Supernovae with two maximums in the bolometric light curve

Abstract

The growth in the observational strategies of optical surveys is reshaping the panorama of transient astronomy, which allows supernovae (SNe) to be identified and studied since their earliest stages, in phases that provide valuable information about the exploding star. For this reason, there are more frequent cases in which the detected emission challenges the existing models, making necessary to explore alternative explanations. Regarding the SNe that present a light curve (LC) with two clearly defined maximums in the bolometric luminosity, it is found in the literature that the morphology observed in both peaks is quite diverse, as well as the physical reasons that could cause it. One possibility that was originally introduced to explain the LC shape of SN2005bf is that a double distribution of the radioactive nickel, $^{56}$Ni, forms in the material to be ejected. In this study we assume a simple parametric form for the location of that isotope in two separate layers and we analyze the behavior of the LC due to the variation of this profile applying a 1D radiative-hydrodynamic code. We are interested in the applicability of this model to SNe with normal brightness, in stars that have already lost the hydrogen-rich envelope. We present the fit of synthetic LCs to a set of SNe for which this model can be applied and discuss in which other cases this scenario is less favourable.