Constraints on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova SN 2011fe/PTF11kly

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae (SNe) serve as a fundamental pillar of modern cosmology, owing to their large luminosity and a well-defined relationship between light-curve shape and peak brightness. The precision distance measurements enabled by SNe Ia first revealed the accelerating expansion of the universe, now widely believed (though hardly understood) to require the presence of a mysterious "dark" energy. General consensus holds that Type Ia SNe result from thermonuclear explosions of a white dwarf (WD) in a binary system; however, little is known of the precise nature of the companion star and the physical properties of the progenitor system. Here we make use of extensive historical imaging obtained at the location of SN 2011fe/PTF11kly, the closest SN Ia discovered in the digital imaging era, to constrain the visible-light luminosity of the progenitor to be 10-100 times fainter than previous limits on other SN Ia progenitors. This directly rules out luminous red giants and the vast majority of helium stars as the mass-donating companion to the exploding white dwarf. Any evolved red companion must have been born with mass less than 3.5 times the mass of the Sun. These observations favour a scenario where the exploding WD of SN 2011fe/PTF11kly, accreted matter either from another WD, or by Roche-lobe overflow from a subgiant or main-sequence companion star.

22 pages, 6 figures, submitted

References in corpus (9)

• New Grids of ATLAS9 Model Atmospheres
• Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star
• Double-detonation sub-Chandrasekhar supernovae: can minimum helium shell masses detonate the core?
• A Common Explosion Mechanism for Type Ia Supernovae
• The Automated Palomar 60-Inch Telescope
• Helium Nova on a Very Massive White Dwarf -- A Light Curve Model of V445 Puppis (2000) Revised
• A Search for the Progenitors of Two Type-Ia Supernovae in NGC 1316
• Limits on the X-ray and optical luminosity of the progenitor of the type Ia supernova SN2007sr
• On the Evolution and Appearance of a Surviving Companion after a Type Ia Supernova Explosion

Cited by in corpus (233)

• Observational clues to the progenitors of Type-Ia supernovae
• Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star
• Progenitors of type Ia supernovae
• PTF11kx: A Type-Ia Supernova with a Symbiotic Nova Progenitor
• Helium-ignited violent mergers as a unified model for normal and rapidly declining Type Ia Supernovae
• A Compact Degenerate Primary-Star Progenitor of SN 2011fe
• The delay-time distribution of type-Ia supernovae from Sloan II
• Theoretical uncertainties of the type Ia supernova rate
• Type Ia Supernova Distances at z > 1.5 from the Hubble Space Telescope Multi-Cycle Treasury Programs: The Early Expansion Rate
• Three Hypervelocity White Dwarfs in Gaia DR2: Evidence for Dynamically Driven Double-Degenerate Double-Detonation Type Ia Supernovae
• Spectrophotometric time series of SN 2011fe from the Nearby Supernova Factory
• Constraining Type Ia supernova models: SN 2011fe as a test case
• The Long-Term Evolution of Double White Dwarf Mergers
• The Carnegie Supernova Project I: Third Photometry Data Release of Low-Redshift Type Ia Supernovae and Other White Dwarf Explosions
• Strong Ultraviolet Pulse From a Newborn Type Ia Supernova
• On the Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
• Ejection of the massive Hydrogen-rich envelope timed with the collapse of the stripped SN2014C
• Host Galaxy Properties and Hubble Residuals of Type Ia Supernovae from the Nearby Supernova Factory
• Evidence for Two Distinct Populations of Type Ia Supernovae
• EVLA Observations Constrain the Environment and Progenitor System of Type Ia Supernova 2011fe
• The Search for Failed Supernovae with The Large Binocular Telescope: First Candidates
