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We present extensively dense observations of the super-Chandrasekhar supernova (SC SN) candidate SN2012dn from -11 to +140 d after the date of its B-band maximum in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths conducted through the OISTER ToO (Optical and Infrared Synergetic Telescopes for Education and Research Target of Opportunity) program. The NIR light curves and color evolutions up to 35 days after the B-band maximum provided an excellent match with those of another SC SN 2009dc, providing further support to the nature of SN 2012dn as an SC SN. We found that SN 2012dn exhibited strong excesses in the NIR wavelengths from 30 d after the B-band maximum. The H- and Ks-band light curves exhibited much later maximum dates at 40 and 70 d after the B-band maximum, respectively, compared with those of normal SNe Ia. The H- and Ks-band light curves subtracted by those of SN2009dc displayed plateaued evolutions, indicating an NIR echo from the surrounding dust. The distance to the inner boundary of the dust shell is limited to 4.8-6.4 x 10-2 pc. No emission lines were found in its early phase spectra, suggesting that the ejecta-circumstellar material interaction could not occur. On the other hand, we found no signature that strongly supports the scenario of dust formation. The mass-loss rate of the pre-explosion system is estimated to be 10-6 - 10-5 M⊙ yr-1, assuming that the wind velocity of the system is 10-100 kms-1, which suggests that the progenitor of SN 2012dn could be a recurrent nova system. We conclude that the progenitor of this SC SN could be explained by the single-degenerate scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a newmethod for effectively selecting objects which may be low-mass active black holes (BHs) at galaxy centers using high-cadence optical imaging data, and our first spectroscopic identification of an active 2.7 × 106 M☉ BH at z = 0.164. This active BH was originally selected due to its rapid optical variability, from a few hours to a day, based on Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam g-band imaging data taken with a 1 hr cadence. Broad and narrow Hα lines and many other emission ones are detected in our optical spectra taken with Subaru FOCAS, and the BH mass is measured via the broad Hα emission line width (1880 kms-1) and luminosity (4.2 × 1040 erg s-1) after careful correction to the atmospheric absorption around 7580-7720 A° . We measure the Eddington ratio and find it to be as low as 0.05, considerably smaller than those in a previous SDSS sample with similar BH mass and redshift, which indicates one of the special potentials of our Subaru C survey. The g - r color and morphology of the extended component indicate that the host galaxy is a star-forming galaxy. We also show the effectiveness of our variability selection for low-mass active BHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapidly rotating neutron star with strong magnetic fields, called a magnetar, is a possible candidate for the central engine of long gamma-ray bursts and hypernovae (HNe). We solve the evolution of a shock wave driven by the wind from a magnetar and we evaluate the temperature evolution, by which we estimate the amount of 56Ni that produces the bright emission of HNe. We obtain a constraint on the magnetar parameters (i.e. the poloidal magnetic field strength Bp and initial angular velocity Ωi) for synthesizing enough 56Ni mass to explain HNe (... ≳ 0.2 M⊙), that is, (Bp/1016G)1/2 (Ωi/104rads-1) ≳ 0.7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the fraction of metal nuclei in the relativistic jets of gamma-ray bursts associated with core-collapse supernovae. We simulate the fallback in jet-induced explosions with two-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamics calculations and the jet acceleration with steady, radial, relativistic magnetohydrodynamics calculations, and derive the detailed nuclear composition of the jet by post-processing calculation. We found that if the temperature at the jet launch site is above 4.7 x 109 K, quasi-statistical equilibrium is established and heavy nuclei are dissociated into light particles such as 4He during the acceleration of the jets. The criterion for the survival of metal nuclei is written in terms of the isotropic jet luminosity as Ljiso ≲ 3.9 x 1050(Ri/107 cm)²(1 + σi) erg s-1, where Ri and σi are the initial radius of the jets and the initial magnetization parameter, respectively. If the jet is initially dominated by radiation field (i.e., σi << 1) and the isotropic luminosity is relatively high (Ljiso ≳ 4 x 1052 erg s-1), the metal nuclei cannot survive in the jet. On the other hand, if the jet is mainly accelerated by magnetic field (i.e., σi >> 1), metal nuclei initially contained in the jet can survive without serious dissociation even in the case of a high-luminosity jet. If the jet contains metal nuclei, the dominant nuclei are 28Si, 16O, and 32S and the mean mass number can be ~ 25. