44Ti gamma-ray emission lines from SN1987A reveal an asymmetric explosion

Abstract

In core-collapse supernovae, titanium-44 (44Ti) is produced in the innermost ejecta, in the layer of material directly on top of the newly formed compact object. As such, it provides a direct probe of the supernova engine. Observations of supernova 1987A (SN1987A) have resolved the 67.87- and 78.32-kilo-electron volt emission lines from decay of 44Ti produced in the supernova explosion. These lines are narrow and redshifted with a Doppler velocity of ∼700 kilometers per second, direct evidence of large-scale asymmetry in the explosion.