What is the progenitor of the Type Ia SN 2014J?

• We report the deepest radio interferometric observations of the closest Type Ia supernova in decades, SN 2014J, which exploded in the nearby galaxy M 82. These observations represent, together with radio observations of SNe 2011fe, the most sensitive radio studies of a Type Ia SN ever. We constrain the mass-loss rate from the progenitor system of SN 2014J lower than 7.0 × 10^(−10) M yr^(−1) (for a wind speed of 100 km s^(−1) ). Our deep upper limits favor a double-degenerate scenario–involving two WD stars–for the progenitor system of SN 2014J, as such systems have less circumstellar gas than our upper limits. By contrast, most single-degenerate scenarios, i.e., the wide family of progenitor systems where a red giant, main-sequence, or sub-giant star donates mass to a exploding white dwarf, are ruled out by our observations. The evidence from SNe 2011fe and 2014J points in the direction of a double-degenerate scenario for both.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

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