Minimum Neutron Star Mass in Neutrino-Driven Supernova Explosions

Supernova theory has struggled to explain the lightest known neutron star candidate with an accurate mass determination, the 1.174M_{⊙} companion in the eccentric compact binary system J0453+1559. To improve the theoretical lower limit for neutron star birth masses, we perform 3D supernova simulations for five stellar models close to the minimum mass for iron core collapse. We obtain a record-low neutron star mass of 1.192M_{⊙} and a substantial kick of ∼100 km s^{-1}. Given residual uncertainties in stellar evolution, a neutron star origin for the 1.174M_{⊙} object remains plausible.