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present detailed chemical abundances for the bright carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) star BD+44°493, previously reported on by Ito et al.Our measurements confirm that BD+44°493 is an extremelymetal-poor ([Fe/H]= -3.8) subgiant star with excesses of carbon and oxygen. No significant excesses are found for nitrogen and neutroncapture elements (the latter of which place it in the CEMP-no class of stars). Other elements that we measure exhibit abundance patterns that are typical for non-CEMP extremely metal-poor stars. No evidence for variations of radial velocity has been found for this star. These results strongly suggest that the carbon enhancement in BD+44°493 is unlikely to have been produced by a companion asymptotic giant-branch star and transferred to the presently observed star, nor by pollution of its natal molecular cloud by rapidly-rotating, massive, mega metal-poor ([Fe/H]<-6.0) stars. A more likely possibility is that this star formed from gas polluted by the elements produced in a "faint" supernova, which underwent mixing and fallback, and only ejected small amounts of elements of metals beyond the lighter elements. The Li abundance of BD+44°493 (A(Li) = log(Li/H)+12 = 1.0) is lower than the Spite plateau value, as found in other metal-poor subgiants. The upper limit on Be abundance (A(Be) = log(Be/H)+12<-1.8) is as low as those found for stars with similarly extremely-low metallicity, indicating that the progenitors of carbon- (and oxygen-) enhanced stars are not significant sources of Be, or that Be is depleted in metal-poor subgiants with effective temperatures of ~5400 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\We propose an alternative explanation for the post-breakout emission of SN 2008D associated with the X-ray transient 080109. Observations of this object show a very small contrast of 0.35 dex between the light-curve minimum occurring soon after the breakout, and the main luminosity peak which is due to radioactive heating of the ejecta. Hydrodynamical models show that the cooling of a shocked Wolf-Rayet star leads to a much greater difference (≳0.9 dex). Our proposed scenario is that of a jet produced during the explosion which deposits 56Ni-rich material in the outer layers of the ejecta. The presence of high-velocity radioactive material allows us to reproduce the complete luminosity evolution of the object. Without outer 56Ni it could be possible to reproduce the early emission purely from cooling of the shocked envelope by assuming a larger progenitor than a Wolf-Rayet star, but that would require an initial density structure significantly different from what is predicted by stellar evolution models. Analytic models of the cooling phase have been proposed reproduce the early emission of SN 2008D with an extended progenitor. However, we found that the models are valid only until 1.5 days after the explosion where only two data of SN 2008D are available. We also discuss the possibility of the interaction of the ejecta with a binary companion, based on published analytic expressions. However, the binary separation required to fit the early emission should be ≲3R☉, which is too small for a system containing two massive stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a booming number of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered within a few days of their explosions, a fraction of SNe Ia that show luminosity excess in the early phase (early-excess SNe Ia) have been confirmed. In this article, we report early-phase observations of seven photometrically normal SNe Ia (six early detections and one deep non detection limit) at the COSMOS field through a half-year transient survey as a part of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC SSP). In particular, a blue light-curve excess was discovered for HSC17bmhk, a normal SN Ia with rise time longer than 18.8 days, during the first four days after the discovery. The blue early excess in optical wavelength can be explained not only by interactions with a nondegenerate companion or surrounding dense circumstellar matter but also radiation powered by radioactive decays of 56Ni at the surface of the SN ejecta. Given the growing evidence of the early-excess discoveries in normal SNe Ia that have longer rise times than the average, and a similarity in the nature of the blue excess to a luminous SN Ia subclass, we infer that early excess discovered in HSC17bmhk and other normal SNe Ia are most likely attributed to radioactive 56Ni decay at the surface of the SN ejecta. In order to successfully identify normal SNe Ia with early excess similar to that of HSC17bmhk, early UV photometries or high-cadence blue-band surveys are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform a high-cadence transient survey with the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), which