A radio-detected type Ia supernova with helium-rich circumstellar material

Erik C. Kool (), Joel Johansson, Jesper Sollerman, Javier Moldón, Takashi J. Moriya, Seppo Mattila, Steve Schulze, Laura Chomiuk, Miguel Pérez-Torres, Chelsea Harris, Peter Lundqvist, Matthew Graham, Sheng Yang, Daniel A. Perley, Nora Linn Strotjohann, Christoffer Fremling, Avishay Gal-Yam, Jeremy Lezmy, Kate Maguire, Conor Omand, Mathew Smith, Igor Andreoni, Eric C. Bellm, Joshua S. Bloom, Kishalay De, Steven L. Groom, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Frank J. Masci, Michael S. Medford, Sungmin Park, Josiah Purdum, Thomas M. Reynolds, Reed Riddle, Estelle Robert, Stuart D. Ryder, Yashvi Sharma and Daniel Stern
Additional contact information
Erik C. Kool: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Joel Johansson: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Jesper Sollerman: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Javier Moldón: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Takashi J. Moriya: National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Seppo Mattila: University of Turku
Steve Schulze: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Laura Chomiuk: Michigan State University
Miguel Pérez-Torres: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Chelsea Harris: Michigan State University
Peter Lundqvist: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Matthew Graham: California Institute of Technology
Sheng Yang: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Daniel A. Perley: Liverpool John Moores University
Nora Linn Strotjohann: Weizmann Institute of Science
Christoffer Fremling: California Institute of Technology
Avishay Gal-Yam: Weizmann Institute of Science
Jeremy Lezmy: Univ. Lyon, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822
Kate Maguire: Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Conor Omand: Stockholm University, AlbaNova
Mathew Smith: Univ. Lyon, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822
Igor Andreoni: University of Maryland
Eric C. Bellm: University of Washington
Joshua S. Bloom: University of California, Berkeley
Kishalay De: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Steven L. Groom: California Institute of Technology
Mansi M. Kasliwal: California Institute of Technology
Frank J. Masci: California Institute of Technology
Michael S. Medford: University of California, Berkeley
Sungmin Park: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Josiah Purdum: California Institute of Technology
Thomas M. Reynolds: University of Copenhagen
Reed Riddle: California Institute of Technology
Estelle Robert: Univ. Lyon, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822
Stuart D. Ryder: Macquarie University
Yashvi Sharma: California Institute of Technology
Daniel Stern: California Institute of Technology

Nature, 2023, vol. 617, issue 7961, 477-482

Abstract: Abstract Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are thermonuclear explosions of degenerate white dwarf stars destabilized by mass accretion from a companion star1, 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 winds2 or binary interaction3 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 star4,5. 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. 6,7). We describe how comprehensive radio follow-up of SN 2020eyj-like SNe Ia can improve the constraints on their progenitor systems.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05916-w Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:617:y:2023:i:7961:d:10.1038_s41586-023-05916-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05916-w

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().