LINKING TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA PROGENITORS AND THEIR RESULTING EXPLOSIONS

Journal Article · Wed Jun 20 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/752/2/101· OSTI ID:22037031

Foley, Ryan J; Kirshner, Robert P ^[1]; Simon, Joshua D; Burns, Christopher R ^[2]; Gal-Yam, Avishay ^[3]; Hamuy, Mario ^[4]; Morrell, Nidia I; Phillips, Mark M ^[5]; Shields, Gregory A ^[6]; Sternberg, Assaf ^[7]

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1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
2. Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
3. Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Faculty of Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)
4. Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile)
5. Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena (Chile)
6. Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)
7. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85741 Garching (Germany)

Comparing the ejecta velocities at maximum brightness and narrow circumstellar/interstellar Na D absorption line profiles of a sample of 23 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), we determine that the properties of SN Ia progenitor systems and explosions are intimately connected. As demonstrated by Sternberg et al., half of all SNe Ia with detectable Na D absorption at the host-galaxy redshift in high-resolution spectroscopy have Na D line profiles with significant blueshifted absorption relative to the strongest absorption component, which indicates that a large fraction of SN Ia progenitor systems have strong outflows. In this study, we find that SNe Ia with blueshifted circumstellar/interstellar absorption systematically have higher ejecta velocities and redder colors at maximum brightness relative to the rest of the SN Ia population. This result is robust at a 98.9%-99.8% confidence level, providing the first link between the progenitor systems and properties of the explosion. This finding is further evidence that the outflow scenario is the correct interpretation of the blueshifted Na D absorption, adding additional confirmation that some SNe Ia are produced from a single-degenerate progenitor channel. An additional implication is that either SN Ia progenitor systems have highly asymmetric outflows that are also aligned with the SN explosion or SNe Ia come from a variety of progenitor systems where SNe Ia from systems with strong outflows tend to have more kinetic energy per unit mass than those from systems with weak or no outflows.

• OSTI ID: 22037031
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 752; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABSORPTION
ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY
ASYMMETRY
BRIGHTNESS
COSMIC DUST
DISTANCE
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
GALAXIES
KINETIC ENERGY
MASS
RED SHIFT
SODIUM
SUPERNOVAE
VELOCITY