Shock Breakout in Three-dimensional Red Supergiant Envelopes

Using Athena++, we perform 3D radiation-hydrodynamic calculations of the radiative breakout of the shock wave in the outer envelope of a red supergiant (RSG) that has suffered core collapse and will become a Type IIP supernova. The intrinsically 3D structure of the fully convective RSG envelope yields key differences in the brightness and duration of the shock breakout (SBO) from that predicted in a 1D stellar model. First, the lower-density halo of material outside of the traditional photosphere in 3D models leads to a shock breakout at lower densities than 1D models. This would prolong the duration of the shock breakout flash at any given location on the surface to approximate to 1-2 hr. However, we find that the even larger impact is the intrinsically 3D effect associated with large-scale fluctuations in density that cause the shock to break out at different radii at different times. This substantially prolongs the SBO duration to approximate to 3-6 hr and implies a diversity of radiative temperatures, as different patches across the stellar surface are at different stages of their radiative breakout and cooling at any given time. These predicted durations are in better agreement with existing observations of SBO. The longer durations lower the predicted luminosities by a factor of 3-10 (L (bol) similar to 10(44) erg s(-1)), and we derive the new scalings of brightness and duration with explosion energies and stellar properties. These intrinsically 3D properties eliminate the possibility of using observed rise times to measure the stellar radius via light-travel time effects.

Automated summary

Using Athena++, a 3D radiation-hydrodynamic calculation of the radiative breakout of a red supergiant's outer envelope shows key differences in brightness and duration compared to a 1D model. The 3D structure of the envelope leads to lower-density shock breakouts and large-scale fluctuations in density that cause the shock to break out at different radii and times. These intrinsic 3D properties result in longer shock breakout durations and lower predicted luminosities.