Nucleosynthesis of Pop III and Fe-enriched Pop II Pair-Instability Supernovae
Abstract
Recently discovered very metal-poor (VMP) star LAMOST J1010+2358 shows a peculiar abundance pattern that is remarkably well fit by a Pop III pair-instability supernova (PISN) of ≃ 260 M⊙. Motivated by this, we investigate the nucleosynthetic characteristics of Pop III and Pop II PISNe to provide theoretical constraints for future observations. This paper is divided into two parts. First, we explore the evolution and nucleosynthesis of Pop III PISNe with initial masses of 130 - 300 M⊙. Our main aim is to investigate how the uncertainty in 12C(α,γ)16O and 16O+16O reaction rates affect their explosion properties and nucleosynthesis. We find that the yields of odd-Z elements are particularly sensitive to the 12C(α,γ)16O rate, while the production of Fe-peak elements shows significant sensitivity to both rates. Second, we investigate the nucleosynthetic features of Pop II PISNe formed in gas enriched exclusively by Pop III PISN ejecta. By employing a time-dependent convection model during the explosion, we demonstrate that metal enrichment increases opacity and triggers vigorous convective mixing. This hydrodynamic effect significantly enhances the explosion energy and 56Ni production. Consequently, Pop II PISNe exhibit distinct chemical signatures, including a weaker odd-even effect and enhanced Zn-Ge production, providing unique diagnostics for identifying PISN remnants in the early Universe.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{xin2026nucleosynthesis,
title = {{Nucleosynthesis of Pop III and Fe-enriched Pop II Pair-Instability Supernovae}},
author = {Wenyu Xin and Ken'ichi Nomoto and Chun-Ming Yip and Xianfei Zhang and Qian-Fan Xing and Shaolan Bi and Gang Zhao},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.10612},
eprint = {2607.10612},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.10612},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Nucleosynthesis of Pop III and Fe-enriched Pop II Pair-Instability Supernovae
AU - Wenyu Xin
AU - Ken'ichi Nomoto
AU - Chun-Ming Yip
AU - Xianfei Zhang
AU - Qian-Fan Xing
AU - Shaolan Bi
AU - Gang Zhao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/12
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.10612
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.10612
AB - Recently discovered very metal-poor (VMP) star LAMOST J1010+2358 shows a peculiar abundance pattern that is remarkably well fit by a Pop III pair-instability supernova (PISN) of ≃ 260 M_⊙. Motivated by this, we investigate the nucleosynthetic characteristics of Pop III and Pop II PISNe to provide theoretical constraints for future observations. This paper is divided into two parts. First, we explore the evolution and nucleosynthesis of Pop III PISNe with initial masses of 130 - 300 M_⊙. Our main aim is to investigate how the uncertainty in ^12C(α,γ)^16O and ^16O+^16O reaction rates affect their explosion properties and nucleosynthesis. We find that the yields of odd-Z elements are particularly sensitive to the ^12C(α,γ)^16O rate, while the production of Fe-peak elements shows significant sensitivity to both rates. Second, we investigate the nucleosynthetic features of Pop II PISNe formed in gas enriched exclusively by Pop III PISN ejecta. By employing a time-dependent convection model during the explosion, we demonstrate that metal enrichment increases opacity and triggers vigorous convective mixing. This hydrodynamic effect significantly enhances the explosion energy and ^56Ni production. Consequently, Pop II PISNe exhibit distinct chemical signatures, including a weaker odd-even effect and enhanced Zn-Ge production, providing unique diagnostics for identifying PISN remnants in the early Universe.
ER -