The progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are still unknown, despite significant progress during the past several years in theory and observations. Violent mergers of two carbon-oxygen (CO) ...white dwarfs (WDs) are a candidate scenario suggested to be responsible for at least a significant fraction of normal SNe Ia. Here, we simulate the merger of two CO WDs using a moving-mesh code that allows for the inclusion of thin helium (He) shells (0.01 M sub(middot in circle)) on top of the WDs at an unprecedented numerical resolution. The accretion of He onto the primary WD leads to the formation of a detonation in its He shell. This detonation propagates around the CO WD and sends a converging shock wave into its core, known to robustly trigger a second detonation, as in the well-known double-detonation scenario for He-accreting CO WDs. However, in contrast to that scenario where a massive He shell is required to form a detonation through thermal instability, here the He detonation is ignited dynamically. Accordingly the required He-shell mass is significantly smaller, and hence its burning products are unlikely to affect the optical display of the explosion. We show that this scenario, which works for CO primary WDs with CO- as well as He-WD companions, has the potential to explain the different brightness distributions, delay times, and relative rates of normal and fast declining SNe Ia. Finally, we discuss extensions to our unified merger model needed to obtain a comprehensive picture of the full observed diversity of SNe Ia.
One of the most important questions regarding the progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is whether mergers of two white dwarfs can lead to explosions that reproduce observations of normal ...events. Here we present a fully three-dimensional simulation of a violent merger of two carbon-oxygen white dwarfs with masses of 0.9 M sub(middot in circle) and 1.1 M sub(middot in circle) combining very high resolution and exact initial conditions. A well-tested combination of codes is used to study the system. We start with the dynamical inspiral phase and follow the subsequent thermonuclear explosion under the plausible assumption that a detonation forms in the process of merging. We then perform detailed nucleosynthesis calculations and radiative transfer simulations to predict synthetic observables from the homologously expanding supernova ejecta. We find that synthetic color light curves of our merger, which produces about 0.62 M sub(middot in circle) of super(56)Ni, show good agreement with those observed for normal SNe Ia in all wave bands from U to K. Line velocities in synthetic spectra around maximum light also agree well with observations. We conclude that violent mergers of massive white dwarfs can closely resemble normal SNe Ia. Therefore, depending on the number of such massive systems available these mergers may contribute at least a small fraction to the observed population of normal SNe Ia.
ABSTRACT Nebular-phase observations and spectral models of Type Ic superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are presented. LSQ14an and SN 2015bn both display late-time spectra similar to galaxy-subtracted ...spectra of SN 2007bi, and the class shows strong similarity with broad-lined SNe Ic such as SN 1998bw. Near-infrared observations of SN 2015bn show a strong Ca ii triplet, O i 9263, O i 1.13 m, and Mg i 1.50 m, but no distinct He, Si, or S emission. The high Ca ii NIR/Ca ii 7291, 7323 ratio of ∼2 indicates a high electron density of cm−3. Spectral models of oxygen-zone emission are investigated to put constraints on the emitting region. Models require M to produce enough O i 6300, 6364 luminosity, irrespective of the powering situation and the density. The high oxygen-zone mass, supported by high estimated magnesium masses, points to explosions of massive CO cores, requiring . Collisions of pair-instability pulsations do not provide enough mass to account for the emission. O ii and O iii lines emerge naturally in many models, which strengthens the identification of broad O ii 7320, 7330, O iii 4363, and O iii 4959, 5007 in some spectra. A small filling factor for the O/Mg zone is needed to produce enough luminosity in Mg i 4571, Mg i 1.504 m, and O i recombination lines, which shows that the ejecta is clumped. We review the constraints from the nebular spectral modeling in the context of the various scenarios proposed for SLSNe.