• A luminous, blue progenitor system for a type-Iax supernova
• Observational Properties of Thermonuclear Supernovae
• SN~2012cg: Evidence for Interaction Between a Normal Type Ia Supernova and a Non-Degenerate Binary Companion
• Type Ia Supernova Explosions in Binary Systems: A Review
• The Ignition of Carbon Detonations via Converging Shock Waves in White Dwarfs
• The Thermonuclear Runaway and the Classical Nova Outburst
• A Chandrasekhar Mass Progenitor for the Type Ia Supernova Remnant 3C 397 from The Enhanced Abundances of Nickel and Manganese
• Mass-accreting white dwarfs and type Ia supernovae
• No X-rays from the very nearby Type Ia SN2014J: constraints on its environment
• Inverse Compton X-ray Emission from Supernovae with Compact Progenitors: Application to SN2011fe
• Early 56Ni decay γ-rays from SN2014J suggest an unusual explosion
• BVRI lightcurves of supernovae SN 2011fe in M101, SN 2012aw in M95, and SN 2012cg in NGC 4424
• A mildly relativistic outflow from the energetic, fast-rising blue optical transient CSS161010 in a dwarf galaxy
• A statistical analysis of circumstellar material in Type Ia supernovae
• Discovery of 90 Type Ia supernovae among 700,000 Sloan spectra: the Type-Ia supernova rate versus galaxy mass and star-formation rate at redshift ~0.1
• Cosmology with Photometrically-Classified Type Ia Supernovae from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey
• A Deep Search for Prompt Radio Emission from Thermonuclear Supernovae with the Very Large Array
• No surviving evolved companions to the progenitor of supernova SN 1006
• How the merger of two white dwarfs depends on their mass ratio: orbital stability and detonations at contact
• The Young Supernova Experiment: Survey Goals, Overview, and Operations
• K2 Observations of SN 2018oh Reveal a Two-Component Rising Light Curve for a Type Ia Supernova
• The Very Young Type Ia Supernova 2013dy: Discovery, and Strong Carbon Absorption in Early-Time Spectra
• Evryscope science: exploring the potential of all-sky gigapixel-scale telescopes
• Exploring the spectral diversity of low-redshift Type Ia supernovae using the Palomar Transient Factory
• High-efficiency Autonomous Laser Adaptive Optics
• Nebular spectra and abundance tomography of the type Ia supernova SN 2011fe: a normal SN Ia with a stable Fe core
• Optical Observations of the Type Ia Supernova 2011fe in M101 for Nearly 500 Days
• Light and color curve properties of type Ia supernovae: Theory vs. Observations
• Constraints on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2014J from Pre-Explosion Hubble Space Telescope Imaging
• Estimating the First-Light Time of the Type Ia Supernova 2014J in M82
• Measuring nickel masses in Type Ia supernovae using cobalt emission in nebular phase spectra
• The Post-Merger Magnetized Evolution of White Dwarf Binaries: The Double-Degenerate Channel of Sub-Chandrasekhar Type Ia Supernovae and the Formation of Magnetized White Dwarfs
• The impact of Type Ia supernova explosions on helium companions in the Chandrasekhar-mass explosion scenario
• Illuminating a Dark Lens : A Type Ia Supernova Magnified by the Frontier Fields Galaxy Cluster Abell 2744
• Progenitors of type Ia supernovae
• Spectroscopic Observations of SN 2012fr: A Luminous Normal Type Ia Supernova with Early High Velocity Features and Late Velocity Plateau
• Photometric and Spectroscopic Properties of Type Ia Supernova 2018oh with Early Excess Emission from the $Kepler$ 2 Observations
• The Earliest Near-infrared Time-series Spectroscopy of a Type Ia Supernova
• Carbon Detection in Early-Time Optical Spectra of Type Ia Supernovae
• Searching for swept-up Hydrogen and Helium in the late-time spectra of 11 nearby Type Ia supernovae
• The peculiar Type Ia supernova iPTF14atg: Chandrasekhar-mass explosion or violent merger?
