Ken J. Shen

Exclusion of a luminous red giant as a companion star to the progenitor of supernova SN 2011fe

Weidong Li1, Joshua S. Bloom1, Philipp Podsiadlowski2, Adam A. Miller1, S. Bradley Cenko1, Saurabh W. Jha3, Mark Sullivan2, D. Andrew Howell4,5, Peter E. Nugent6,1, Nathaniel R. Butler7, Eran O. Ofek8,9, Mansi M. Kasliwal10, Joseph W. Richards1,11, Alan Stockton12, Hsin-Yi Shih12, Lars Bildsten5,13, Michael M. Shara14, Joanne Bibby14, Alexei V. Filippenko1, Mohan Ganeshalingam1, Jeffrey M. Silverman1, S. R. Kulkarni8, Nicholas M. Law15, Dovi Poznanski16, Robert M. Quimby8, Curtis McCully3, Brandon Patel3, & Kate Maguire2Type Ia supernovae are thought to result from a thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a binary system, but little is known of the precise nature of the companion star and the physical properties of the progenitor system. There are two classes of models: double-degenerate (involving two white dwarfs in a close binary system) and single-degenerate models. In the latter, the primary white dwarf accretes material from a secondary companion until conditions are such that carbon ignites, at a mass of 1.38 times the mass of the Sun. The type Ia supernova SN 2011fe was recently detected in a nearby galaxy. Here we report an analysis of archival images of the location of SN 2011fe. The luminosity of the progenitor system (especially the companion star) is 10–100 times fainter than previous limits on other type Ia supernova progenitor systems, allowing us to rule out luminous red giants and almost all helium stars as the mass-donating companion to the exploding white dwarf.

CIRCUMSTELLAR ABSORPTION IN DOUBLE DETONATION TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE

Upon formation, degenerate He core white dwarfs are surrounded by a radiative H-rich layer primarily supported by ideal gas pressure. In this Letter, we examine the effect of this H-rich layer on mass transfer in He+C/O double white dwarf binaries that will eventually merge and possibly yield a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) in the double detonation scenario. Because its thermal profile and equation of state differ from the underlying He core, the H-rich layer is transferred stably onto the C/O white dwarf prior to the He cores tidal disruption. We find that this material is ejected from the binary system and sweeps up the surrounding interstellar medium hundreds to thousands of years before the SN Ia. The close match between the resulting circumstellar medium profiles and values inferred from recent observations of circumstellar absorption in SNe Ia gives further credence to the resurgent double detonation scenario.

THE IGNITION OF CARBON DETONATIONS VIA CONVERGING SHOCK WAVES IN WHITE DWARFS

The progenitor channel responsible for the majority of Type Ia supernovae is still uncertain. One emergent scenario involves the detonation of a He-rich layer surrounding a C/O white dwarf, which sends a shock wave into the core. The quasi-spherical shock wave converges and strengthens at an off-center location, forming a second, C-burning, detonation that disrupts the whole star. In this paper, we examine this second detonation of the double detonation scenario using a combination of analytic and numeric techniques. We perform a spatially resolved study of the imploding shock wave and outgoing detonation and calculate the critical imploding shock strengths needed to achieve a core C detonation. We find that He detonations in recent two-dimensional simulations yield converging shock waves that are strong enough to ignite C detonations in high-mass C/O cores, with the caveat that a truly robust answer requires multi-dimensional detonation initiation calculations. We also find that convergence-driven detonations in low-mass C/O cores and in O/Ne cores are harder to achieve and are perhaps unrealized in standard binary evolution.

DISCOVERY OF A COSMOLOGICAL, RELATIVISTIC OUTBURST VIA ITS RAPIDLY FADING OPTICAL EMISSION

We report the discovery by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) of the transient source PTF11agg, which is distinguished by three primary characteristics: (1) bright (Rpeak = 18.3mag), rapidly fading (ΔR = 4mag in Δt = 2 days) optical transient emission; (2) a faint (R = 26.2 ± 0.2mag), blue (g � − R = 0.17 ± 0.29mag) quiescent optical counterpart; and (3) an associated year-long, scintillating radio transient. We argue that these observed properties are inconsistent with any known class of Galactic transients (flare stars, X-ray binaries, dwarf novae), and instead suggest a cosmological origin. The detection of incoherent radio emission at such distances implies a large emitting region, from which we infer the presence of relativistic ejecta. The observed properties are allconsistentwiththepopulationoflong-durationgamma-raybursts(GRBs),markingthefirsttimesuchanoutburst has been discovered in the distant universe independent of a high-energy trigger. We searched for possible highenergy counterparts to PTF11agg, but found no evidence for associated prompt emission. We therefore consider three possible scenarios to account for a GRB-like afterglow without a high-energy counterpart: an “untriggered” GRB (lack of satellite coverage), an “orphan” afterglow (viewing-angle effects), and a “dirty fireball” (suppressed high-energy emission). The observed optical and radio light curves appear inconsistent with even the most basic predictions for off-axis afterglow models. The simplest explanation, then, is that PTF11agg is a normal, on-axis long-durationGRBforwhichtheassociatedhigh-energyemissionwassimplymissed.However,wehavecalculated the likelihood of such a serendipitous discovery by PTF and find that it is quite small (≈2.6%). While not definitive, we nonetheless speculate that PTF11agg may represent a new, more common (>4 times the on-axis GRB rate at 90% confidence) class of relativistic outbursts lacking associated high-energy emission. If so, such sources will be uncovered in large numbers by future wide-field optical and radio transient surveys.

