THE OXYGEN FEATURES IN TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NATURE OF THERMONUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
- Physics Department and Tsinghua Center for Astrophysics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China)
- Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)
- Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States)
- Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650216 (China)
- National Astronomical Observatory of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100012 (China)
The absorption feature O i λ 7773 is an important spectral indicator for type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that can be used to trace the unburned material in outer layers of the exploding white dwarf (WD). In this work, we use a large sample of SNe Ia to examine this absorption at early phases (i.e., 13 day ≲ t ≲ 7 day) and make comparisons with the absorption features of Si ii λ 6355 and the Ca ii near-infrared triplet. We show that for a subgroup of spectroscopically normal SNe with normal photospheric velocities (i.e., v {sub si} ≲ 12,500 km s{sup 1} at optical maximum), the line strength of the high velocity feature (HVF) of O i is inversely correlated with that of Si ii (or Ca ii), and this feature also shows a negative correlation with the luminosity of SNe Ia. This finding, together with other features we find for the O i HVF, reveal that for this subgroup of SNe Ia, explosive oxygen burning occurs in the outermost layer of the SN. Differences in the oxygen burning could lead to the observed diversity, which is in remarkable agreement with the popular delayed-detonation model of Chandrasekhar mass WDs.
- OSTI ID:
- 22666001
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 826, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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