• Observations of Galactic and Extragalactic Novae
• On the fate of the secondary white dwarf in double-degenerate double-detonation Type Ia supernovae
• A Search for New Candidate Super-Chandrasekhar-Mass Type Ia Supernovae in the Nearby Supernova Factory Dataset
• The Origin of Kepler's Supernova Remnant
• Hydrogen and helium in the spectra of Type Ia supernovae
• SN 2010lp---a Type Ia supernova from a violent merger of two carbon--oxygen White Dwarfs
• Type Ia Single Degenerate Survivors Must Be Overluminous
• The Young and Bright Type Ia Supernova ASASSN-14lp: Discovery, Early-Time Observations, First-Light Time, Distance to NGC 4666, and Progenitor Constraints
• Type Iax Supernovae
• No trace of a single-degenerate companion in late spectra of SNe 2011fe and 2014J
• Nuclear-Astrophysics Lessons from INTEGRAL
• A High-Resolution Spectroscopic Search for the Remaining Donor for Tycho's Supernova
• Strong Evidence Against A Non-Degenerate Companion in SN 2012cg
• LOSS Revisited - I: Unraveling correlations between supernova rates and galaxy properties, as measured in a reanalysis of the Lick Observatory Supernova Search
• Late-time Spectroscopy of Type Iax Supernovae
• Single Degenerate Models for Type Ia Supernovae Progenitor's Evolution and Nucleosythesis Yields
• Supernova spectra below strong circum-stellar interaction
• Constraints on Type Ia Supernova Progenitor Companions from Early Ultraviolet Observations with Swift
• Multi-epoch high-resolution spectroscopy of SN2011fe - Linking the progenitor to its environment
• BAHAMAS: new SNIa analysis reveals inconsistencies with standard cosmology
• Evidence for Sub-Chandrasekhar Type Ia Supernovae from Stellar Abundances in Dwarf Galaxies
• Double-Detonation Models for Type Ia Supernovae: Trigger of Detonation in Companion White Dwarfs and Signatures of Companions' Stripped-off Materials
• Identifying and Quantifying Recurrent Novae Masquerading as Classical Novae
• The Progenitor of the Type Ia Supernova that created SNR 0519-69.0 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• A review of type Ia supernova spectra
• Late-Time Photometry of Type Ia Supernova SN 2012cg Reveals the Radioactive Decay of ${}^{57}$Co
• Surface Radioactivity or Interactions? Multiple Origins of Early-excess Type Ia Supernovae and Associated Subclasses
• 500 Days of SN 2013dy: spectra and photometry from the ultraviolet to the infrared
• Metallicity Differences in Type Ia Supernova Progenitors Inferred from Ultraviolet Spectra
• Kepler's Supernova: An Overluminous Type Ia Event Interacting with a Massive Circumstellar Medium at a Very Late Phase
• Sub-Chandrasekhar progenitors favoured for type Ia supernovae: Evidence from late-time spectroscopy
• New approaches to SNe Ia progenitors
• White Dwarf/M Dwarf Binaries as Single Degenerate Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
• Final Fates of Rotating White Dwarfs and Their Companions in the Single Degenerate Model of Type Ia Supernovae
• Whimper of a Bang: Documenting the Final Days of the Nearby Type Ia Supernova 2011fe
• Dynamical Tides in Compact White Dwarf Binaries: Helium Core White Dwarfs, Tidal Heating, and Observational Signatures
• A common-envelope wind model for Type Ia supernovae (I): binary evolution and birth rate
• Constraining the Progenitor Companion of the Nearby Type Ia SN 2011fe with a Nebular Spectrum at +981 Days
• He II recombination lines as a test of the nature of SN Ia progenitors in elliptical galaxies
• Evolution of Post-Impact Companion Stars in SN Ia Remnants within the Single-Degenerate Scenario
• The late-time light curve of the type Ia supernova SN 2011fe
• Probing type Ia supernova properties using bolometric light curves from the Carnegie Supernova Project and the CfA Supernova Group
• Signatures of A Companion Star in Type Ia Supernovae
