Late-time Flattening of Type Ia Supernova Light Curves: Constraints From SN 2014J in M82

Abstract

The very nearby Type Ia supernova 2014J in M82 offers a rare opportunity to study the physics of thermonuclear supernovae at extremely late phases ($\gtrsim$800 days). Using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we obtained six epochs of high precision photometry for SN 2014J from 277 days to 1181 days past the $B-$band maximum light. The reprocessing of electrons and X-rays emitted by the radioactive decay chain ${}^{57}$Co${\to }^{57}$Fe are needed to explain the significant flattening of both the $F606W$-band and the pseudo-bolometric light curves. The flattening confirms previous predictions that the late-time evolution of type Ia supernova luminosities requires additional energy input from the decay of ${}^{57}$Co (Seitenzahl et al. 2009). By assuming the $F606W$-band luminosity scales with the bolometric luminosity at $\sim$500 days after the $B-$band maximum light, a mass ratio ${}^{57}$Ni/${}^{56}$Ni$\sim$0.065${}_{-0.004}^{+0.005}$ is required. This mass ratio is roughly $\sim$3 times the solar ratio and favors a progenitor white dwarf with a mass near the Chandrasekhar limit. A similar fit using the constructed pseudo-bolometric luminosity gives a mass ratio ${}^{57}$Ni/${}^{56}$Ni$\sim$0.066${}_{-0.008}^{+0.009}$. Astrometric tests based on the multi-epoch HST ACS/WFC images reveal no significant circumstellar light echoes in between 0.3 pc and 100 pc (Yang et al. 2017) from the supernova.

5 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (19)

• A 2.4% Determination of the Local Value of the Hubble Constant
• The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury
• Extensive HST Ultraviolet Spectra and Multi-wavelength Observations of SN 2014J in M82 Indicate Reddening and Circumstellar Scattering by Typical Dust
• The rise of SN2014J in the nearby galaxy M82
• SN2014J gamma-rays from the 56Ni decay chain
• The light curve of SN 1987A revisited: constraining production masses of radioactive nuclides
• No trace of a single-degenerate companion in late spectra of SNe 2011fe and 2014J
• Wait for it: Post-supernova winds driven by delayed radioactive decays
• Late Light Curves of Normal Type Ia Supernovae
• Thermonuclear Supernovae: Probing Magnetic Fields by Late-Time IR Line Profiles
• Swift Ultraviolet Observations of Supernova 2014J in M82: Large Extinction from Interstellar Dust
• The white dwarf's carbon fraction as a secondary parameter of Type Ia supernovae
• Spectroscopy of the Type Ia supernova 2011fe past 1000 days
• Late-time emission of type Ia supernovae: optical and near-infrared observations of SN 2001el
• Interpreting Flux from Broadband Photometry
• Extremely late photometry of SN~2011fe
• Very late photometry of SN 2011fe
• Physical Dust Models for the Extinction toward Supernova 2014J in M82
• Interstellar-Medium Mapping in M82 Through Light Echoes Around Supernova 2014J

Cited by in corpus (30)

• Sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf detonations revisited
• Type Ia Supernova Explosions in Binary Systems: A Review
• Mass-accreting white dwarfs and type Ia supernovae
• Explosive Nucleosynthesis in Sub-Chandrasekhar Mass White Dwarf Models for Type Ia Supernovae: Dependence on Model Parameters
• Nucleosynthesis Constraints on the Explosion Mechanism for Type Ia Supernovae
• 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
• Measuring an off-Center Detonation through Infrared Line Profiles: The peculiar Type Ia Supernova SN~2020qxp/ASASSN-20jq
• The origin of the late-time luminosity of supernova 2011dh
• Constraining Type Ia Supernova Progenitor Scenarios with Extremely Late-time Photometry of Supernova SN 2013aa
• Signatures of Bimodality in Nebular Phase Type Ia Supernova Spectra
• A year-long plateau in the late-time near-infrared light curves of Type Ia supernovae
• Observations of Type Ia Supernova 2014J for Nearly 900 Days and Constraints on Its Progenitor System
• The Whisper of a Whimper of a Bang: 2400 Days of the Type Ia SN 2011fe Reveals the Decay of ${}^{55}$Fe
• Physics of Thermonuclear Explosions: Magnetic Field Effects on Deflagration Fronts and Observable Consequences
• Late-Time Observations of ASASSN-14lp Strengthen the Case for a Correlation between the Peak Luminosity of Type Ia Supernovae and the Shape of their Late-Time Light Curves
• The intermediate nebular phase of SN 2014J: onset of clumping as the source of recombination
• 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
• Screening Effects on Electron Capture Rates and Type Ia Supernova Nucleosynthesis
• Mapping Circumstellar Matter with Polarized Light - The Case of Supernova 2014J in M82
• The Interaction of Supernova 2018evt with a Substantial Amount of Circumstellar Matter -- An SN1997cy-like Event
• Exploration of Aspherical Ejecta Properties in Type Ia Supernova: Progenitor Dependence and Applications to Progenitor Classification
• Thermonuclear Supernovae: Prospecting in the Age of Time-Domain and Multi-Wavelength Astronomy
• Type Ia Supernova Progenitor Properties and Their Host Galaxies
• Constraints on the density distribution of type Ia supernovae ejecta inferred from late-time light-curve flattening
• High-Resolution Spectral Discriminants of Ocean Loss for M Dwarf Terrestrial Exoplanets
• Prospects of direct detection of ${}^{48}$V gamma-rays from thermonuclear supernovae
• Galactic Positrons from Thermonuclear Supernovae
• Using ${}^{44}$Ti Emission to Differentiate Between Thermonuclear Supernova Progenitors
• The accuracy of post-processing nucleosynthesis