we call the Subaru HSC survey Optimized for Optical Transients (SHOOT). We conduct HSC imaging observations with time intervals of about one hour on two successive nights, and spectroscopic and photometric follow-up observations. A rapidly declining blue transient SHOOT14di at z = 0.4229 is found in observations on two successive nights using an image-subtraction technique. The rate of brightness change is () in the observer (rest) frame and the rest-frame color between 3400 and 4400 Å is . The nature of the object is investigated by comparing its peak luminosity, decline rate, and color with those of transients and variables previously observed, and with those of theoretical models. None of the transients or variables share the same properties as SHOOT14di. Comparisons with theoretical models demonstrate that, while the emission from the cooling envelope of a SN IIb shows a slower decline rate than SHOOT14di, and the explosion of a red supergiant star with a dense circumstellar wind shows a redder color than SHOOT14di, the shock breakout at the stellar surface of the explosion of a red supergiant star with a small explosion energy of erg reproduces the multicolor light curve of SHOOT14di. This discovery shows that a high-cadence, multicolor optical transient survey at intervals of about one hour, and continuous and immediate follow-up observations, is important for studies of normal core-collapse supernovae at high redshifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report our observations of HSC16aayt (SN 2016jiu), which was discovered by the Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) transient survey conducted as part of the Subaru Strategic Program. It shows very slow photometric evolution and its rise time is more than 100 days. The optical magnitude change in 400 days remains within 0.6 mag. Spectra of HSC16aayt show a strong narrow emission line and we classify it as a Type IIn supernova. The redshift of HSC16aayt is 0.6814 ± 0.0002 from the spectra. Its host galaxy center is at 5 kpc from the supernova location and HSC16aayt might be another example of isolated Type IIn supernovae, although the possible existence of underlying star-forming activity of the host galaxy at the supernova location is not excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent supernova searches revealed a number of fast-evolving luminous transients. We perform radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of light curves of several models of supernova from super-asymptotic giant branch (super-AGB, SAGB) stars with low-mass envelopes (Menv ∼ 0.05–1.25 M⊙). The differences in the light curves found among the models are used to link the observed events to the most appropriate models. In particular, we propose that KSN 2015K is an electron-capture supernova. We assume an “optically” thick circumstellar medium (CSM) around SAGB and the circumstellar interaction powers the peak luminosity of the light curve with a short rise time. The faint tail might be influenced by the spin-down luminosity of a newborn Crab-like pulsar. Our fits indicate an ejecta mass of 0.02–0.05 M⊙, a CSM mass of 0.10–0.12 M⊙, a radius of the CSM photosphere ∼1014 cm, a kinetic energy of ∼3 × 1050 erg, a photospheric velocity vph ≳ 10,000 km s−1, and a pulsar total spin energy (2.5–4) × 1049 erg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present observational evidence that an aspherical supernova explosion could have occurred in the first stars in the early universe. Our results are based on the first determination of a Zn abundance in a Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph high-resolution UV spectrum of a hyper-metal-poor (HMP) star, HE 1327−2326, with . We determine [Zn/Fe] = 0.80 ± 0.25 from a UV Zn i line at 2138 Å, detected at 3.4σ. Yields of a 25 M⊙ aspherical supernova model with artificially modified densities exploding with E = 5 × 1051 erg best match the entire abundance pattern of HE 1327−2326. Such high-entropy hypernova explosions are expected to produce bipolar outflows, which could facilitate the external enrichment of small neighboring galaxies. This has already been predicted by theoretical studies of the earliest star-forming minihalos. Such a scenario would have significant implications for the chemical enrichment across the early universe, as HMP carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars such as HE 1327−2326 might have formed in such externally enriched environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present optical and near-infrared observations of the rapidly evolving supernova (SN) 2017czd that shows hydrogen features. The optical light curves exhibit a short plateau phase (∼13 days in the R-band) followed by a rapid decline by 4.5 mag ∼20 days after the plateau. The decline rate is larger than those of any standard SNe, and close to those of rapidly evolving transients. The peak absolute magnitude is −16.8 mag in the