The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2024)
A JWST Medium-resolution MIRI Spectrum and Models of the Type Ia Supernova 2021aefx at +415 days
- C. Ashall,
- P. Hoeflich,
- E. Baron,
- M. Shahbandeh,
- J. M. DerKacy,
- K. Medler,
- B. J. Shappee,
- M. A. Tucker,
- E. Fereidouni,
- T. Mera,
- J. Andrews,
- D. Baade,
- K. A. Bostroem,
- P. J. Brown,
- C. R. Burns,
- A. Burrow,
- A. Cikota,
- T. de Jaeger,
- A. Do,
- Y. Dong,
- I. Dominguez,
- O. Fox,
- L. Galbany,
- E. Y. Hsiao,
- K. Krisciunas,
- B. Khaghani,
- S. Kumar,
- J. Lu,
- J. R. Maund,
- P. Mazzali,
- N. Morrell,
- F. Patat,
- C. Pfeffer,
- M. M. Phillips,
- J. Schmidt,
- S. Stangl,
- C. P. Stevens,
- M. D. Stritzinger,
- N. B. Suntzeff,
- C. M. Telesco,
- L. Wang,
- Y. Yang
Affiliations
- C. Ashall
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics , Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]; Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu HI 96822, USA
- P. Hoeflich
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- E. Baron
- ORCiD
- Planetary Science Institute , 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395, USA; Hamburger Sternwarte , Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg, Germany
- M. Shahbandeh
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218-2410, USA
- J. M. DerKacy
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics , Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- K. Medler
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics , Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- B. J. Shappee
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai’i at Manoa , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- M. A. Tucker
- ORCiD
- Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University , 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- E. Fereidouni
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- T. Mera
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Florida State University , 77 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
- J. Andrews
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab , 670 North A‘ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720-2700, USA
- D. Baade
- ORCiD
- European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching b. München, Germany
- 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 West Brooks, Room 100, Norman, OK 73019-2061, USA
- A. Cikota
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
- T. de Jaeger
- ORCiD
- Sorbonne Université , CNRS/IN2P3, LPNHE, F-75005, Paris, France
- A. Do
- ORCiD
- Institute of Astronomy and Kavli Institute for Cosmology , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK
- Y. Dong
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
- I. Dominguez
- ORCiD
- Universidad de Granada , 18071, Granada, Spain
- O. Fox
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218-2410, USA
- 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
- 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
- B. Khaghani
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics , Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- S. Kumar
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , 530 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
- J. Lu
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI 48824, 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
- 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, 85748 Garching b. München, Germany
- C. Pfeffer
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics , Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; [email protected]
- M. M. Phillips
- ORCiD
- Las Campanas Observatory , Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
- J. Schmidt
- ORCiD
- Citizen Scientist
- S. Stangl
- ORCiD
- Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma , 440 West Brooks, Room 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
- 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
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad6608
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 975,
no. 2
p. 203
Abstract
We present a JWST MIRI medium-resolution spectrometer spectrum (5–27 μ m) of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) SN 2021aefx at +415 days past B -band maximum. The spectrum, which was obtained during the iron-dominated nebular phase, has been analyzed in combination with previous JWST observations of SN 2021aefx to provide the first JWST time series analysis of an SN Ia. We find that the temporal evolution of the [Co iii ] 11.888 μ m feature directly traces the decay of ^56 Co. The spectra, line profiles, and their evolution are analyzed with off-center delayed-detonation models. Best fits were obtained with white dwarf (WD) central densities of ρ _c = 0.9−1.1 × 10 ^9 g cm ^−3 , a WD mass of M _WD = 1.33–1.35 M _⊙ , a WD magnetic field of ≈10 ^6 G, and an off-center deflagration-to-detonation transition at ≈0.5 M _⊙ seen opposite to the line of sight of the observer (−30°). The inner electron capture core is dominated by energy deposition from γ -rays, whereas a broader region is dominated by positron deposition, placing SN 2021aefx at +415 days in the transitional phase of the evolution to the positron-dominated regime. The formerly “flat-tilted” profile at 9 μ m now has a significant contribution from [Ni iv ], [Fe ii ], and [Fe iii ] and less from [Ar iii ], which alters the shape of the feature as positrons mostly excite the low-velocity Ar. Overall, the strength of the stable Ni features in the spectrum is dominated by positron transport rather than the Ni mass. Based on multidimensional models, our analysis is consistent with a single-spot, close-to-central ignition with an indication of a preexisting turbulent velocity field and excludes a multiple-spot, off-center ignition.
Keywords
