Relativistic Jets in Core Collapse Supernovae

Tsvi Piran, Ehud Nakar, Paolo Mazzali, Elena Pian

Published 2017-04-26Version 1

After several decades of extensive research the mechanism driving core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) is still unclear. A common mechanism is a neutrino driven outflow, but others have been proposed. Among those, a long-standing idea is that jets play an important role in SN explosions. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that accompany rare and powerful CCSNe, sometimes called "hypernovae", provide a clear evidence for a jet activity. The relativistic GRB jet punches a hole in the stellar envelope and produces the observed gamma-rays far outside the progenitor star. While SNe and jets coexist in long GRBs, the relation between the mechanisms driving the hypernova and the jet is unknown. Also unclear is the relation between the rare hypernovae and the more common CCSNe. Here we {present observational evidence that indicates} that choked jets are active in CCSNe types that are not associated with GRBs. A choked jet deposits all its energy in a cocoon. The cocoon eventually breaks out from the star releasing energetic material at very high, yet sub-relativistic, velocities. This fast moving material has a unique signature that can be detected in early time SN spectra. We find a clear evidence for this signature in several CCSNe, all involving progenitors that have lost all, or most, of their hydrogen envelope prior to the explosion. These include CCSNe that don't harbor GRBs or any other relativistic outflows. Our findings suggest a continuum of central engine activities in different types of CCSNe and call for rethinking of the explosion mechanism of regular CCSNe