The Type Ib/c Supernova, Gamma-Ray Burst, Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater, Magnetar Connection

Abstract

The polarization of core-collapse supernovae shows that many if not all of these explosions must be strongly bi-polar. The most obvious way to produce this axial symmetry is by the imposition of a jet as an intrinsic part of the explosion process. These jets could arise by MHD processes in the formation of pulsars and be especially strong in the case of magnetars. The jets will blow iron-peak material out along the axes and other elements from the progenitor along the equator, a very different composition structure than pictured in simple spherical "onion skin" models. In extreme cases, these processes could lead to the production of gamma-ray bursts powered by strong Poynting flux.