Context. The precise determination of the present-day expansion rate of the Universe, expressed through the Hubble constant H0, is one of the most pressing challenges in modern cosmology. Assuming ...flat ΛCDM, H0 inference at high redshift using cosmic microwave background data from Planck disagrees at the 4.4σ level with measurements based on the local distance ladder made up of parallaxes, Cepheids, and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), often referred to as Hubble tension. Independent cosmological-model-insensitive ways to infer H0 are of critical importance. Aims. We apply an inverse distance ladder approach, combining strong-lensing time-delay distance measurements with SN Ia data. By themselves, SNe Ia are merely good indicators of relative distance, but by anchoring them to strong gravitational lenses we can obtain an H0 measurement that is relatively insensitive to other cosmological parameters. Methods. A cosmological parameter estimate was performed for different cosmological background models, both for strong-lensing data alone and for the combined lensing + SNe Ia data sets. Results. The cosmological-model dependence of strong-lensing H0 measurements is significantly mitigated through the inverse distance ladder. In combination with SN Ia data, the inferred H0 consistently lies around 73–74 km s−1 Mpc−1, regardless of the assumed cosmological background model. Our results agree closely with those from the local distance ladder, but there is a > 2σ tension with Planck results, and a ∼1.5σ discrepancy with results from an inverse distance ladder including Planck, baryon acoustic oscillations, and SNe Ia. Future strong-lensing distance measurements will reduce the uncertainties in H0 from our inverse distance ladder.
Stellar evolution models predict the existence of hybrid white dwarfs (WDs) with a carbon–oxygen core surrounded by an oxygen–neon mantle. Being born with masses ∼1.1 M⊙, hybrid WDs in a binary ...system may easily approach the Chandrasekhar mass (M
Ch) by accretion and give rise to a thermonuclear explosion. Here, we investigate an off-centre deflagration in a near-M
Ch hybrid WD under the assumption that nuclear burning only occurs in carbon-rich material. Performing hydrodynamics simulations of the explosion and detailed nucleosynthesis post-processing calculations, we find that only 0.014 M⊙ of material is ejected while the remainder of the mass stays bound. The ejecta consist predominantly of iron-group elements, O, C, Si and S. We also calculate synthetic observables for our model and find reasonable agreement with the faint Type Iax SN 2008ha. This shows for the first time that deflagrations in near-M
Ch WDs can in principle explain the observed diversity of Type Iax supernovae. Leaving behind a near-M
Ch bound remnant opens the possibility for recurrent explosions or a subsequent accretion-induced collapse in faint Type Iax SNe, if further accretion episodes occur. From binary population synthesis calculations, we find the rate of hybrid WDs approaching M
Ch to be of the order of 1 per cent of the Galactic
SN Ia rate.
Abstract
A non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium (NLTE) level population model of the first and second ionisation stages of iron, nickel and cobalt is used to fit a sample of XShooter optical + ...near-infrared (NIR) spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). From the ratio of the NIR lines to the optical lines limits can be placed on the temperature and density of the emission region. We find a similar evolution of these parameters across our sample. Using the evolution of the Fe ii 12 570 Å to 7 155 Å line as a prior in fits of spectra covering only the optical wavelengths we show that the 7200 Å feature is fully explained by Fe ii and Ni ii alone. This approach allows us to determine the abundance of Ni ii/Fe ii for a large sample of 130 optical spectra of 58 SNe Ia with uncertainties small enough to distinguish between Chandrasekhar mass (MCh) and sub-Chandrasekhar mass (sub-MCh) explosion models. We conclude that the majority (85%) of normal SNe Ia have a Ni/Fe abundance that is in agreement with predictions of sub-MCh explosion simulations of ∼Z⊙ progenitors. Only a small fraction (11%) of objects in the sample have a Ni/Fe abundance in agreement with MCh explosion models.
