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Small Progenitors, Large Couplings: Type Ic Supernova Constraints on Radiatively Decaying Particles

Francisco R. Candón1,2,*, Damiano F. G. Fiorillo3,4,5,†, Hans-Thomas Janka6,‡, Bart F. A. van Baal7,§, and Edoardo Vitagliano8,9,║

  • *Contact author: francisco.candon@tu-dortmund.de
  • †Contact author: damiano.fiorillo@gssi.it
  • ‡Contact author: thj@mpa-garching.mpg.de
  • §Contact author: barteld.vbaal@astro.su.se
  • ║Contact author: edoardo.vitagliano@unipd.it
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 061004 – Published 6 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/d562-j1yz

Abstract

Supernova (SN) 1987A provides classic bounds on gamma-ray flashes from the radiative decay of sub-GeV particles, but the latter may decay so rapidly as to be shielded by the stellar envelope. Using axionlike particles with photon coupling as a benchmark, we show that Type Ic core-collapse supernovae largely evade this attenuation due to their compact progenitors. We identify two regimes. At small couplings, while individual flashes may be missed by Fermi-LAT, the high Type Ic rate enables a stacking analysis of nondetections. At larger couplings, decay photons trigger fireball formation; the absence of a signal from the rare broad-lined Type Ic SN 1998bw excludes this scenario. The resulting bounds significantly exceed those from SN 1987A for short decay lengths.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 061004– Published 6 August, 2026
  • Received 15 October 2025
  • Accepted 10 July 2026
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