The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Stockholm, Sweden.
The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Stockholm, Sweden.
Nature. 2023 May;617(7961):477-482. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-05916-w. Epub 2023 May 17.
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are thermonuclear explosions of degenerate white dwarf stars destabilized by mass accretion from a companion star, but the nature of their progenitors remains poorly understood. A way to discriminate between progenitor systems is through radio observations; a non-degenerate companion star is expected to lose material through winds or binary interaction before explosion, and the supernova ejecta crashing into this nearby circumstellar material should result in radio synchrotron emission. However, despite extensive efforts, no type Ia supernova (SN Ia) has ever been detected at radio wavelengths, which suggests a clean environment and a companion star that is itself a degenerate white dwarf star. Here we report on the study of SN 2020eyj, a SN Ia showing helium-rich circumstellar material, as demonstrated by its spectral features, infrared emission and, for the first time in a SN Ia to our knowledge, a radio counterpart. On the basis of our modelling, we conclude that the circumstellar material probably originates from a single-degenerate binary system in which a white dwarf accretes material from a helium donor star, an often proposed formation channel for SNe Ia (refs. ). We describe how comprehensive radio follow-up of SN 2020eyj-like SNe Ia can improve the constraints on their progenitor systems.
Ia 型超新星(SNe Ia)是由伴星物质吸积导致的简并白矮星不稳定而引发的热核爆炸,但它们的前身仍然知之甚少。通过射电观测可以区分前身系统;在爆炸前,非简并伴星预计会通过风或双星相互作用损失物质,而超新星喷出物撞击附近的星际物质应该会导致射电同步辐射发射。然而,尽管进行了广泛的努力,迄今为止,还没有在射电波长探测到任何 Ia 型超新星(SN Ia),这表明其环境干净,且伴星本身就是一个简并白矮星。在这里,我们报告了对 SN 2020eyj 的研究,这是一颗表现出富含氦的星际物质的 Ia 型超新星,这一点可以从其光谱特征、红外发射以及我们所知的首次在 Ia 型超新星中检测到的射电对应体中得到证明。根据我们的建模,我们得出结论,星际物质可能源自单简并双星系统,其中白矮星从氦供体星吸积物质,这是 Ia 型超新星的一种常见形成通道(参考文献)。我们描述了如何通过对 SN 2020eyj 型 Ia 型超新星的综合射电后续观测来提高对其前身系统的限制。