V band, which is within the observed range for SNe IIP and rapidly evolving transients. The spectra of SN 2017czd clearly show the hydrogen features and resemble those of SNe IIP at first. The Hα line, however, does not evolve much with time, and it becomes similar to those in SNe IIb at the decline phase. We calculate the synthetic light curves using a SN IIb progenitor that has 16 at the zero-age main sequence and evolves into a binary system. The model with a low explosion energy (5 × 1050 erg) and a low 56Ni mass () can reproduce the short plateau phase, as well as the sudden drop of the light curve, as observed in SN 2017czd. We conclude that SN 2017czd might be the first weak explosion identified from a SN IIb progenitor. We suggest that some rapidly evolving transients can be explained by such a weak progenitor explosion with a barely hydrogen-rich envelope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of an SN 1988Z–like type IIn supernova KISS15s found in a low-mass star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 0.038 during the course of the Kiso Supernova Survey (KISS). KISS15s shows long-duration optical continuum and emission line light curves, indicating that KISS15s is powered by a continuous interaction between the expanding ejecta and dense circumstellar medium (CSM). The Hα emission line profile can be decomposed into four Gaussians of narrow, intermediate, blueshifted intermediate, and broad velocity width components, with a full width at half maximum of ≲100, ∼2000, and ∼14,000 km s−1 for the narrow, intermediate, and broad components, respectively. The presence of the blueshifted intermediate component, of which the line-of-sight velocity relative to the systemic velocity is about −5000 km s−1, suggests that the ejecta-CSM interaction region has an inhomogeneous morphology and anisotropic expansion velocity. We found that KISS15s shows increasing infrared continuum emission, which can be interpreted as hot dust thermal emission of T ∼ 1200 K from newly formed dust in a cool, dense shell in the ejecta-CSM interaction region. The progenitor mass-loss rate, inferred from bolometric luminosity, is , where vw is the progenitor’s stellar wind velocity. This implies that the progenitor of KISS15s was a red supergiant star or a luminous blue variable that had experienced a large mass loss in the centuries before the explosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate a progenitor mass distribution of core-collapse supernova remnants (CCSNRs) in our Galaxy and Large and Small Magellanic Clouds for the first time. We count the number of CCSNRs in three mass ranges divided by the zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) mass, MZAMS; A: MZAMS < 15 M⊙, B: 15 M⊙ < MZAMS < 22.5 M⊙, C: MZAMS > 22.5 M⊙. A simple compilation of progenitor masses in the literature yields a progenitor mass distribution of fA : fB : fC = 0.27:0.27:0.46, where f is the number fraction of the progenitors. The distribution is inconsistent with any standard initial mass functions (IMFs). We notice, however, that previous mass estimates are subject to large systematic uncertainties because most of the relative abundances (X/Si) are not good probes for the progenitor masses. Instead, we rely only on the Fe/Si ratio, which is sensitive to the CO core mass (MCOcore) and MZAMS. Comparing Fe/Si ratios in SN remnants in the literature with the newest theoretical model, we estimate 33 MCOcore and MZAMS, leading to a revised progenitor mass distribution of fA : fB : fC = 0.47:0.32:0.21. This is consistent with the standard Salpeter IMF. However, the relation between MCOcore and MZAMS could be affected by binary evolution, which is not taken into account in this study and should be considered in future work to derive a better progenitor mass distribution estimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present optical and near-infrared observations of a low-luminosity (LL) Type IIP supernova (SN) 2016bkv from the initial rising phase to the plateau phase. Our observations show that the end of the plateau is extended to ≳140 days since the explosion, indicating that this SN takes one of the longest times to finish the plateau phase among Type IIP SNe (SNe IIP), including LL SNe IIP. The line velocities of various ions at the middle of the plateau phase are as low as 1000–1500 km s−1, which is the lowest even among LL SNe IIP. These measurements imply that the ejecta mass in SN 2016bkv is larger than that of the well-studied LL IIP SN 2003Z. In the early phase, SN 2016bkv shows a strong bump in the light curve. In addition, the optical spectra in this bump phase exhibit a blue continuum accompanied by a narrow Hα emission line. These features indicate an interaction between the SN ejecta and the circumstellar matter (CSM) as in SNe IIn. Assuming the ejecta–CSM interaction scenario, the mass loss rate is estimated to be yr−1 within a few years before the SN explosion. This is