H and He features in photospheric spectra have seldom been used to infer quantitatively the properties of Type IIb, Ib and Ic supernovae (SNe IIb, Ib and Ic) and their progenitor stars. Most ...radiative transfer models ignored non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects, which are extremely strong especially in the He-dominated zones. In this paper, a comprehensive set of model atmospheres for low-mass SNe IIb/Ib/Ic is presented. Long-standing questions, such as how much He can be contained in SNe Ic, where He lines are not seen, can thus be addressed. The state of H and He is computed in full NLTE, including the effect of heating by fast electrons. The models are constructed to represent iso-energetic explosions of the same stellar core with differently massive H/He envelopes on top. The synthetic spectra suggest that 0.06-0.14 M⊙ of He and even smaller amounts of H suffice for optical lines to be present, unless ejecta asymmetries play a major role. This strongly supports the conjecture that low-mass SNe Ic originate from binaries where progenitor mass loss can be extremely efficient.
Abstract
Upcoming high-cadence transient survey programmes will produce a wealth of observational data for Type Ia supernovae. These data sets will contain numerous events detected very early in ...their evolution, shortly after explosion. Here, we present synthetic light curves, calculated with the radiation hydrodynamical approach Stella for a number of different explosion models, specifically focusing on these first few days after explosion. We show that overall the early light curve evolution is similar for most of the investigated models. Characteristic imprints are induced by radioactive material located close to the surface. However, these are very similar to the signatures expected from ejecta–CSM or ejecta–companion interaction. Apart from the pure deflagration explosion models, none of our synthetic light curves exhibit the commonly assumed power-law rise. We demonstrate that this can lead to substantial errors in the determination of the time of explosion. In summary, we illustrate with our calculations that even with very early data an identification of specific explosion scenarios is challenging, if only photometric observations are available.
We investigate the consequences of fairly normal Type Ia supernovae being embedded in compact and dense envelopes of carbon- and oxygen-rich circumstellar material by means of detailed radiation ...hydrodynamic simulations. Our main focus rests on exploring the effects of the interaction between ejecta and circumstellar material on the ejecta evolution and the broad-band light curve. In our calculations, we find that a strong reverse shock efficiently decelerates and compresses the ejecta material. This leads to a significant broadening of the optical light curve, a longer rise to maximum and a slower decline in the tail phase. During the interaction, substantial radiative energy is generated, which mostly emerges in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray regime. Only if reprocessing due to radiation-matter interactions is very efficient, a significant boost in the optical light curve is observed. We discuss these findings in particular in the context of the superluminous event SN 2009dc. As our calculations are able to reproduce a number of its peculiar properties, we conclude that the flavour of the interaction scenario investigated in this work constitutes a promising candidate to explain such 'Super-Chandrasekhar' supernovae.
Abstract
We present late-time optical R-band imaging data from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) for the nearby Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe. The stacked PTF light curve provides densely sampled ...coverage down to R ≃ 22 mag over 200–620 d past explosion. Combining with literature data, we estimate the pseudo-bolometric light curve for this event from 200 to 1600 d after explosion, and constrain the likely near-infrared (Near-IR) contribution. This light curve shows a smooth decline consistent with radioactive decay, except over ∼450 to ∼600 d where the light curve appears to decrease faster than expected based on the radioactive isotopes presumed to be present, before flattening at around 600 d. We model the 200–1600 d pseudo-bolometric light curve with the luminosity generated by the radioactive decay chains of 56Ni, 57Ni and 55Co, and find it is not consistent with models that have full positron trapping and no infrared catastrophe (IRC); some additional energy escape other than optical/near-IR photons is required. However, the light curve is consistent with models that allow for positron escape (reaching 75 per cent by day 500) and/or an IRC (with 85 per cent of the flux emerging in non-optical wavelengths by day 600). The presence of the 57Ni decay chain is robustly detected, but the 55Co decay chain is not formally required, with an upper mass limit estimated at 0.014 M⊙. The measurement of the 57Ni/56Ni mass ratio is subject to significant systematic uncertainties, but all of our fits require a high ratio >0.031 (>1.3 in solar abundances).
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