# Black Hole Emergence in Supernovae

## Introduction

Theory suggests that the compact object formed in a core-collapse supernova can be either a neutron star or a black hole, depending on the character of the progenitor and the details of the explosion Fryer-here . The presence of several radio pulsars in sites of known supernovae provides substantial observational evidence that neutron stars are indeed created in supernovae, but similar evidence for a black hole - supernova connection is still mostly unavailable (see Israelian99  for recent indirect evidence).

A newly formed black hole in a supernova can be identified directly if it imposes an observable effect on the continuous emission of light that follows the explosion - the light curve. In particular, if some material from the bottom of the expanding envelope remains gravitationally bound to the black hole, it will gradually fall back onto it, generating an accretion luminosity ZCSW98 . The black hole can be said to “emerge” in the supernova light curve if and when this luminosity becomes comparable to the other sources that power the light curve.

## Black Hole Emergence in the Light Curve

Since the material which remains bound to the black hole following a supernova is outflowing in an overall expansion, the accretion rate must decrease in time. The expansion will also cause pressure forces to become unimportant eventually, and the accretion will proceed as dust-like, following a power-law decline in time according to $`\dot{M}t^{5/3}`$ CSW96 . As shown in ZCSW98 , the accretion flow and the radiation field proceed as a sequence quasi-steady-states, and the accretion luminosity can therefore be estimated according to the formula of Blondin Blondin86  for stationary, spherical, hypercritical accretion onto a black hole ($`L\dot{M}^{5/6}`$). The accretion luminosity then takes the form ZCSW98 ; ZSC98 ; BSZ99 :

$$L_{acc}(t)L_{acc,0}t^{25/18},$$
(1)   
where $`L_{acc,0}`$ depends on the kinetic energy, density and composition of the accreting material at the onset of dust-like flow.

Heating by decays of radioactive elements synthesized in the explosion may provide a significant source of luminosity in the late-time light curve. The time dependence of radioactive heating rate for an isotope $`X`$ may be estimated as Woosleyal89 

$$Q_X(t)=M_X\epsilon _Xf_{X,\gamma }(t)\text{e}^{t/\tau _X},$$
(2)   
where $`M_X`$ is the total mass of the isotope $`X`$ in the envelope, $`\tau _X`$ is the isotope’s life time, and $`\epsilon _X`$ is the initial energy generation rate per unit mass. The factor $`f_{X,\gamma }(t)`$ reflects that not all $`\gamma `$rays emitted in the decays are efficiently trapped in the envelope (and so do not contribute to the UVOIR luminosity).

Since accretion luminosity decreases as a power law in time while radioactive heating declines exponentially, then - assuming that spherical accretion persists - the accretion luminosity must eventually become the dominant source in the light curve. Furthermore, the non-exponential character of the accretion luminosity should be readily distinguishable in observations, announcing that the black hole has “emerged” in the light curve.

## Realistic Supernovae

The typical amount of radioactive elements observed in type II supernovae suggests that an observation of black hole emergence in the light curve will usually be impractical. For example, luminosity due to accretion onto a hypothetical black hole in SN1987A would become comparable to the heating rate due to positron emission in <sup>44</sup>Ti decays only $`900`$years after the explosion. At this time the luminosity will have dropped to only $`10^{32}\text{ergs}\text{s}^1`$ ZCSW98 .

An important exception is expected in the case of higher mass progenitors, $`M_{}=2540M_{}`$. Explosions of such stars are likely to involve significant early fallback even while the explosion is still proceeding. The survey of Woosley and Weaver WoosWeav95  suggests that, in general, larger mass stars leave behind larger remnants and expel a smaller amount of radioactive isotopes (since these are synthesized in the deepest layers of the envelope, and a significant fraction is advected back onto the collapsed core). Clearly, for such an explosion, there is likely to be a larger reservoir of bound material for late time accretion, so that combined with the low background of radioactive isotopes, an actual detection of black hole emergence may become feasible. We have recently conducted a numerical investigation of the expected emergence of a black hole in such supernovae BSZ99 . This investigation was carried out with the spherical, fully relativistic radiation-hydrodynamics code described in ZCSW98 , modified to include a variable chemical composition with a detailed photon opacity table, and to account for radioactive heating.