• The Absence of Ex-Companions in Type Ia Supernova Remnants
• Single-Degenerate Type Ia Supernovae Are Preferentially Overluminous
• Strong Calcium Emission Indicates that the Ultraviolet-Flashing Type Ia SN 2019yvq was the Result of a Sub-Chandrasekhar Mass Double-Detonation Explosion
• Dynamical Tides in Compact White Dwarf Binaries: Influence of Rotation
• The Young and Nearby Normal Type Ia Supernova 2018gv: UV-Optical Observations and the Earliest Spectropolarimetry
• Ultraviolet Observations of Super-Chandrasekhar Mass Type Ia Supernova Candidates with Swift UVOT
• A Tracer Method for Computing Type Ia Supernova Yields: Burning Model Calibration, Reconstruction of Thickened Flames, and Verification for Planar Detonations
• Progenitor constraints on the Type-Ia supernova SN2011fe from pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope HeII narrow-band observations
• The explosion of supernova 2011fe in the frame of the core-degenerate scenario
• The Effects of Variations in Nuclear Interactions on Nucleosynthesis in Thermonuclear Supernovae
• The Silicon and Calcium High-Velocity Features in Type Ia Supernovae from Early to Maximum Phases
• The white dwarf's carbon fraction as a secondary parameter of Type Ia supernovae
• Three-Dimensional Simulation of Double-Detonations in the Double-Degenerate Model for Type Ia Supernovae and Interaction of Ejecta with a Surviving White Dwarf Companion
• Circumstellar Shell Formation in Symbiotic Recurrent Novae
• The Cold and Dusty Circumstellar Matter around Fast-expanding Type Ia Supernovae
• A radio-detected Type Ia supernova with helium-rich circumstellar material
• Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age. Secondary distance indicators
• Optical and near infrared observations of SN 2014ck: an outlier among the Type Iax supernovae
• First detection and characterization of symbiotic stars in M31
• The Radio Light Curve of the Gamma-Ray Nova in V407 Cyg: Thermal Emission from the Ionized Symbiotic Envelope, Devoured from Within by the Nova Blast
• Predicting the amount of hydrogen stripped by the supernova explosion for SN 2002cx-like SNe Ia
• Reconciling 56Ni Production in Type Ia Supernovae with Double Degenerate Scenarios
• A Systematic Study of Ia-CSM Supernovae from the ZTF Bright Transient Survey
• The ANU WiFeS SuperNovA Program (AWSNAP)
• Constraints on Type IIn Supernova Progenitor Outbursts from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search
• Ca hnk: Calcium-rich Transient SN 2016hnk from the Helium Shell Detonation of a Sub-Chandrasekhar White Dwarf
• Constraints on single-degenerate Chandrasekhar mass progenitors of Type Iax supernovae
• On the Lira law and the nature of extinction towards Type Ia Supernovae
• Constraining the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2021aefx
• Very late photometry of SN 2011fe
• One possible solution of peculiar type Ia supernovae explosions caused by a charged white dwarf
• Pre-explosion companion stars in Type Iax supernovae
• Prediction of Supernova Rates in Known Galaxy-galaxy Strong-lens Systems
• Evaluating Systematic Dependencies of Type Ia Supernovae: The Influence of Central Density
• Herschel limits on far-infrared emission from circumstellar dust around nearby Type Ia supernovae
• Magneto-Hydrodynamical Effects on Nuclear Deflagration Fronts in Type Ia Supernovae
• Early ultraviolet signatures from the interaction of Type Ia supernova ejecta with a stellar companion
• Observations of SN 2015F suggest a correlation between the intrinsic luminosity of Type Ia supernovae and the shape of their light curves >900 days after explosion
• Final Evolution and Delayed Explosions of Spinning White Dwarfs in Single Degenerate Models for Type Ia Supernovae
• The Oxygen Features in Type Ia Supernovae and the Implications for the Nature of Thermonuclear Explosions
