Neutron star-companion interaction in core collapse supernovae. Population synthesis based on detailed binary evolution models
Abstract
Most massive stars live in binary systems. When the first supernova (SN) in a binary occurs, the ejecta hit the companion, which may inflate as a consequence, and then interact with the newly formed compact object. The recent Type Ic SN2022jli shows a periodic modulation in its emission, which is interpreted as evidence for such interaction. We derive predictions for the occurrence rate and observables of SNe exhibiting these companion - compact-object interactions (CCIs). We analyze a comprehensive, state-of-the-art grid of detailed binary stellar evolution models, and implement analytic prescriptions for the expansion of the companion star following its interaction with the SN ejecta. We employ the newly developed population synthesis code SN-ORACLE to derive the distribution functions of the properties of the SNe affected by CCI and their companions, where we use different explodability and neutron star birth kick distributions. We find that periodic CCI is expected to occur in more than half of the binary systems that produce a hydrogen-poor core-collapse SN and are not disrupted, while the occurrence rate in systems producing hydrogen-rich SNe is small. We find broad period ranges, peaking around 20-50 days, with the interaction lasting for 0.5-10 years. We identify specific binary evolution models that reproduce the observed period of the light curve undulations of SN2022jli, SN2015ap, and SN2022esa. The inflation of the companion also increases its luminosity and brightness, increasing its detectability with current instruments. For SN2022jli, our best-fit models predict a J-band magnitude of 21-23 for up to 10 years. We find that up to 27% of H-poor SNe could show periodicity in their light curves, while only a few such events have been identified so far. Our results may help find periodic CCI features in future and archival SN observations.
Related
- Population demographics of post-interaction WDMS binaries: From common envelope evolution to stable mass transfer
- Evolution of Massive Main-Sequence Stars in Binary Population Synthesis. II. Consequences for Black Hole High-Mass X-ray Binaries and Binary Black Holes
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- Flashing with colours: Photometric indicators of an early interaction in type II supernovae
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BibTeX
@misc{ercolino2026neutron,
title = {{Neutron star-companion interaction in core collapse supernovae. Population synthesis based on detailed binary evolution models}},
author = {Andrea Ercolino and Norbert Langer and Avishay Gal-Yam and Abel Schootemeijer and Caroline Mannes and Harim Jin and Ruggero Valli and Selma de Mink and Luc Dessart},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.21062},
eprint = {2605.21062},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.21062},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Neutron star-companion interaction in core collapse supernovae. Population synthesis based on detailed binary evolution models
AU - Andrea Ercolino
AU - Norbert Langer
AU - Avishay Gal-Yam
AU - Abel Schootemeijer
AU - Caroline Mannes
AU - Harim Jin
AU - Ruggero Valli
AU - Selma de Mink
AU - Luc Dessart
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.21062
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.21062
AB - Most massive stars live in binary systems. When the first supernova (SN) in a binary occurs, the ejecta hit the companion, which may inflate as a consequence, and then interact with the newly formed compact object. The recent Type Ic SN2022jli shows a periodic modulation in its emission, which is interpreted as evidence for such interaction. We derive predictions for the occurrence rate and observables of SNe exhibiting these companion - compact-object interactions (CCIs). We analyze a comprehensive, state-of-the-art grid of detailed binary stellar evolution models, and implement analytic prescriptions for the expansion of the companion star following its interaction with the SN ejecta. We employ the newly developed population synthesis code SN-ORACLE to derive the distribution functions of the properties of the SNe affected by CCI and their companions, where we use different explodability and neutron star birth kick distributions. We find that periodic CCI is expected to occur in more than half of the binary systems that produce a hydrogen-poor core-collapse SN and are not disrupted, while the occurrence rate in systems producing hydrogen-rich SNe is small. We find broad period ranges, peaking around 20-50 days, with the interaction lasting for 0.5-10 years. We identify specific binary evolution models that reproduce the observed period of the light curve undulations of SN2022jli, SN2015ap, and SN2022esa. The inflation of the companion also increases its luminosity and brightness, increasing its detectability with current instruments. For SN2022jli, our best-fit models predict a J-band magnitude of 21-23 for up to 10 years. We find that up to 27% of H-poor SNe could show periodicity in their light curves, while only a few such events have been identified so far. Our results may help find periodic CCI features in future and archival SN observations.
ER -