comparable to or even larger than the largest mass loss rate observed for the Galactic red supergiants ( yr−1 for VY CMa). We suggest that the progenitor star of SN 2016bkv experienced a violent mass loss just before the SN explosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The birth properties of neutron stars (NSs) yield important information about the still-debated physical processes that trigger the explosion as well as on intrinsic neutron-star physics. These properties include the high space velocities of young neutron stars with average values of several 100 km s−1, with an underlying “kick” mechanism that is not fully clarified. There are two competing possibilities that could accelerate NSs during their birth: anisotropic ejection of either stellar debris or neutrinos. Here we present new evidence from X-ray measurements that chemical elements between silicon and calcium in six young gaseous supernova remnants are preferentially expelled opposite to the direction of neutron star motion. There is no correlation between the kick velocities and magnetic field strengths of these neutron stars. Our results support a hydrodynamic origin of neutron-star kicks connected to asymmetric explosive mass ejection, and they conflict with neutron-star acceleration scenarios that invoke anisotropic neutrino emission caused by particle and nuclear physics in combination with very strong neutron-star magnetic fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-mass population III (PopIII) stars of could survive up until the present. The nondetection of low-mass PopIII stars in our Galaxy has already put a stringent constraint on the initial mass function (IMF) of PopIII stars, suggesting that PopIII stars have a top-heavy IMF. On the other hand, some claim that the lack of such stars stems from metal enrichment of their surfaces by the accretion of heavy elements from the interstellar medium (ISM). We investigate the effects of the stellar wind on metal accretion onto low-mass PopIII stars because accretion of the local ISM onto the Sun is prevented by the solar wind, even for neutrals. The stellar wind and radiation of low-mass PopIII stars are modeled based on knowledge of nearby low-mass stellar systems, including our Sun. We find that low-mass PopIII stars traveling across the Galaxy form a stellar magnetosphere in most of their life. Once the magnetosphere is formed, most of the neutral interstellar particles are photoionized before reaching the stellar surface and are blown away by the wind. Especially, the accretion abundance of iron will be reduced by a factor of compared with Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton accretion. The metal accretion can enhance iron abundance [Fe/H] only up to ∼−14. This demonstrates that low-mass PopIII stars remain pristine and will be found as metal-free stars and that further searches for them are valuable in constraining the IMF of PopIII stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of the first generation of stars and their supernova (SN) explosions remain unknown due to the lack of their actual observations. Pop III stars may have been very massive and predicted to be exploded as pair-instability SNe, but the observed metal-poor stars show the abundance patterns which are more consistent with yields of core-collapse SNe. We study the multicolor light curves for a metal-free core-collapse SN models (massive stars of 25- 100 solar mass range) to determine the indicators for the detection and identification of first generation SNe. We use mixing-fallback supernova explosion models which explain the observed abundance patterns of metal poor stars. Numerical calculations of the multicolor light curves are performed using the multigroup radiation hydrodynamic code STELLA. The calculated light curves of metal-free SNe are compared with our calculations of non-zero metallicity models and observed SNe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the number and the distribution of low-mass Population III (Pop III) stars in the Milky Way. In our numerical model, hierarchical formation of dark matter minihalos and Milky-Way-sized halos are followed by a high-resolution cosmological simulation. We model the Pop III formation in H2 cooling minihalos without metal under UV radiation of the Lyman–Werner bands. Assuming a Kroupa initial mass function (IMF) from 0.15 to 1.0 M⊙ for low-mass Pop III stars, as a working hypothesis, we try to constrain the theoretical models in reverse by current and future observations. We find that the survivors tend to concentrate on the center of halo and subhalos. We also evaluate the observability of Pop III survivors in the Milky Way and dwarf galaxies, and constraints on the number of Pop III survivors per minihalo. The higher latitude fields require lower sample sizes because of the high number density of stars in the galactic disk, the required sample sizes are comparable in the high- and middle-latitude fields by photometrically selecting low-metallicity stars with optimized narrow-band filters, and the required number of dwarf galaxies to find one Pop III survivor is less than 10 at <100 kpc for the tip of red giant stars. Provided that available observations have not detected any survivors, the formation models of low-mass Pop III stars with more than 10 stars per minihalo are already excluded. Furthermore, we discuss the way to constrain the IMF of Pop III stars at a high mass range of ≳10 M⊙. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of the first generation of stars and their supernova (SN) explosions remain unknown due to the lack of actual observations. Recently, many transient surveys have been conducted and the feasibility of detecting supernovae (SNe) of Pop III stars is growing. In this paper, we study the multicolor light curves for a number of metal-free core-collapse SN models (25–100 ) to determine the indicators for the detection and identification of first generation SNe. We use mixing-fallback supernova explosion models that explain the observed abundance patterns of metal-poor stars. Numerical calculations of the multicolor light curves are performed using the multigroup radiation hydrodynamic code stella. The calculated light curves of metal-free SNe are compared with non-zero-metallicity models and several observed SNe. We have found that the shock breakout characteristics, the evolution of the photosphere’s velocity, the luminosity, and the duration and color evolution of the plateau, that is, all of the SN phases from shock breakout to 56Co decay, are helpful for estimating the parameters of the SN progenitor: the mass, the radius, the explosion energy, and the metallicity. We conclude that the multicolor light curves could potentially be used to identify first-generation SNe in current (Subaru/HSC) and future transient surveys (LSST, James Webb Space Telescope). They are also suitable for identifying low-metallicity SNe in the nearby universe (PTF, Pan-STARRS, Gaia). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present rapidly rising transients discovered by a high-cadence transient survey with the Subaru telescope and Hyper Suprime-Cam. We discovered five transients at z = 0.384–0.821, showing a rate of rise faster than 1 mag per day in the restframe near-ultraviolet wavelengths. The fast rate of rise and brightness are most similar to SN 2010aq and PS1-13arp, for which ultraviolet emission was detected within a few days after the shock breakout. The lower limit of the event rate of rapidly rising transients is ∼9% of core-collapse supernova rates, assuming the duration of rapid rise to be 1 day. We show that the light curves of the three faint objects agree with the cooling envelope emission from the explosion of red supergiants. The other two luminous objects, however, are brighter and faster than the cooling envelope emission. We interpret these two objects to be the shock breakout from a dense wind with a mass loss rate of ∼10−3 yr−1, as also proposed for PS1-13arp. This mass loss rate is higher than that typically observed for red supergiants. The event rate of these luminous objects is ≳1% of the core-collapse supernova rate, and thus our study implies that more than ∼1% of massive stars can experience intense mass loss a few years before the explosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first detection of thermal X-ray line emission from the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946, the prototype of the small class of synchrotron-dominated SNRs. A softness-ratio map generated using XMM-Newton data shows that faint interior regions are softer than bright shell regions. Using Suzaku and deep XMM-Newton observations, we have extracted X-ray spectra from the softest area, finding clear line features at 1 and ∼1.35 keV. These lines can be best explained as Ne Lyα and Mg Heα from a thermal emission component. Since the abundance ratios of metals to Fe are much higher than solar values in the thermal component, we attribute the thermal emission to reverse-shocked SN ejecta. The measured Mg/Ne, Si/Ne, and Fe/Ne ratios of 2.0–2.6, 1.5–2.0, and <0.05 solar suggest that the progenitor star of RX J1713.7-3946 was a relatively low-mass star (≲20 M⊙), consistent with a previous inference based on the effect of stellar winds of the progenitor star on the surrounding medium. Since the mean blastwave speed of ∼6000 km s−1 (the radius of 9.6 pc divided by the age of 1600 years) is relatively fast compared with other core-collapse SNRs, we propose that RX J1713.7-3946 is a result of an SN Ib/c whose progenitor was a member of an interacting binary. While our analysis provides strong evidence for X-ray line emission, our interpretation of its nature as thermal emission from SN ejecta requires further confirmation especially through future precision spectroscopic measurements using ASTRO-H. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]