No Arabic abstract
There are two classes of viable progenitors for normal Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia): systems in which a white dwarf explodes at the Chandrasekhar mass ($M_{ch}$), and systems in which a white dwarf explodes below the Chandrasekhar mass (sub-$M_{ch}$). It is not clear which of these channels is dominant; observations and light curve modeling have provided evidence for both. Here we use an extensive grid of 4500 time-dependent, multiwavelength radiation transport simulations to show that the sub-$M_{ch}$ model can reproduce the entirety of the width-luminosity relation (WLR), while the $M_{ch}$ model can only produce the brighter events $(0.8 < Delta M_{15}(B) < 1.55)$, implying that fast-declining SNe Ia come from sub-$M_{ch}$ explosions. We do not assume a particular theoretical paradigm for the progenitor or explosion mechanism, but instead construct parameterized models that vary the mass, kinetic energy, and compositional structure of the ejecta, thereby realizing a broad range of possible outcomes of white dwarf explosions. We provide fitting functions based on our large grid of detailed simulations that map observable properties of SNe Ia such as peak brightness and light curve width to physical parameters such as $^{56}mathrm{Ni}$ and total ejected mass. These can be used to estimate the physical properties of observed SNe Ia.
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$,$570$,mathring{A},$to 7$,$155$,mathring{A},$line as a prior in fits of spectra covering only the optical wavelengths we show that the 7200$,mathring{A},$feature is fully explained by [Fe II] and [Ni II] alone. This approach allows us to determine the abundance of Ni II$,$/$,$Fe II for a large sample of 130 optical spectra of 58 SNe Ia with uncertainties small enough to distinguish between Chandrasekhar mass (M$_{text{Ch}}$) and sub-Chandrasekhar mass (sub-M$_{text{Ch}}$) explosion models. We conclude that the majority (85$%$) of normal SNe Ia have a Ni/Fe abundance that is in agreement with predictions of sub-M$_{text{Ch}}$ explosion simulations of $sim Z_odot$ progenitors. Only a small fraction (11$%$) of objects in the sample have a Ni/Fe abundance in agreement with M$_{text{Ch}}$ explosion models.
There is no consensus on the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) despite their importance for cosmology and chemical evolution. We address this question by using our previously published catalogs of Mg, Si, Ca, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni abundances in dwarf galaxy satellites of the Milky Way to constrain the mass at which the white dwarf explodes during a typical SN Ia. We fit a simple bi-linear model to the evolution of [X/Fe] with [Fe/H], where X represents each of the elements mentioned above. We use the evolution of [Mg/Fe] coupled with theoretical supernova yields to isolate what fraction of the elements originated in SNe Ia. Then, we infer the [X/Fe] yield of SNe Ia for all of the elements except Mg. We compare these observationally inferred yields to recent theoretical predictions for two classes of Chandrasekhar-mass (M_Ch) SN Ia as well as sub-M_Ch SNe Ia. Most of the inferred SN Ia yields are consistent with all of the theoretical models, but [Ni/Fe] is consistent only with sub-M_Ch models. We conclude that the dominant type of SN Ia in ancient dwarf galaxies is the explosion of a sub-M_Ch white dwarf. The Milky Way and dwarf galaxies with extended star formation histories have higher [Ni/Fe] abundances, which could indicate that the dominant class of SN Ia is different for galaxies where star formation lasted for at least several Gyr.
Recent observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have shown diversified properties of the explosion strength, light curves and chemical composition. To investigate possible origins of such diversities in SNe Ia, we have presented multi-dimensional hydrodynamical study of explosions and associated nucleosynthesis in the near Chandrasekhar mass carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs) for a wide range of parameters (Leung and Nomoto 2018 ApJ). In the present paper, we extend our wide parameter survey of models to the explosions of sub-Chandrasekhar mass CO WDs. We take the double detonation model for the explosion mechanism. The model parameters of the survey include the metallicity of $Z = 0 - 5~Z_odot$, the CO WD mass of $M = 0.90 - 1.20~M_odot$, and the He envelope mass of $M_{rm He} = 0.05 - 0.20~M_odot$. We also study how the initial He detonation configuration, such as spherical, bubble, and ring shapes, triggers the C detonation. For these parameters, we derive the minimum He envelope mass necessary to trigger the C detonation. We then examine how the explosion dynamics and associated nucleosynthesis depend on these parameters, and compare our results with the previous representative models. We compare our nucleosynthesis yields with the unusual abundance patterns of Fe-peak elements and isotopes observed in SNe Ia 2011fe, 2012cg and 2014J, as well as SN Ia remnant 3C 397 to provide constraints on their progenitors and environments. We provide the nucleosynthesis yields table of the sub-Chandrasekhar mass explosions, to discuss their roles in the galactic chemical evolution and archaeology.
Recent discovery of several overluminous type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) indicates that the explosive masses of white dwarfs may significantly exceed the canonical Chandrasekhar mass limit. Rapid differential rotation may support these massive white dwarfs. Based on the single-degenerate scenario, and assuming that the white dwarfs would differentially rotate when the accretion rate $dot{M}>3times 10^{-7}M_{odot}rm yr^{-1}$, employing Eggletons stellar evolution code we have performed the numerical calculations for $sim$ 1000 binary systems consisting of a He star and a CO white dwarf (WD). We present the initial parameters in the orbital period - helium star mass plane (for WD masses of $1.0 M_{odot}$ and $1.2 M_{odot}$, respectively), which lead to super-Chandrasekhar mass SNe Ia. Our results indicate that, for an initial massive WD of $1.2 M_{odot}$, a large number of SNe Ia may result from super-Chandrasekhar mass WDs, and the highest mass of the WD at the moment of SNe Ia explosion is 1.81 $M_odot$, but very massive ($>1.85M_{odot}$) WDs cannot be formed. However, when the initial mass of WDs is $1.0 M_{odot}$, the explosive masses of SNe Ia are nearly uniform, which is consistent with the rareness of super-Chandrasekhar mass SNe Ia in observations.
We extend the range of validity of the ARTIS 3D radiative transfer code up to hundreds of days after explosion, when Type Ia supernovae are in their nebular phase. To achieve this, we add a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) population and ionisation solver, a new multi-frequency radiation field model, and a new atomic dataset with forbidden transitions. We treat collisions with non-thermal leptons resulting from nuclear decays to account for their contribution to excitation, ionisation, and heating. We validate our method with a variety of tests including comparing our synthetic nebular spectra for the well-known one-dimensional W7 model with the results of other studies. As an illustrative application of the code, we present synthetic nebular spectra for the detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar white dwarf in which the possible effects of gravitational settling of Ne22 prior to explosion have been explored. Specifically, we compare synthetic nebular spectra for a 1.06 M$_odot$ white dwarf model obtained when 5.5 Gyr of very-efficient settling is assumed to a similar model without settling. We find that this degree of Ne22 settling has only a modest effect on the resulting nebular spectra due to increased Ni58 abundance. Due to the high ionisation in sub-Chandrasekhar models, the nebular [Ni II] emission remains negligible, while the [Ni III] line strengths are increased and the overall ionisation balance is slightly lowered in the model with Ne22 settling. In common with previous studies of sub-Chandrasekhar models at nebular epochs, these models overproduce [Fe III] emission relative to [Fe II] in comparison to observations of normal Type Ia supernovae.