An optical / infrared / X-ray composite image of the remnant of Tycho's star, a type Ia supernova seen in 1572. Courtesy of Astronomy Picture of the Day. Credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / JPL-Caltech / MPIA / Calar Alto / O. Krause et al. Click for here a large version of this imageType Ia supernovae are violent stellar explosions. Observations of their brightness are used to determine distances in the universe and have shown scientists that the cosmos is expanding at an accelerating rate. But there is still too little known about the specifics of the processes by which these supernovae form. New research, led by Stella Kafka of the Carnegie Institution for Science in the United States, identifies a star system, prior to explosion, which will possibly become a type Ia supernova. The work will appear in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The widely accepted theory is that type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions of a white dwarf star that's part of a binary system—two stars that are physically close and orbit around a common centre of mass. The white dwarf has mass gradually donated to it by its companion. When the white dwarf mass eventually reaches 1.4 times that of the sun, it explodes to produce a type Ia supernova. The crucial questions are: What is the nature of the donor star and how does this white dwarf increase its mass. Also, how would that process affect the properties of the explosion?
With these questions in mind, scientists have been searching for candidate systems that could become type Ia supernovae. There are thousands of possibilities in the candidate pool, none of which have yet been observed to produce an explosion. Recent studies, some of which involved scientists at Carnegie observatories, have identified sodium gas associated with type Ia supernovae. This gas might be ejected from the binary's donor star and linger around the system to be detected after the white dwarf explodes. This provides a clue to the progenitor. Even so, Kafka still compared the search to "looking for a needle in a stellar haystack."
Using data from the DuPont telescope of the Las Campanas observatory in Chile, Kafka and her team—Kent Honeycutt of Indiana University and Bob Williams of the Space Telescope Science Institute— looked at these gas signatures and were able to identify a binary star called QU Carinae as a possible supernova progenitor. It contains a white dwarf, which is accumulating mass from a giant star, and sodium has been detected around the system.
This star belongs to a small category of binaries that are very bright and in which the white dwarf accretes material from its companion at very high rates. Sodium should be produced in the atmosphere of the mass-donor giant star, and it can be ejected from the system via a stellar wind. If the white dwarf of this binary explodes into a supernova, the sodium would be detected with the same sort of signature as those found in other type Ia supernovae.
"We are really excited to have identified such a system," Kafka said. "Understanding these systems, the nature of the two stars, the manner in which mass is exchanged, and their long-term evolution will give us a comprehensive picture on how binaries can create one of the most important explosions in the universe."
The widely accepted theory is that type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions of a white dwarf star that's part of a binary system—two stars that are physically close and orbit around a common centre of mass. The white dwarf has mass gradually donated to it by its companion. When the white dwarf mass eventually reaches 1.4 times that of the sun, it explodes to produce a type Ia supernova. The crucial questions are: What is the nature of the donor star and how does this white dwarf increase its mass. Also, how would that process affect the properties of the explosion?
With these questions in mind, scientists have been searching for candidate systems that could become type Ia supernovae. There are thousands of possibilities in the candidate pool, none of which have yet been observed to produce an explosion. Recent studies, some of which involved scientists at Carnegie observatories, have identified sodium gas associated with type Ia supernovae. This gas might be ejected from the binary's donor star and linger around the system to be detected after the white dwarf explodes. This provides a clue to the progenitor. Even so, Kafka still compared the search to "looking for a needle in a stellar haystack."
Using data from the DuPont telescope of the Las Campanas observatory in Chile, Kafka and her team—Kent Honeycutt of Indiana University and Bob Williams of the Space Telescope Science Institute— looked at these gas signatures and were able to identify a binary star called QU Carinae as a possible supernova progenitor. It contains a white dwarf, which is accumulating mass from a giant star, and sodium has been detected around the system.
This star belongs to a small category of binaries that are very bright and in which the white dwarf accretes material from its companion at very high rates. Sodium should be produced in the atmosphere of the mass-donor giant star, and it can be ejected from the system via a stellar wind. If the white dwarf of this binary explodes into a supernova, the sodium would be detected with the same sort of signature as those found in other type Ia supernovae.
"We are really excited to have identified such a system," Kafka said. "Understanding these systems, the nature of the two stars, the manner in which mass is exchanged, and their long-term evolution will give us a comprehensive picture on how binaries can create one of the most important explosions in the universe."
Science contact
Stella Kafka
Tel: +1 202 478 8864
skafka@dtm.ciw.edu
Media contacts
Natasha T. Metzler
Science Writer
Carnegie Institution for Science
Tel: +1 202 939 1142
nmetzler@carnegiescience.edu
Robert Massey
Royal Astronomical Society
Mob: +44 (0)794 124 8035
rm@ras.org.uk
Image
A composite X-ray / optical / infrared image of the remnant of Tycho's star, a type Ia supernova seen in 1572, is available athttp://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090317.html
Further information
The new work appears in the paper "QU Carinae: Supernova Ia in the making?" S. Kafka, K. Honeycutt, B. Williams, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, in press. A preprint of the paper can be seen at http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.6798
Notes for editors
This work was funded, in part, by the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS, www.ras.org.uk), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organizes scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognizes outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 3500 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS, www.ras.org.uk), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organizes scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognizes outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 3500 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
Follow the RAS on Twitter via @royalastrosoc
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