• Binary companions of nearby supernova remnants found with Gaia
• Observations of the Very Young Type Ia Supernova 2019np with Early-excess Emission
• Constraining The Single-Degenerate Channel of Type Ia Supernovae With Stable Iron-Group Elements in SNR 3C 397
• Helium ignition in rotating magnetized CO white dwarfs leading to fast and faint rather than classical type Ia supernovae
• PTF11kx: A Type Ia Supernova with Hydrogen Emission Persisting After 3.5 Years
• Subdwarf B stars as possible surviving companions in Type Ia supernova remnants
• Neutrinos from type Ia supernovae: The gravitationally confined detonation scenario
• Pre-Explosive Observational Properties of Type Ia Supernovae
• The Evolution of Helium Star Plus Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Binary Systems and Implications for Diverse Stellar Transients and Hypervelocity Stars
• The interaction of Type Iax supernova ejecta with a helium companion star
• Constraining magnetic field amplification in SN shocks using radio observations of SNe 2011fe and 2014J
• OISTER Optical and Near-Infrared Observations of the Super-Chandrasekhar Supernova Candidate SN 2012dn: Dust Emission from the Circumstellar Shell
• Near-Chandrasekhar-Mass Type Ia Supernovae from the Double-Degenerate Channel
• Obscuration of Supersoft X-ray Sources by Circumbinary Material - A Way to Hide Type Ia Supernova Progenitors?
• On the Nature of the Progenitor of the Type Ia SN2011fe in M101
• The low-luminosity type II SN\,2016aqf: A well-monitored spectral evolution of the Ni/Fe abundance ratio
• Observation of SN2011fe with INTEGRAL. I. Pre--maximum phase
• Discovery and Follow-up Observations of the Young Type Ia Supernova 2016coj
• Asymmetries in SN 2014J Near Maximum Light Revealed Through Spectropolarimetry
• Evolution of Magnetized White Dwarf Binaries to Type Ia Supernovae
• SN 2011fe: A Laboratory for Testing Models of Type Ia Supernovae
• Wind-Driven Evolution of White Dwarf Binaries to Type Ia Supernovae
• On the progenitors of Local Group Novae - I. The M31 Catalog
• The Whisper of a Whimper of a Bang: 2400 Days of the Type Ia SN 2011fe Reveals the Decay of ${}^{55}$Fe
• An Intermediate Type Ia Supernova Between Normal And Super-Chandrasekhar
• Continuum Foreground Polarization and Na~I Absorption in Type Ia SNe
• SN 2012ij: A low-luminosity type Ia supernova and evidence for continuous distribution from 91bg-like explosion to normal ones
• Late-Time Observations of Type Ia Supernova SN 2014J with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3
• The Late-Time Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae: Confronting Models with Observations
• Supernovae and Gaia
• Optical observations of a SN 2002cx-like peculiar supernova SN 2013en in UGC 11369
• Rates and delay times of Type Ia supernovae in the helium-enriched main-sequence donor scenario
• Mapping Circumstellar Matter with Polarized Light - The Case of Supernova 2014J in M82
• Cosmic Type Ia SN rate and constraints on SN Ia progenitors
• Rapidly-Declining Hostless Type Ia Supernova KSP-OT-201509b from the KMTNet Supernova Program: Transitional Nature and Constraint on ${}^{56}$Ni Distribution and Progenitor Type
• Radio light curves and imaging of the helium nova V445 Puppis reveal seven years of synchrotron emission
• Signatures of a surviving helium-star companion in Type Ia supernovae and constraints on the progenitor companion of SN 2011fe
• The Interaction of Supernova 2018evt with a Substantial Amount of Circumstellar Matter -- An SN1997cy-like Event
• The HSC-SSP Transient Survey: Implications from Early Photometry and Rise Time of Normal Type Ia Supernovae
• Turbulent Mixing on Helium-Accreting White Dwarfs
• An Empirical Fitting Method for Type Ia Supernova Light Curves: A Case Study of SN 2011fe
• The Accretion of Solar Material onto White Dwarfs: No Mixing with Core Material Implies that the Mass of the White Dwarf is Increasing
