rays from an extragalactic 15 M_⊙ SNe IIp will be too faint to detect with any existing detectors. However, a Galactic SNe IIp would be quite bright and easily detectable.