Supernova Shock Breakout from a Red Supergiant
Résumé
Massive stars undergo a violent death when the supply of nuclear fuel in their cores is exhausted, resulting in a catastrophic `core-collapse' supernova. Such events are usually detected long after the star has exploded. Here we report the first detection of the radiative precursor from a supernova shock before it has reached the surface of a star followed by the initial expansion of the star at the beginning of the explosion. Theoretical models of the ultraviolet light curve show that the progenitor was a red supergiant, as expected for this type of supernova. These observations provide a promising and novel way to probe the physics of core-collapse supernovae and the internal structures of their progenitors.