Exploring the Observability of Surviving Companions of Stripped-Envelope Supernovae: A Case Study of Type Ic SN 2020oi

Stripped-envelope supernovae (SE SNe) were considered as the explosions of single massive stars with strong stellar winds, while later observations favor binary origins. One direct evidence to support the binary origins is to find the surviving companions of SE SNe since previous numerical studies suggested that the binary companion should survive the supernova impact and could be detectable. Recently, Gagliano et al. (2022) reported that the nearby Type Ic SN 2020oi in M100 (~17.1 Mpc) resulted from a binary system based on the HST photometric and spectroscopic observation. Based on the suggested binary properties of SN 2020oi, we conduct two-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations of supernova-companion interactions and the subsequent post-impact evolution of the companion. Our results suggest that a surviving companion becomes brighter in two orders of magnitude and temporarily redder after the SN impact. The companion might be detectable with the JWST NIRCam short wavelength channel in a few years. Furthermore, the predicted magnitudes of surviving companions show a significant magnitude gradient around the peak. This could be another indicator to identify the surviving companion from a SE SN.