THE FIRST MAXIMUM-LIGHT ULTRAVIOLET THROUGH NEAR-INFRARED SPECTRUM OF A TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA

Journal Article · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/753/1/L5· OSTI ID:22047720

Foley, Ryan J; Marion, G Howie; Challis, Peter; Kirshner, Robert P; Berta, Zachory K ^[1]; Kromer, Markus; Taubenberger, Stefan; Hillebrandt, Wolfgang; Roepke, Friedrich K; Seitenzahl, Ivo R ^[2]; Pignata, Giuliano ^[3]; Stritzinger, Maximilian D ^[4]; Filippenko, Alexei V; Weidong, Li; Silverman, Jeffrey M ^[5]; Folatelli, Gaston ^[6]; Hsiao, Eric Y; Morrell, Nidia I ^[7]; others, and

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1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
2. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, D-85748 Garching bei Muenchen (Germany)
3. Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Andres Bello, Avda. Republica 252, Santiago (Chile)
4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)
5. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
6. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8583 (Japan)
7. Carnegie Observatories, Las Campanas Observatory, La Serena (Chile)

We present the first maximum-light ultraviolet (UV) through near-infrared (NIR) Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) spectrum. This spectrum of SN 2011iv was obtained nearly simultaneously by the Hubble Space Telescope at UV/optical wavelengths and the Magellan Baade telescope at NIR wavelengths. These data provide the opportunity to examine the entire maximum-light SN Ia spectral energy distribution. Since the UV region of an SN Ia spectrum is extremely sensitive to the composition of the outer layers of the explosion, which are transparent at longer wavelengths, this unprecedented spectrum can provide strong constraints on the composition of the SN ejecta, and similarly the SN explosion and progenitor system. SN 2011iv is spectroscopically normal, but has a relatively fast decline ({Delta}m{sub 15}(B) = 1.69 {+-} 0.05 mag). We compare SN 2011iv to other SNe Ia with UV spectra near maximum light and examine trends between UV spectral properties, light-curve shape, and ejecta velocity. We tentatively find that SNe with similar light-curve shapes but different ejecta velocities have similar UV spectra, while those with similar ejecta velocities but different light-curve shapes have very different UV spectra. Through a comparison with explosion models, we find that both a solar-metallicity W7 and a zero-metallicity delayed-detonation model provide a reasonable fit to the spectrum of SN 2011iv from the UV to the NIR.

• OSTI ID: 22047720
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 753; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DIAGRAMS
ENERGY SPECTRA
INFRARED SPECTRA
LAYERS
NEAR INFRARED RADIATION
SPACE
SUPERNOVAE
TELESCOPES
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA
VISIBLE RADIATION