Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star

Details Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star

2011-10-27

arxiv.org/abs/1110.6201v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics

20 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, in press

Scientific paper

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have been used empirically as standardized candles to reveal the accelerating universe even though fundamental details, such as the nature of the progenitor system and how the star explodes, remained a mystery. There is consensus that a white dwarf star explodes after accreting matter in a binary system, but the secondary could be anything from a main sequence star to a red giant, or even another white dwarf. The uncertainty stems from the fact that no recent SN Ia has been discovered close enough to detect the stars before explosion. Here we report early observations of SN 2011fe (PTF11kly) in M101 at a distance of 6.4 Mpc, the closest SN Ia in the past 25 years. We find that the exploding star was likely a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, and from the lack of an early shock we conclude that the companion was most likely a main sequence star. Early spectroscopy shows high-velocity oxygen that varies on a time scale of hours and extensive mixing of newly synthesized intermediate mass elements in the outermost layers of the supernova. A companion paper uses pre-explosion images to rule out luminous red giants and most helium stars as companions.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-684887