Clarify the effects of metallicity on core-collapse supernovae

Characterize the magnitude of metallicity’s effects on core-collapse supernova explosions and identify the observable manifestations of those effects, including the relative roles of metallicity-dependent winds and binary interaction in shaping progenitor evolution and circumstellar environments.

Background

The paper uses SN 2023ufx as an unusually metal-poor example of a hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova. Its massive, heavily stripped progenitor and complex circumstellar environment suggest that metallicity-dependent wind mass loss alone may not explain the observed properties, particularly if binary interaction dominates at low metallicity.

The authors conclude that metallicity must affect core-collapse supernovae, but they explicitly leave unresolved both the size of those effects and how they should appear observationally. Resolving this issue is important for interpreting metal-poor supernovae and understanding the evolution of stellar explosions and galactic feedback across cosmic time.