The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2023)
JWST Low-resolution MIRI Spectral Observations of SN 2021aefx: High-density Burning in a Type Ia Supernova
- J. M. DerKacy,
- C. Ashall,
- P. Hoeflich,
- E. Baron,
- B. J. Shappee,
- D. Baade,
- J. Andrews,
- K. A. Bostroem,
- P. J. Brown,
- C. R. Burns,
- A. Burrow,
- A. Cikota,
- T. de Jaeger,
- A. Do,
- Y. Dong,
- I. Dominguez,
- L. Galbany,
- E. Y. Hsiao,
- E. Karamehmetoglu,
- K. Krisciunas,
- S. Kumar,
- J. Lu,
- T. B. Mera Evans,
- J. R. Maund,
- P. Mazzali,
- K. Medler,
- N. Morrell,
- F. Patat,
- M. M. Phillips,
- M. Shahbandeh,
- S. Stangl,
- C. P. Stevens,
- M. D. Stritzinger,
- N. B. Suntzeff,
- C. M. Telesco,
- M. A. Tucker,
- S. Valenti,
- L. Wang,
- Y. Yang,
- S. W. Jha,
- L. A. Kwok
Affiliations
- J. M. DerKacy
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Virginia Tech , Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- C. Ashall
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Virginia Tech , Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- P. Hoeflich
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- E. Baron
- ORCiD
- Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma , 440 W. Brooks, Rm 100, Norman, OK 73019-2061, USA; Hamburger Sternwarte , Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg, Germany
- B. J. Shappee
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai’i at Manoa , 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Hawai’i, HI 96822, USA
- D. Baade
- ORCiD
- European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching b. München, Germany
- J. Andrews
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , 670 North A‘ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720-2700, USA
- K. A. Bostroem
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
- P. J. Brown
- ORCiD
- George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , Department of Physics and Astronomy, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- C. R. Burns
- ORCiD
- Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science , 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
- A. Burrow
- ORCiD
- Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma , 440 W. Brooks, Rm 100, Norman, OK 73019-2061, USA
- A. Cikota
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
- T. de Jaeger
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai’i at Manoa , 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Hawai’i, HI 96822, USA
- A. Do
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai’i at Manoa , 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Hawai’i, HI 96822, USA
- Y. Dong
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
- I. Dominguez
- ORCiD
- Universidad de Granada , E-18071, Granada, Spain
- L. Galbany
- ORCiD
- Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC) , Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain; Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
- E. Y. Hsiao
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- E. Karamehmetoglu
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University , Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- K. Krisciunas
- ORCiD
- George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , Department of Physics and Astronomy, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- S. Kumar
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- J. Lu
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- T. B. Mera Evans
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- J. R. Maund
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield , Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, UK
- P. Mazzali
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , UK; Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Garching, Germany
- K. Medler
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , UK; Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Garching, Germany
- N. Morrell
- ORCiD
- Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories , Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
- F. Patat
- ORCiD
- European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching b. München, Germany
- M. M. Phillips
- ORCiD
- Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories , Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
- M. Shahbandeh
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218-2410, USA
- S. Stangl
- ORCiD
- Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma , 440 W. Brooks, Rm 100, Norman, OK 73019-2061, USA
- C. P. Stevens
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Virginia Tech , Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- M. D. Stritzinger
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University , Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- N. B. Suntzeff
- ORCiD
- George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , Department of Physics and Astronomy, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- C. M. Telesco
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
- M. A. Tucker
- ORCiD
- Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University , 191 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- S. Valenti
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
- L. Wang
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Y. Yang
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- S. W. Jha
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019, USA
- L. A. Kwok
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acb8a8
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 945,
no. 1
p. L2
Abstract
We present a JWST/MIRI low-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopic observation of the normal Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) SN 2021aefx at +323 days past rest-frame B -band maximum light. The spectrum ranges from 4 to 14 μ m and shows many unique qualities, including a flat-topped [Ar iii ] 8.991 μ m profile, a strongly tilted [Co iii ] 11.888 μ m feature, and multiple stable Ni lines. These features provide critical information about the physics of the explosion. The observations are compared to synthetic spectra from detailed non–local thermodynamic equilibrium multidimensional models. The results of the best-fitting model are used to identify the components of the spectral blends and provide a quantitative comparison to the explosion physics. Emission line profiles and the presence of electron capture elements are used to constrain the mass of the exploding white dwarf (WD) and the chemical asymmetries in the ejecta. We show that the observations of SN 2021aefx are consistent with an off-center delayed detonation explosion of a near–Chandrasekhar mass ( M _Ch ) WD at a viewing angle of −30° relative to the point of the deflagration to detonation transition. From the strengths of the stable Ni lines, we determine that there is little to no mixing in the central regions of the ejecta. Based on both the presence of stable Ni and the Ar velocity distributions, we obtain a strict lower limit of 1.2 M _⊙ for the initial WD, implying that most sub- M _Ch explosions models are not viable models for SN 2021aefx. The analysis here shows the crucial importance of MIR spectra in distinguishing between explosion scenarios for SNe Ia.
Keywords
