Some supernovae and gamma-ray bursts are thought to accompany a black hole formation. In the process of a black hole formation, a central core becomes hot and dense enough for hyperons and quarks to appear. In this study, we perform neutrino-radiation hydrodynamical simulations of a stellar core collapse and black hole formation taking into account such exotic components. In our computation, general relativity is fully considered under spherical symmetry. As a result, we find that the additional degrees of freedom soften the equation of state of matter and promote the black hole formation. Furthermore, their effects are detectable as a neutrino signal. We believe that the properties of hot and dense matter at extreme conditions are essential for the studies on the astrophysical black hole formation. This study will be hopefully a first step toward a physics of the central engine of gamma-ray bursts.

The collapse of massive rotating stellar cores and the associated accretion is thought to power long GRBs. The physical scale and dynamics of the accretion disk are initially set by the angular momentum distribution in the progenitor, and the physical conditions make neutrino emission the main cooling agent in the flow. We have carried out an initial set of calculations of the collapse of rotating polytropic cores in three dimensions, making use of a pseudo-relativistic potential and a simplified cooling prescription. We focus on the effects of self gravity and cooling on the overall morphology and evolution of the flow for a given rotation rate in the context of the collapsar model. For the typical cooling times expected in such a scenario we observe the appearance of strong instabilities on a time scale, tcool, following disk formation. Such instabilities and their gravitational interaction with the black hole (BH) produce significant variability in the energy loss and accretion rates, which would translate into neutrino cooling variations when a more realistic neutrino cooling scheme is implemented in future work.

We present two-dimensional numerical simulations of core-collapse supernova including multi-energy neutrino radiative transfer. We aim to examine the influence of the equation of state (EOS) for the dense nuclear matter. We employ four sets of EOSs, namely, those by Lattimer and Swesty (LS) and Shen et al., which became standard EOSs in the core-collapse supernova community. We reconfirm that not every EOS produces an explosion in spherical symmetry, which is consistent with previous works. In two-dimensional simulations, we find that the structure of the accretion flow is significantly different between LS EOS and Shen EOS, inducing an even qualitatively different evolution of the shock wave, namely, the LS EOS leads to shock propagation beyond 2000 km from the center, while the Shen EOS shows only oscillations within 500 km. The possible origins of the difference are discussed.

We investigate the red supergiant problem: the apparent dearth of Type IIP supernova progenitors with masses between 16 and 30 M⊙. Although red supergiants with masses in this range have been observed, none have been identified as progenitors in pre–explosion images. We show that, by failing to take into account the additional extinction resulting from the dust produced in the red supergiant winds, the luminosity of the most massive red supergiants at the end of their lives is underestimated. We re–estimate the initial masses of all Type IIP progenitors for which observations exist and analyse the resulting population. We find that the most likely maximum mass for a Type IIP progenitor is 21+2−1 M⊙. This is in closer agreement with the limit predicted from single star evolution models.

The locations of massive stars (≥ 8M⊙) within their host galaxies is reviewed. These range from distributed OB associations to dense star clusters within giant Hii regions. A comparison between massive stars and the environments of core-collapse supernovae and long duration Gamma Ray Bursts is made, both at low and high redshift. We also address the question of the upper stellar mass limit, since very massive stars (VMS, Minit ≫ 100M⊙) may produce exceptionally bright core-collapse supernovae or pair instability supernovae.

Connecting the endpoints of massive star evolution with the various types of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) is ultimately the fundamental puzzle to be explored and solved. We can assemble clues indirectly, e.g., from information about the environments in which stars explode and establish constraints on the evolutionary phases of these stars. However, this is best accomplished through direct identification of the actual star that has exploded in pre-supernova imaging, preferably in more than one photometric band, where color and luminosity for the star can be precisely measured. We can then interpret the star's properties in light of expectations from the latest massive stellar evolutionary models, to attempt to assign an initial mass to the progenitor. So far, this has been done most successfully for SNe II-P, for which we now know that red supergiants in a relatively limited initial mass range are responsible. More recently, we have limited examples of the progenitors of SNe II-L, IIn, and IIb. The progenitors of SNe Ib and Ic, however, have been elusive so far; I will discuss the current status of our knowledge of this particular channel.

We develop a new numerical code of the multi-energy and multi-angle neutrino-radiation transfer in three dimensions (3D) for core-collapse supernovae. Our 3D code to solve the Boltzmann equations is based on the discretized-ordinate (SN) method with a fully implicit differencing for time advance. A basic set of neutrino reactions is implemented in the collision terms together with a realistic equation of state. By following the time evolution of neutrino distributions in six dimensions (3 spatial and 3 momentum-space) by the 3D Boltzmann solver, we study the 3D feature of neutrino transfer for given background models of supernova cores in order to understand the explosion mechanism through neutrino heating in multi dimensions.

