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A faint type of supernova from a white dwarf with a helium-rich companion

Author

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  • H. B. Perets

    (Faculty of Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science
    Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA)

  • A. Gal-Yam

    (Faculty of Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science)

  • P. A. Mazzali

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
    Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza Cavalieri 7, 56127 Pisa, Italy
    INAF – Oss. Astron. Padova, vicolo dell'Osservatorio, 5, 35122 Padova, Italy)

  • D. Arnett

    (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA)

  • D. Kagan

    (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA)

  • A. V. Filippenko

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • W. Li

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • I. Arcavi

    (Faculty of Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science)

  • S. B. Cenko

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • D. B. Fox

    (Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA)

  • D. C. Leonard

    (San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA)

  • D.-S. Moon

    (University of Toronto, 50 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada)

  • D. J. Sand

    (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
    Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Dr., Suite 102, Goleta, California 93117, USA)

  • A. M. Soderberg

    (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA)

  • J. P. Anderson

    (Universidad de Chile, Camino El Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago, Casilla 36-D, Chile
    Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Birkenhead CH41 1LD, UK)

  • P. A. James

    (Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Birkenhead CH41 1LD, UK)

  • R. J. Foley

    (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA)

  • M. Ganeshalingam

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • E. O. Ofek

    (105-24, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • L. Bildsten

    (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kohn Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
    University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA)

  • G. Nelemans

    (Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9010, NL-6500 GL, The Netherlands)

  • K. J. Shen

    (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kohn Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA)

  • N. N. Weinberg

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • B. D. Metzger

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • A. L. Piro

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • E. Quataert

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA)

  • M. Kiewe

    (Faculty of Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science)

  • D. Poznanski

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA)

Abstract

SN 2005E: untrue to type The novel properties of the faint supernova SN 2005E mean that it does not fit readily into the established supernova categories. Types Ib, Ic and II, core-collapse supernovae, are thought to form when a massive star explodes at the end of its life, and type Ia as a result of the thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf. From spectroscopic data, Perets et al. conclude that SN 2005E is helium rich, like a type Ib, and lacks the hydrogen, silicon and sulphur spectral lines typical of type Ia. But based on its presence in an 'old' stellar environment, and with a low derived ejected mass, they argue against a core-collapse origin and for an origin from a low-mass, old progenitor, probably a helium-accreting white dwarf in a binary system. Kawabata et al. see it differently. SN 2005E resembles SN 2005cz, they say, a type Ib supernova that is unusual in being found in an elliptical galaxy. Both SN 2005E and SN 2005cz, they suggest, are best explained as products of the core collapse of massive stars at the low (6–12 solar mass) end of massiveness. In the accompanying News & Views, David Branch discusses these two models in the context of the latest thinking on how stars explode.

Suggested Citation

  • H. B. Perets & A. Gal-Yam & P. A. Mazzali & D. Arnett & D. Kagan & A. V. Filippenko & W. Li & I. Arcavi & S. B. Cenko & D. B. Fox & D. C. Leonard & D.-S. Moon & D. J. Sand & A. M. Soderberg & J. P. An, 2010. "A faint type of supernova from a white dwarf with a helium-rich companion," Nature, Nature, vol. 465(7296), pages 322-325, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:465:y:2010:i:7296:d:10.1038_nature09056
    DOI: 10.1038/nature09056
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