Abstract
TO explain why the progenitor of supernova 1987A exploded as a blue supergiant star, models of stellar evolution require that there must have been extensive mixing into the hydrogen-rich envelope of materials from deeper, helium-rich regions1–3. Estimates of the helium abundance in the outer layers, which can be obtained from infrared spectroscopy of the stellar wind from the progenitor, can help to determine the extent of the mixing. The initial ultraviolet flash from the surface of supernova 1987A ionized the circumstellar gas to produce narrow emission lines, which were first seen at ultraviolet wavelengths4 where the supernova's photospheric emission quickly faded. Later, optical lines were also reported5. The ultraviolet lines indicated electron densities of ∼104cm−3, far greater than expected for the wind shed by the precursor star, Sk –69 202, in either its blue supergiant or preceding red supergiant phase6. However, the interaction of the two winds could produce a shell of the requisite density7,8. From observations of the infrared helium triplet at 1,083 nm we infer that the red supergiant wind was strongly asymmetric and that part of it had a high helium abundance.
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Allen, D., Meikle, W. & Spyromilio, J. Helium abundance and asymmetry in the wind from the precursor to supernova 1987A. Nature 342, 403–405 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342403a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/342403a0
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