Time-Varying Potassium in High-Resolution Spectra of the Type Ia Supernova 2014J

We present a time series of the highest resolution spectra yet published for the nearby Type Ia supernova (SN) 2014J in M82. They were obtained at 11 epochs over 33 days around peak brightness with the Levy Spectrograph (resolution R~110,000) on the 2.4m Automated Planet Finder telescope at Lick Observatory. We identify multiple Na I D and K I absorption features, as well as absorption by Ca I H & K and several of the more common diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). We see no evolution in any component of Na I D, Ca I, or in the DIBs, but do establish the dissipation/weakening of the two most blueshifted components of K I. We present several potential physical explanations, finding the most plausible to be photoionization of circumstellar material, and discuss the implications of our results with respect to the progenitor scenario of SN 2014J.

OGLE-2013-SN-079: A lonely supernova consistent with a helium shell detonation

Funded by FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement [291222] (S.J.S.). We acknowledge support from STFC grant ST/L000709/1 (S.J.S., S.S.), TRR33 grant of DFG (S.T.), FP7/2007-2013 grant [267251] (N.E.R.), FP7/ERC grant [320360] (M.F.).

Energetic eruptions leading to a peculiar hydrogen-rich explosion of a massive star

Every supernova so far observed has been considered to be the terminal explosion of a star. Moreover, all supernovae with absorption lines in their spectra show those lines decreasing in velocity over time, as the ejecta expand and thin, revealing slower-moving material that was previously hidden. In addition, every supernova that exhibits the absorption lines of hydrogen has one main light-curve peak, or a plateau in luminosity, lasting approximately 100 days before declining. Here we report observations of iPTF14hls, an event that has spectra identical to a hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova, but characteristics that differ extensively from those of known supernovae. The light curve has at least five peaks and remains bright for more than 600 days; the absorption lines show little to no decrease in velocity; and the radius of the line-forming region is more than an order of magnitude bigger than the radius of the photosphere derived from the continuum emission. These characteristics are consistent with a shell of several tens of solar masses ejected by the progenitor star at supernova-level energies a few hundred days before a terminal explosion. Another possible eruption was recorded at the same position in 1954. Multiple energetic pre-supernova eruptions are expected to occur in stars of 95 to 130 solar masses, which experience the pulsational pair instability. That model, however, does not account for the continued presence of hydrogen, or the energetics observed here. Another mechanism for the violent ejection of mass in massive stars may be required.

The Evolution of the Type Ia Supernova Luminosity Function

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) exhibit a wide diversity of peak luminosities and light curve shapes: the faintest SNe Ia are 10 times less luminous and evolve more rapidly than the brightest SNe Ia. Their differing characteristics also extend to their stellar age distributions, with fainter SNe Ia preferentially occurring in old stellar populations and vice versa. In this Letter, we quantify this SN Ia luminosity - stellar age connection using data from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS). Our binary population synthesis calculations agree qualitatively with the observed trend in the >1 Gyr-old populations probed by LOSS if the majority of SNe Ia arise from prompt detonations of sub-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs (WDs) in double WD systems. Under appropriate assumptions, we show that double WD systems with less massive primaries, which yield fainter SNe Ia, interact and explode at older ages than those with more massive primaries. We find that prompt detonations in double WD systems are capable of reproducing the observed evolution of the SN Ia luminosity function, a constraint that any SN Ia progenitor scenario must confront.

WAIT FOR IT: POST-SUPERNOVA WINDS DRIVEN BY DELAYED RADIOACTIVE DECAYS

In most astrophysical situations, the radioactive decay of 56Ni to 56Co occurs via electron capture with a fixed half-life of 6.1 days. However, this decay rate is significantly slowed when the nuclei are fully ionized because K-shell electrons are unavailable for capture. In this paper, we explore the effect of these delayed decays on white dwarfs (WDs) that may survive Type Ia and Type Iax supernovae (SNe Ia and SNe Iax). The energy released by the delayed radioactive decays of 56Ni and 56Co drives a persistent wind from the surviving WDs surface that contributes to the late-time appearance of these SNe after emission from the bulk of the SN ejecta has faded. We use the stellar evolution code MESA to calculate the hydrodynamical evolution and resulting light curves of these winds. Our post-SN Ia models conflict with late-time observations of SN 2011fe, but uncertainties in our initial conditions prevent us from ruling out the existence of surviving WD donors. Much better agreement with observations is achieved with our post-SN Iax bound remnant models, providing evidence that these explosions are due to deflagrations in accreting WDs that fail to completely unbind the WDs. Future radiative transfer calculations and wind models utilizing explosion simulations for more accurate initial conditions will extend our study of radioactively-powered winds from post-SN surviving WDs and enable their use as powerful discriminants among the various SN Ia and SN Iax progenitor scenarios.