The Luminous and Carbon-Rich Supernova 2006gz: A Double Degenerate Merger?

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

The progenitors of type Ia supernovae are believed to be white dwarfs, but the mechanism of the explosion remains uncertain. Single degenerate binary systems have been the favored progenitors, but double degenerate mergers can better explain some recently observed properties of type Ia explosions.
We present very early spectra and well-sampled light curves of SN 2006gz. The spectra show the strongest signature of unburned carbon ever seen in a type Ia event. The SiII velocity is suppressed at early times, implying that the partially burned layer is slowed by an envelope of unburned material. The light curve decline rate from maximum is unusually slow (Δm15(B)=0.69+/-0.04). Our best estimate of the luminosity implies an absolute V-band magnitude of -19.74 mag and production of about 1.2 Solar masses of radioactive nickel. This suggests a super-Chandrasekhar mass progenitor. A double degenerate merger is consistent with all these observations.

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