We present the results of a study by Dessart et al. (2012), where we performed stellar collapse simulations of proposed long-duration γ-ray burst (LGRB) progenitor models and assessed the prospects for black hole formation. We find that many of the proposed LGRB candidates in Woosley & Heger (2006) have core structures similar to garden-variety core-collapse supernova progenitors and thus are not expected to form black holes, which is a key ingredient of the collapsar model of LGRBs. The small fraction of proposed progenitors that are compact enough to form black holes have fast rotating iron cores, making them prone to a magneto-rotational explosion and the formation of a proto-magnetar rather than a black hole. This leads us to our take-home message, that one must consider the iron-core structure (eg. ρ(r), Ω(r)) of evolved massive stars before making assumptions on the central engine of LGRBs.

The standard model for a short duration Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) involves the merger of a neutron star binary system, resulting in a black hole which accretes for a brief period of time. However, some of the short-duration GRBs observed by the Swift satellite show features in their light curves which are difficult to explain in this model. As an alternative, we examine the light curves of the Swift short GRB sample to see if they can be explained by the presence of a highly magnetised, rapidly rotating pulsar, or magnetar. We find that magnetars may be present in a large fraction of short bursts, and discuss briefly how this model can be tested using the next generation of gravity-wave observatories.

We investigate a proto-neutron star kick velocity estimated from kinetic momentum of a flow around the proto-neutron star after the standing accretion shock instability grows. In this study, ten different types of random perturbations are imposed on the initial flow for each neutrino luminosity. We found that the kick velocities of proto-neutron star are widely distributed from 40 km s−1 to 180 km s−1 when the shock wave reaches 2000 km away from the center of the star. The average value of kick velocity is 115 km s−1, whose value is smaller than the observational ones. The kick velocities do not depend on the neutrino luminosity.

It has been theoretically predicted many decades ago that extremely massive stars that develop large oxygen cores will become dynamically unstable, due to electron-positron pair production. The collapse of such oxygen cores leads to powerful thermonuclear explosions that unbind the star and can produce, in some cases, many solar masses of radioactive 56Ni. For many years, no examples of this process were observed in nature. Here, I briefly review recent observations of luminous supernovae that likely result from pair-instability explosions, in the nearby and distant Universe.

The repository of GRB (gamma-ray burst) observations made by the Swift X-ray Telescope, now consisting of over 650 bursts, is a valuable and unique resource for the study of GRB X-ray emission. The observed soft X-ray spectrum typically arises from an underlying power law continuum, absorbed by gas along the line-of-sight. However, particularly at early times in a burst's evolution the continuum emission is not always understood and may comprise multiple components including thermal emission unexpected in the standard model. A thermal X-ray component has been discovered in two very unusual GRBs, perhaps suggesting an association only with this subset of events. However, evidence exists for thermal emission from more typical examples and here we present a new discovery of one such case and describe a systematic search for thermal components among all early GRB X-ray spectra.

We investigate the propagation of accretion-powered jets in various types of progenitor candidates of GRBs. We perform two dimensional axisymmetric simulations of relativistic hydrodynamics taking into account both the envelope collapse and the jet propagation. In our simulations, the accretion rate is estimated by the mass flux going through the inner boundary, and the jet is injected with a constant accretion-to-jet conversion efficiency η. By varying the efficiency η and opening angle θop for more than 30 models, we find that the jet can make a relativistic breakout from all types of progenitors for GRBs if a simple condition η ≳ 10−3 (θop/20°)2 is satisfied, that is consistent with analytical estimates, otherwise no explosion or some failed spherical explosions occur.

Gamma-Ray Bursts are likely associated with a catastrophic energy release in stellar mass objects. Electromagnetic observations provide important, but indirect information on the progenitor. On the other hand, gravitational waves emitted from the central source, carry direct information on its nature. In this context, I give an overview of the multi-messenger study of gamma-ray bursts that can be carried out by using electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations. I also underline the importance of joint electromagnetic and gravitational wave searches, in the absence of a gamma-ray trigger. Finally, I discuss how multi-messenger observations may probe alternative gamma-ray burst progenitor models, such as the magnetar scenario.

The Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission (GRXE) spectrum has strong iron emission lines at 6.4, 6.7, and 7.0 keV, each corresponding to the neutral (or low-ionized), He-like, and H-like iron ions. The 6.4 keV fluorescence line is due to irradiation of neutral (or low ionized) material (iron) by hard X-ray sources, indicating uniform presence of the cold matter in the Galactic plane. In order to resolve origin of the cold fluorescent matter, we examined the contribution of the 6.4 keV line emission from white dwarf surfaces in the hard X-ray emitting symbiotic stars (hSSs) and magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs) to the GRXE. In our spectral analysis of 4 hSSs and 19 mCVs observed with Suzaku, we were able to resolve the three iron emission lines. We found that the equivalent-widths (EWs) of the 6.4 keV lines of hSSs are systematically higher than those of mCVs, such that the average EWs of hSSs and mCVs are 180−10+50 eV and 93−3+20 eV, respectively. The EW of hSSs compares favorably with the typical EWs of the 6.4 keV line in the GRXE of 90–300 eV depending on Galactic positions. Average 6.4 keV line luminosities of the hSSs and mCVs are 9.2 × 1039 and 1.6 × 1039 photons s−1, respectively, indicating that hSSs are intrinsically more efficient 6.4 keV line emitters than mCVs. We estimated required space densities of hSSs and mCVs to account for all the GRXE 6.4 keV line emission flux to be 2 × 10−7 pc−3 and 1 × 10−6 pc−3, respectively. We also estimated the actual 6.4 keV line contribution from the hSSs, which is as much as 30% of the observed GRXE flux, and that from the mCV is about 50%. We therefore conclude that the GRXE 6.4 keV line flux is primarily explained by hSSs and mCVs.

Massive stars end their life with the gravitational collapse of their core and the formation of a neutron star. Their explosion as a supernova depends on the revival of a spherical accretion shock, located in the inner 200km and stalled during a few hundred milliseconds. Numerical simulations suggest that the large scale asymmetry of the neutrino-driven explosion is induced by a hydrodynamical instability named SASI. Its non radial character is able to influence the kick and the spin of the resulting neutron star. The SWASI experiment is a simple shallow water analog of SASI, where the role of acoustic waves and shocks is played by surface waves and hydraulic jumps. Distances in the experiment are scaled down by a factor one million, and time is slower by a factor one hundred. This experiment is designed to illustrate the asymmetric nature of core-collapse supernova.

We perform a set of neutrino-driven core-collapse supernova (CCSN) simulations studying the hydrodynamical neutron star kick mechanism in three-dimensions. Our simulations produce neutron star (NS) kick velocities in a range between ~100-600 km/s resulting mainly from the anisotropic gravitational tug by the asymmetric mass distribution behind the supernova shock. This stochastic kick mechanism suggests that a NS kick velocity of more than 1000 km/s may as well be possible. An enhanced production of heavy elements in the direction roughly opposite to the NS recoil direction is also observed as a result of the asymmetric explosion. This large scale asymmetry might be detectable and can be used to constrain the NS kick mechanism.

We review the results of very early phase optical follow-up observations of recent gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with the multi-color optical telescopes “MITSuME”. The MITSuME telescopes were designed to perform “real time” and “automatic” follow-up observations prompted by the GCN alerts via the Internet. The rapidly slewing equatorial mounts allow MITSuME to start photometric observations within 100 seconds after the trigger for several GRBs. In particular, we detected a brightening just after the trigger for two GRBs. These phenomena could be interpreted as the “on-set” of afterglow. In this paper we summarize these optical observations with a brief interpretation.

We present photometry and spectroscopy of the peculiar Type II supernova SN 2010jp, also named PTF10aaxi. The light curve exhibits a linear decline with a relatively low peak absolute magnitude of only −15.9 (unfiltered), and a low radioactive decay luminosity at late times that suggests a low synthesized nickel mass of about 0.003 M⊙ or less. Spectra of SN 2010jp display an unprecedented triple-peaked Hα line profile, showing: (1) a narrow central component that suggests shock interaction with a dense circumstellar medium (CSM); (2) high-velocity blue and red emission features centered at −12,600 and +15,400 km s−1; and (3) very broad wings extending from −22,000 to +25,000 km s−1. We propose that this line profile indicates a bipolar jet-driven explosion, with the central component produced by normal SN ejecta and CSM interaction at mid and low latitudes, while the high-velocity bumps and broad line wings arise in a nonrelativistic bipolar jet. Jet-driven SNe II are predicted for collapsars resulting from a wide range of initial masses above 25 M⊙, especially at the sub-solar metallicity consistent with the SN host environment. It also seems consistent with the apparently low 56Ni mass that may accompany black hole formation. We speculate that the jet survives to produce observable signatures because the star's H envelope was very low mass, having been mostly stripped away by the previous eruptive mass loss.