Near-Earth Supernova Explosions: Evidence, Implications, and Opportunities
Abstract
There is now solid experimental evidence of at least one supernova explosion within 100 pc of Earth within the last few million years, from measurements of the short-lived isotope 60Fe in widespread deep-ocean samples, as well as in the lunar regolith and cosmic rays. This is the first established example of a specific dated astrophysical event outside the Solar System having a measurable impact on the Earth, offering new probes of stellar evolution, nuclear astrophysics, the astrophysics of the solar neighborhood, cosmic-ray sources and acceleration, multi-messenger astronomy, and astrobiology. Interdisciplinary connections reach broadly to include heliophysics, geology, and evolutionary biology. Objectives for the future include pinning down the nature and location of the established near-Earth supernova explosions, seeking evidence for others, and searching for other short-lived isotopes such as 26Al and 244Pu. The unique information provided by geological and lunar detections of radioactive 60Fe to assess nearby supernova explosions make now a compelling time for the astronomy community to advocate for supporting multi-disciplinary, cross-cutting research programs.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1903.04589,
title = {Near-Earth Supernova Explosions: Evidence, Implications, and Opportunities},
author = {Brian D. Fields and John R. Ellis and Walter R. Binns and Dieter Breitschwerdt and Georgia A. de Nolfo and Roland Diehl and Vikram V. Dwarkadas and Adrienne Ertel and Thomas Faestermann and Jenny Feige and Caroline Fitoussi and Priscilla Frisch and David Graham and Brian Haley and Alexander Heger and Wolfgang Hillebrandt and Martin H. Israel and Thomas Janka and Michael Kachelriess and Gunther Korschinek and Marco Limongi and Maria Lugaro and Franciole Marinho and Adrian Melott and Richard A. Mewaldt and Jesse Miller and Ryan C. Ogliore and Michael Paul and Laura Paulucci and Mark Pecaut and Brian F. Rauch and Karl E. Rehm and Michael Schulreich and Ivo Seitenzahl and Mads Sorensen and Friedrich-Karl Thielemann and Francis X. Timmes and Brian C. Thomas and Anton Wallner},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1903.04589},
year = {2019}
}
Comments
11 pages, 2 figures. Astro2020 Science White Paper submitted to the 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics