Progenitor constraints on the Type-Ia supernova SN2011fe from pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope HeII narrow-band observations

Abstract

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging observations of the site of the Type-Ia supernova SN2011fe in the nearby galaxy M101, obtained about one year prior to the event, in a narrow band centred on the HeII 4686 Å emission line. In a "single-degenerate" progenitor scenario, the hard photon flux from an accreting white dwarf (WD), burning hydrogen on its surface over $\sim 1$ Myr should, in principle, create a HeIII Strömgren sphere or shell surrounding the WD. Depending on the WD luminosity, the interstellar density, and the velocity of an outflow from the WD, the HeIII region could appear unresolved, extended, or as a ring, with a range of possible surface brightnesses. We find no trace of HeII 4686 Å line emission in the HST data. Using simulations, we set $2\sigma$ upper limits on the HeII 4686 Å luminosity of $L_{\mathrm{HeII}}<3.4\times 10^{34}$ erg s${}^{-1}$ for a point source, corresponding to an emission region of radius $r<1.8$ pc. The upper limit for an extended source is $L_{\mathrm{HeII}}<1.7\times 10^{35}$ erg s${}^{-1}$, corresponding to an extended region with $r\sim 11$ pc. The largest detectable shell, given an interstellar-medium density of 1 cm${}^{-3}$, has a radius of $\sim 6$ pc. Our results argue against the presence, within the $\sim 10^5$ yr prior to the explosion, of a supersoft X-ray source of luminosity $L_{\mathrm{bol}}\ge 3\times 10^{37}$ erg s${}^{-1}$, or of a super-Eddington accreting WD that produces an outflowing wind capable of producing cavities with radii of 2-6 pc.

arXiv commentAccepted by MNRAS Letters; revised version following referee report and readers' comments

References in corpus (26)

• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• Supernova 2011fe from an Exploding Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Star
• Supernova remnants: the X-ray perspective
• A Wide Symbiotic Channel to Type Ia Supernovae
• Constraints on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova SN 2011fe/PTF11kly
• Thermal Stability of White Dwarfs Accreting Hydrogen-rich Matter and Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
• Hydrogen Burning on Accreting White Dwarfs: Stability, Recurrent Novae, and the Post-Novae Supersoft Source
• A New Cepheid Distance to the Giant Spiral M101 Based On Image Subtraction of HST/ACS Observations
• Recurrent novae as a progenitor system of Type Ia supernovae. I. RS Ophiuchi subclass --- Systems with a red giant companion
• EVLA Observations Constrain the Environment and Progenitor System of Type Ia Supernova 2011fe
• Are the Models for Type Ia Supernova Progenitors Consistent with the Properties of Supernova Remnants?
• Early radio and X-ray observations of the youngest nearby type Ia supernova PTF11kly (SN 2011fe)
• A Swift Look at SN 2011fe: The Earliest Ultraviolet Observations of a Type Ia Supernova
• Inverse Compton X-ray Emission from Supernovae with Compact Progenitors: Application to SN2011fe
• RCW 86: A Type Ia Supernova in a Wind-Blown Bubble
• Connecting RS OPh to [some] Type Ia Supernovae
• He II recombination lines as a test of the nature of SN Ia progenitors in elliptical galaxies
• Diffuse Gas in Galaxies Sheds New Light on the Origin of Type Ia Supernovae
• Upper limits on bolometric luminosities of ten type Ia supernova progenitors from Chandra observations
• Rapidly accreting white dwarfs as supernova type Ia progenitors
• The Vast Population of Wolf-Rayet and Red Supergiant Stars in M101: I. Motivation and First Results
• Obscuration of Supersoft X-ray Sources by Circumbinary Material - A Way to Hide Type Ia Supernova Progenitors?
• SN 2011fe: A Laboratory for Testing Models of Type Ia Supernovae
• The Remnants of Intergalactic Supernovae
• Evolution of accreting white dwarfs; some of them continue to grow
• A VLT VIMOS IFU study of the ionisation nebula surrounding the Supersoft X-ray Source CAL 83

Cited by in corpus (30)

• 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 Thermonuclear Runaway and the Classical Nova Outburst
• Mass-accreting white dwarfs and type Ia supernovae
• The Young and Bright Type Ia Supernova ASASSN-14lp: Discovery, Early-Time Observations, First-Light Time, Distance to NGC 4666, and Progenitor Constraints
• A unified explanation for the supernova rate-galaxy mass dependency based on supernovae discovered in Sloan galaxy spectra
• LOSS Revisited - I: Unraveling correlations between supernova rates and galaxy properties, as measured in a reanalysis of the Lick Observatory Supernova Search
• Late-Time Photometry of Type Ia Supernova SN 2012cg Reveals the Radioactive Decay of ${}^{57}$Co
• Whimper of a Bang: Documenting the Final Days of the Nearby Type Ia Supernova 2011fe
• Constraining the Progenitor Companion of the Nearby Type Ia SN 2011fe with a Nebular Spectrum at +981 Days
• Rates and delay times of type Ia supernovae in the Dark Energy Survey
• The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna: Mission Studies and Science Case
• No hot and luminous progenitor for Tycho's supernova
• 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
• Getting to know Classical Novae with Swift
• PTF11kx: A Type Ia Supernova with Hydrogen Emission Persisting After 3.5 Years
• Identifying IGR J14091-6108 as a magnetic CV with a massive white dwarf using X-ray and optical observations
• Excluding super-soft X-ray sources as progenitors for four Type Ia supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Balmer-Dominated Shocks Exclude Hot Progenitors for Many Type Ia Supernovae
• The Whisper of a Whimper of a Bang: 2400 Days of the Type Ia SN 2011fe Reveals the Decay of ${}^{55}$Fe
• Late-Time Observations of Type Ia Supernova SN 2014J with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3
• Rates and delay times of Type Ia supernovae in the helium-enriched main-sequence donor scenario
• Progenitor constraints on the Type Ia supernova SN 2014J from Hubble Space Telescope H$\beta$ and [O III] observations
• The Late-Time Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae: Confronting Models with Observations
• Constraining the Progenitor of the Type Ia Supernova SN 2012cg
• Classifying IGR J15038-6021 as a magnetic CV with a massive white dwarf
• The HST Non-Detection of SN Ia 2011fe 11.5yr After Explosion Further Restricts Single-Degenerate Progenitor Systems
• A super-Eddington wind scenario for the progenitors of type Ia supernovae: binary population synthesis calculations
• Supersoft X-Ray Nebulae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Optical emission line spectra of symbiotic binaries