Abstract
Type Ia supernovae are thought to result from a thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a binary system, but little is known of the precise nature of the companion star and the physical properties of the progenitor system. There are two classes of models: double-degenerate (involving two white dwarfs in a close binary system) and single-degenerate models. In the latter, the primary white dwarf accretes material from a secondary companion until conditions are such that carbon ignites, at a mass of 1.38 times the mass of the Sun. The type Ia supernova SN 2011fe was recently detected in a nearby galaxy. Here we report an analysis of archival images of the location of SN 2011fe. The luminosity of the progenitor system (especially the companion star) is 10-100 times fainter than previous limits on other type Ia supernova progenitor systems, allowing us to rule out luminous red giants and almost all helium stars as the mass-donating companion to the exploding white dwarf.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 348-350 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Volume | 480 |
| Issue number | 7377 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 15 2011 |
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Exclusion of a luminous red giant as a companion star to the progenitor of supernova SN 2011fe. / Li, Weidong; Bloom, Joshua S.; Podsiadlowski, Philipp; Miller, Adam A.; Cenko, S. Bradley; Jha, Saurabh W.; Sullivan, Mark; Howell, D. Andrew; Nugent, Peter E.; Butler, Nathaniel; Ofek, Eran O.; Kasliwal, Mansi M.; Richards, Joseph W.; Stockton, Alan; Shih, Hsin Yi; Bildsten, Lars; Shara, Michael M.; Bibby, Joanne; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Ganeshalingam, Mohan; Silverman, Jeffrey M.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Law, Nicholas M.; Poznanski, Dovi; Quimby, Robert M.; McCully, Curtis; Patel, Brandon; Maguire, Kate; Shen, Ken J.
In: Nature, Vol. 480, No. 7377, 15.12.2011, p. 348-350.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Exclusion of a luminous red giant as a companion star to the progenitor of supernova SN 2011fe
AU - Li, Weidong
AU - Bloom, Joshua S.
AU - Podsiadlowski, Philipp
AU - Miller, Adam A.
AU - Cenko, S. Bradley
AU - Jha, Saurabh W.
AU - Sullivan, Mark
AU - Howell, D. Andrew
AU - Nugent, Peter E.
AU - Butler, Nathaniel
AU - Ofek, Eran O.
AU - Kasliwal, Mansi M.
AU - Richards, Joseph W.
AU - Stockton, Alan
AU - Shih, Hsin Yi
AU - Bildsten, Lars
AU - Shara, Michael M.
AU - Bibby, Joanne
AU - Filippenko, Alexei V.
AU - Ganeshalingam, Mohan
AU - Silverman, Jeffrey M.
AU - Kulkarni, S. R.
AU - Law, Nicholas M.
AU - Poznanski, Dovi
AU - Quimby, Robert M.
AU - McCully, Curtis
AU - Patel, Brandon
AU - Maguire, Kate
AU - Shen, Ken J.
PY - 2011/12/15
Y1 - 2011/12/15
N2 - Type Ia supernovae are thought to result from a thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a binary system, but little is known of the precise nature of the companion star and the physical properties of the progenitor system. There are two classes of models: double-degenerate (involving two white dwarfs in a close binary system) and single-degenerate models. In the latter, the primary white dwarf accretes material from a secondary companion until conditions are such that carbon ignites, at a mass of 1.38 times the mass of the Sun. The type Ia supernova SN 2011fe was recently detected in a nearby galaxy. Here we report an analysis of archival images of the location of SN 2011fe. The luminosity of the progenitor system (especially the companion star) is 10-100 times fainter than previous limits on other type Ia supernova progenitor systems, allowing us to rule out luminous red giants and almost all helium stars as the mass-donating companion to the exploding white dwarf.
AB - Type Ia supernovae are thought to result from a thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a binary system, but little is known of the precise nature of the companion star and the physical properties of the progenitor system. There are two classes of models: double-degenerate (involving two white dwarfs in a close binary system) and single-degenerate models. In the latter, the primary white dwarf accretes material from a secondary companion until conditions are such that carbon ignites, at a mass of 1.38 times the mass of the Sun. The type Ia supernova SN 2011fe was recently detected in a nearby galaxy. Here we report an analysis of archival images of the location of SN 2011fe. The luminosity of the progenitor system (especially the companion star) is 10-100 times fainter than previous limits on other type Ia supernova progenitor systems, allowing us to rule out luminous red giants and almost all helium stars as the mass-donating companion to the exploding white dwarf.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=83455220286&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=83455220286&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/nature10646
DO - 10.1038/nature10646
M3 - Article
C2 - 22170681
AN - SCOPUS:83455220286
VL - 480
SP - 348
EP - 350
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7377
ER -