• Spectral Models for Early Time SN 2011fe Observations
• Constraining the Progenitor of the Type Ia Supernova SN 2012cg
• Possible Contribution of Magnetized White Dwarf Binaries to Type Ia Supernova Populations
• Circumstellar properties of Type Ia supernovae from the helium star donor channel
• Understanding Type Ia supernovae through their U-band spectra
• Type Ia supernovae in globular clusters: observational upper limits
• The Early Light Curve of a Type Ia Supernova 2021hpr in NGC 3147: Progenitor Constraints with the Companion Interaction Model
• Insights into thermonuclear supernovae from the incomplete silicon burning process
• Dust Formation and the Binary Companions of Supernovae
• A study of Si II and S II features in spectra of Type Ia supernova
• Optical Observations of the Nearby Type Ia Supernova 2021hpr
• Blast From the Past: Constraining Progenitor Models of SN 1972E
• X-ray Limits on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2017ejb
• Correlation of the rate of Type Ia supernovae with the parent galaxy properties: Light and shadows
• The effect of aspherical stellar wind of giant stars on the symbiotic channel of type Ia supernovae
• Possible Circumstellar Interaction Origin of the Early Excess Emission in Thermonuclear Supernovae
• High-velocity feature as the indicator of the stellar population of Type Ia supernovae
• Self-shielding of Soft X-rays in SN Ia Progenitors
• Type Ia Supernova Magnitude Step from the local Dark Matter Environment
• Optical and ultraviolet spectroscopic analysis of SN 2011fe at late times
• Multi-epoch Spectropolarimetry of SN 2011fe
• Observations of A Fast-Expanding and UV-Bright Type Ia Supernova SN 2013gs
• Long-term evolution of post-explosion Helium-star Companions of Type Iax Supernovae
• The HST Non-Detection of SN Ia 2011fe 11.5yr After Explosion Further Restricts Single-Degenerate Progenitor Systems
• Radio Observations of Six Young Type Ia Supernovae
• Comparing the light curves of simulated Type Ia Supernovae with observations using data-driven models
• Life Beyond PTF
• The Red Supergiant Progenitor of the Type II Supernova 2024abfl
• Why Are Peculiar Type Ia Supernovae More Likely to Show the Signature of a Single-degenerate Model?
• Supersoft X-Ray Nebulae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• A Study of Magnetized White Dwarf + Helium Star Binary Evolution to Type Ia Supernovae
• SNe Ia: Can Chandrasekhar Mass Explosions Reproduce the Observed Zoo?
• Synthesis of radioactive elements in novae and supernovae and their use as a diagnostic tool
• Direct Analysis of the Broad-Line SN 2019ein: Connection with the Core-Normal SN 2011fe
• The environments of Type Ia supernovae with different relative equivalent width of Si II feature in their spectra
• The expansion of the universe observed with supernovae
• SN 2021hpr: A Normal Type Ia Supernova Showing Excess Emission in the Early Rising Phase
• The SNIa Runaway LP 398-9: Detection of Circumstellar Material and Surface Rotation
• Classical and Recurrent Nova Outbursts
• Observational signatures of the surviving donor star in the double detonation model of Type Ia supernovae
• Observational Properties of SNe Ia Progenitors Close to the Explosion
• Normal or transitional? The evolution and properties of two type Ia supernovae in the Virgo cluster
• Primordial Black Hole Triggered Type Ia Supernovae II: Comparison with Supernova Remnants and Galactic Chemical Evolution
• Puzzling High-Velocity Calcium Absorption Features Of Type Ia Supernovae
• Photometric Investigation of Novae T Pyx, BT Mon and V574 Pup at Quiescence by using the 2.4 m Thai National Telescope
• An imaging polarimetry survey of Type Ia supernovae: are peculiar extinction and polarization properties produced by circumstellar or interstellar matter?