The diversity of type Ia supernovae from broken symmetries

D. Kasen (), F. K. Röpke and S. E. Woosley
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D. Kasen: UCSC, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
F. K. Röpke: Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, D-85741 Garching, Germany
S. E. Woosley: UCSC, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA

Nature, 2009, vol. 460, issue 7257, 869-872

Abstract: Supernovae worth the candle The near uniformity of the light curves of type Ia supernovae makes them good standard candles for measuring cosmic expansion, but an observational correction (whose underlying physics has been unknown) must be applied to account for the fact that the brighter ones have 'broader' light curves. Kasen et al. report multi-dimensional modelling of the explosion physics and radiative transfer of type Ia supernovae, which reveals that the breaking of spherical symmetry is a critical factor in determining both the width luminosity relation and the observed scatter about it. The slope and normalization of the width–luminosity relation has a weak dependence on trace abundances of elements other than carbon and oxygen. Failing to correct for this effect could lead to systematic overestimates of up to 2% in the distance to remote supernovae. This work is a step towards explaining both the nature of type Ia supernova events and the physics behind their suitability as cosmological probes.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08256

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