Constraining the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2021aefx

Hosseinzadeh, G.; Sand, D.J.; Lundqvist, P.; Andrews, J.E.; Bostroem, K.A.; Dong, Y.; Janzen, D.; Jencson, J.E.; Lundquist, M.; Meza Retamal, N.E.; Pearson, J.; Valenti, S.; Wyatt, S.; Burke, J.; Howell, D.A.; McCully, C.; Newsome, M.; Gonzalez, E.P.; Pellegrino, C.; Terreran, G.; Kwok, L.A.; Jha, S.W.; Strader, J.; Kundu, E.; Ryder, S.D.; Haislip, J.; Kouprianov, V.; Reichart, D.E.

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Steward Observatory, University of Arizona

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2022

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American Astronomical Society

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Hosseinzadeh, G., Sand, D. J., Lundqvist, P., Andrews, J. E., Bostroem, K. A., Dong, Y., Janzen, D., Jencson, J. E., Lundquist, M., Meza Retamal, N. E., Pearson, J., Valenti, S., Wyatt, S., Burke, J., Howell, D. A., McCully, C., Newsome, M., Gonzalez, E. P., Pellegrino, C., … Reichart, D. E. (2022). Constraining the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2021aefx. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 933(2).

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Astrophysical Journal Letters

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This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.

Abstract

We present high-cadence optical and ultraviolet light curves of the normal Type Ia supernova (SN) 2021aefx, which shows an early bump during the first two days of observation. This bump may be a signature of interaction between the exploding white dwarf and a nondegenerate binary companion, or it may be intrinsic to the white dwarf explosion mechanism. In the case of the former, the short duration of the bump implies a relatively compact main-sequence companion star, although this conclusion is viewing-angle dependent. Our best-fit companion-shocking and double-detonation models both overpredict the UV luminosity during the bump, and existing nickel-shell models do not match the strength and timescale of the bump. We also present nebular spectra of SN 2021aefx, which do not show the hydrogen or helium emission expected from a nondegenerate companion, as well as a radio nondetection that rules out all symbiotic progenitor systems and most accretion disk winds. Our analysis places strong but conflicting constraints on the progenitor of SN 2021aefx; no current model can explain all of our observations. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

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Open access journal

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2041-8205

DOI

10.3847/2041-8213/ac7cef

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Final published version

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UA Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.

Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.