Progenitor Mass Distribution of Core-collapse Supernova Remnants in Our Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds Based on Elemental Abundances

Abstract

We investigate a progenitor mass distribution of core-collapse supernova remnants (CCSNRs) in our Galaxy and Large and Small Magellanic Clouds for the first time. We count the number of CCSNRs in three mass ranges divided by the zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) mass, M ZAMS ; A: M ZAMS  < 15 M ⊙ , B: 15 M ⊙  <  M ZAMS  < 22.5 M ⊙ , C: M ZAMS  > 22.5 M ⊙ . A simple compilation of progenitor masses in the literature yields a progenitor mass distribution of f A : f B : f C  = 0.27:0.27:0.46, where f is the number fraction of the progenitors. The distribution is inconsistent with any standard initial mass functions (IMFs). We notice, however, that previous mass estimates are subject to large systematic uncertainties because most of the relative abundances (X/Si) are not good probes for the progenitor masses. Instead, we rely only on the Fe/Si ratio, which is sensitive to the CO core mass ( M COcore ) and M ZAMS . Comparing Fe/Si ratios in SN remnants in the literature with the newest theoretical model, we estimate 33 M COcore and M ZAMS , leading to a revised progenitor mass distribution of f A : f B : f C  = 0.47:0.32:0.21. This is consistent with the standard Salpeter IMF. However, the relation between M COcore and M ZAMS could be affected by binary evolution, which is not taken into account in this study and should be considered in future work to derive a better progenitor mass distribution estimate.