### Black Hole Emergence in “Radioactive-Free” Supernovae

The most favorable case for identifying black hole emergence in supernova would be a low-to-medium energy ($`1.3\times 10^{51}`$ergs) explosion of a progenitor star with a mass of $`3540M_{}`$, where the ejected envelope is expected to be practically free of radioactive isotopes WoosWeav95 . For such supernovae, the black hole should emerge within a few tens of days after the explosion. As an example, we show in Fig. 2 the calculated light curve of such an explosion, based on the theoretical model S35A of WoosWeav95  ($`M_{}=35M_{},M_{BH}=7.5M_{}`$). The luminosity at emergence is $`10^{37}\text{ergs}\text{s}^1`$, after which the light curve clearly follows a power law decline in time. If such a supernova were observed, it would offer an explicit opportunity to confirm the presence of a newly formed black hole ZCSW98 .

### SN1997D

While such an ideal candidate is not available at present, SN1997D may provide a marginally observable case for idenfying the emergence of a black hole. Discovered on January 14, 1997 in the galaxy NGC 1536, SN1997D is the most sub-luminous type II supernova ever recorded. Through an analysis of the light curve and spectra, Turatto et al. Turatto98  suggested that the supernova was a low energy explosion, $`4\times 10^{50}`$ergs, of a $`26M_{}`$ star. The observed late-time light curve (up to 416 days after the explosion) is consistent with only $`0.002M_{}`$ of <sup>56</sup>Co in the ejected envelope, much lower than the $`0.1M_{}`$ typical of most type II supernova ($`0.075M_{}`$ in SN1987A). In a preliminary investigation, Zampieri et al. ZSC98  pointed out that the $`3M_{}`$ black hole (prdecited for this model) may emerge in SN1997D as early as $`3`$years after the explosion, with an accretion luminosity ranging between $`10^{35}`$ to as much as $`5\times 10^{36}\text{ergs}\text{s}^1`$.

Our calculated light curve for SN1997D based on the best-fit post-explosion model of Turatto98  is shown in Fig. 2. The earlier part of the light curve is in good agreement with the observed data, while at a later time we find that the black hole emerges about 1050 days after the explosion \- which corresponds to late 1999 - NOW!. Figure 2 compares the heating due to the isotopes <sup>56</sup>Co, <sup>57</sup>Co and <sup>44</sup>Ti to the accretion luminosity. Note that radioactive heating (especially <sup>44</sup>Ti) is never negligible with respect to the accretion luminosity, so the total luminosity does not fall off as an exact power law. Nonetheless, the presence of the black hole could still be inferred by attempting to decompose the total light curve.

In this calculation, the total luminosity at emergence is about $`7\times 10^{35}\text{ergs}\text{s}^1`$. However, this luminosity is dependent on the finer details of the initial profile, which are difficult to constrain from the early light curve. Considering these uncertainties and those regarding the abundances of <sup>57</sup>Co and <sup>44</sup>Ti, we find through a revised analytical estimates (which account for $`\gamma `$-ray transparency and Eddington-rate limits on the accretion flow), that while the time of emergence is fairly well determined, the plausible range for the luminosity at emergence is $`0.52\times 10^{36}\text{ergs}\text{s}^1`$. One example, where the luminosity at emergence is $`1.4\times 10^{36}\text{ergs}\text{s}^1`$ is also shown in Fig. 2. In this case, the accretion luminosity is sufficiently high that contribution of radioactive heating does not cause any significant deviation from a power-law decay. We estimate that such a luminosity is still marginally detectable ($`m_v29`$) with the HST STIS camera, so that if observed, SN1997D could provide first direct observational evidence of black hole formation in supernova within the next year.