Strong Evidence Against A Non-Degenerate Companion in SN 2012cg

Abstract

Even though SN 2012cg is one of the best-studied Type Ia Supernovae to date, the nature of its progenitor system has been debated in numerous studies. Specifically, it is difficult to reconcile recent claims of the detection of a $\sim 6{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ main-sequence companion with recent deep, late-time H$\alpha$ flux limits. In this study we add three new constraints: 1) We analyze new high-signal-to-noise, nebular-phase, LBT/MODS spectrum of SN 2012cg and place an upper limit on the amount of low-velocity, solar-abundance material removed from a possible companion of $<7.8\times 10^{-3}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$. 2) We use Swift X-ray observations to constrain the preexplosion mass-loss rate to be $\dot{M}<10^{-6}$ ${\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ yr${}^{-1}$ for $v_{\text{w}}=100\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. 3) We carefully reanalyze a prediscovery MASTER image and, with published light curves of SN 2012cg, we estimate the time of first light and conservatively constrain the radius of a Roche-lobe overflowing companion to be $<0.24{\mathrm{R}}_{\odot }$. These observations disagree with a large nearby companion, and, when considered with other studies of SN 2012cg's progenitor system, essentially rule out a non-degenerate companion.

10 pages, 6 figures, 1 Table. Accepted to ApJ

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