Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008hst..prop11722f&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #11722. Cycle 17
Physics
Scientific paper
We know Type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions of CO white dwarfs, but we don't know the specifics of how the nuclear burning proceeds from the core outward to the surface once it starts. Thermonuclear instability in a WD core is thought to start off as a subsonic, turbulent deflagration wave or "burning" wave but then may, at some point, transition into a supernova blast or detonation wave. In such a "delayed detonation" model, differences between normal and subluminous Type Ia SNe reflect differences in the amount of burning that has occurred in the pre-detonation phase. More burning helps to pre-expand the WD before passage of the detontation wave which then lowers the density of the outer layers and, in turn, results in a different element production and internal structure. Directly imaging the 2D chemical distribution of ejecta from a Type Ia SN is actually possible in the case of the subluminous Type Ia SN 1885 which occurred on the near-side of M31's central bulge. The entire 123 year old remnant -- core to outer edge -- is visible via strong near-UV, Ca and Fe line absorptions, and remarkably, is still in near free expansion. This means that elemental stratification seen today is likely to accurately reflect the explosive nucleosynthesis physics. We propose ACS WFC images of SN 1885 to take advantage of this extraordinary situation: Having a young, nearby Type Ia SN remnant visible in silhouette against a galaxy-size light table. The proposed observations will reveal the Fe ejecta distribution, density structure, sphericity, and ionization state as a function of expansion velocity, thereby testing SN Ia explosion models with direct Fe-rich ejecta mapping data.;
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