Neutronization During Carbon Simmering In Type Ia Supernova Progenitors

Abstract

When a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) progenitor first ignites carbon in its core, it undergoes $\sim 10^3-10^4$yr of convective burning prior to the onset of thermonuclear runaway. This carbon simmering phase is important for setting the thermal profile and composition of the white dwarf. Using the \texttt{MESA} stellar evolution code, we follow this convective burning and examine the production of neutron-rich isotopes. The neutron content of the SN fuel has important consequences for the ensuing nucleosynthesis, and, in particular, for the production of secondary Fe-peak nuclei like Mn and stable Ni. These elements have been observed in the X-ray spectra of SN remnants like Tycho, Kepler, and 3C 397, and their yields can provide valuable insights into the physics of SNe Ia and the properties of their progenitors. We find that weak reactions during simmering can at most generate a neutron excess of $\approx 3\times 10^{-4}$. This is $\approx 8\times 10^{-4}$ lower than that found in previous studies that do not take the full density and temperature profile of the simmering region into account. Our results imply that the progenitor metallicity is the main contributor to the neutron excess in SN Ia fuel for $Z\gtrsim 1/3Z_{\odot }$. Alternatively, at lower metallicities, this neutron excess provides a floor that should be present in any centrally-ignited SN~Ia scenario.

15 pages, 16 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in the ApJ

References in corpus (17)

• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA)
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Binaries, Pulsations, and Explosions
• Unstable Helium Shell Burning on Accreting White Dwarfs
• A Chandrasekhar Mass Progenitor for the Type Ia Supernova Remnant 3C 397 from The Enhanced Abundances of Nickel and Manganese
• The ejected mass distribution of type Ia supernovae: A significant rate of non-Chandrasekhar-mass progenitors
• Thermal Runaway During the Evolution of ONeMg Cores towards Accretion-Induced Collapse
• Neutronization During Type Ia Supernova Simmering
• The End of Amnesia: A New Method for Measuring the Metallicity of Type Ia Supernova Progenitors Using Manganese Lines in Supernova Remnants
• The Reduction of the Electron Abundance during the Pre-explosion Simmering in White Dwarf Supernovae
• Metallicity as a source of dispersion in the SNIa bolometric light curve luminosity-width relationship
• Hybrid C-O-Ne white dwarfs as progenitors of type Ia supernovae: dependence on Urca process and mixing assumptions
• Gravitational settling of 22Ne and white dwarf evolution
• The Internal Shear of Type Ia Supernova Progenitors During Accretion and Simmering
• Convection during the Late Stages of Simmering in Type Ia Supernovae
• Evaluating Systematic Dependencies of Type Ia Supernovae: The Influence of Deflagration to Detonation Density
• On the nature of rapidly fading Type II supernovae
• The impact of chemical differentiation of white dwarfs on thermonuclear supernovae

Cited by in corpus (29)

• Explosive Nucleosynthesis in Near-Chandrasekhar Mass White Dwarf Models for Type Ia Supernovae: Dependence on Model Parameters
• K2 Observations of SN 2018oh Reveal a Two-Component Rising Light Curve for a Type Ia Supernova
• Evidence for Sub-Chandrasekhar Type Ia Supernovae from Stellar Abundances in Dwarf Galaxies
• Manganese Indicates a Transition from Sub- to Near-Chandrasekhar Type Ia Supernovae in Dwarf Galaxies
• The Importance of Urca-process Cooling in Accreting ONe White Dwarfs
• Evidence for a Sub-Chandrasekhar Mass Type~Ia Supernova in the Ursa Minor Dwarf Galaxy
• SNR-calibrated Type Ia supernova models
• Observational evidence for high neutronization in supernova remnants: implications for Type Ia supernova progenitors
• The Origin of the Iron-Rich Knot in Tycho's Supernova Remnant
• How do Type Ia Supernova Nebular Spectra Depend on Explosion Properties? Insights from Systematic non-LTE Modeling
• Stable nickel production in Type Ia supernovae: A smoking gun for the progenitor mass?
• Measurement of the core-collapse progenitor mass distribution of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Convection Destroys the Core/Mantle Structure in Hybrid C/O/Ne White Dwarfs
• Constraining The Single-Degenerate Channel of Type Ia Supernovae With Stable Iron-Group Elements in SNR 3C 397
• Electron Captures on ${}^{14}\mathrm{N}$ as a Trigger for Helium Shell Detonations
• Type Ia Supernovae keep memory of their progenitor metallicity
• Sensitivity of Type Ia supernovae to electron capture rates
• Chandrasekhar and sub-Chandrasekhar models for the X-ray emission of Type Ia supernova remnants (I): Bulk properties
• Exploring the Carbon Simmering Phase: Reaction Rates, Mixing, and the Convective Urca Process
• Pre-explosive accretion and simmering phases of Type Ia Supernovae
• The Late-Time Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae: Confronting Models with Observations
• Synthesis of radioactive elements in novae and supernovae and their use as a diagnostic tool
• Thermonuclear (Type Ia) Supernovae and Progenitor Evolution
• Linking the properties of accreting white dwarfs with the ionization state of their ambient medium
• ${}^{16}O(p,\alpha {)}^{13}N$ makes explosive oxygen burning sensitive to the metallicity of the progenitors of type Ia supernovae
• 3D Convective Urca Process in a Simmering White Dwarf
• Estimating Ejecta Mass Ratios in Kepler's SNR: Global X-Ray Spectral Analysis Including Suzaku Systematics and Emitting Volume Uncertainties
• Sensitivity of 3D Convective Urca Simulations to Changes in Urca Reactions
• On the Importance of the Convective Urca Process in 3D Simulations of a Simmering White Dwarf