Progenitor constraints on the Type Ia supernova SN 2014J from Hubble Space Telescope H$\beta$ and [O III] observations

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae are understood to arise from the thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, yet the evolutionary mechanisms leading to such events remain unknown. Many proposed channels, including the classical single-degenerate scenario, invoke a hot, luminous evolutionary phase for the progenitor, in which it is a prodigious source of photoionizing emission. Here, we examine the environment of SN 2014J for evidence of a photoionized nebula in pre- and post-explosion [O III] $\lambda 5007$ Å and H$\beta$ images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. From the absence of any extended emission, we exclude a stable nuclear-burning white dwarf at the location of SN 2014J in the last ~100,000 years, assuming a typical warm interstellar medium (ISM) particle density of 1 cm${}^{-3}$. These limits greatly exceed existing X-ray constraints at temperatures typical of known supersoft sources. Significant extreme-UV/soft X-ray emission prior to explosion remains plausible for lower ISM densities (e.g., $n_{\mathrm{ISM}}\sim 0.1{\mathrm{cm}}^{-3}$). In this case, however, any putative nebula would be even more extended, allowing deeper follow-up observations to resolve this ambiguity in the near future.

arXiv comment6 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by MNRAS Letters with minor revisions

References in corpus (39)

• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• Observational clues to the progenitors of Type-Ia supernovae
• The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury
• Dielectronic recombination data for dynamic finite-density plasmas I. Goals and methodology
• Hydrogen Burning on Accreting White Dwarfs: Stability, Recurrent Novae, and the Post-Novae Supersoft Source
• Radiative recombination data for modelling dynamic finite-density plasmas
• An upper limit on the contribution of accreting white dwarfs to the type Ia supernova rate
• The Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
• On the Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
• Star formation, supernovae, iron, and alpha: consistent cosmic and Galactic histories
• Single-degenerate type Ia supernovae without hydrogen contamination
• Spin-Up/Spin-Down models for Type Ia Supernovae
• Mass-accreting white dwarfs and type Ia supernovae
• No X-rays from the very nearby Type Ia SN2014J: constraints on its environment
• He-Accreting WDs: accretion regimes and final outcomes
• Catalog of supersoft X-ray sources
• The Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae: Are They Supersoft Sources?
• Constraints on the progenitor system and the environs of SN 2014J from deep radio observations
• Constraints on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2014J from Pre-Explosion Hubble Space Telescope Imaging
• The effect of helium accretion efficiency on rates of Type Ia supernovae: double-detonations in accreting binaries
• Early Observations and Analysis of the Type Ia SN 2014J in M82
• Surface Hydrogen Modeling of Super Soft X-ray Sources: Are They Supernova Ia Progenitors?
• Wait for it: Post-supernova winds driven by delayed radioactive decays
• Obscuration effects in Super-Soft-Source X-ray spectra
• 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
• Progenitor constraints on the Type-Ia supernova SN2011fe from pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope HeII narrow-band observations
• Light Echoes From Supernova 2014J in M82
• Diffuse Gas in Retired Galaxies: Nebular Emission Templates and Constraints on the Sources of Ionization
• Diffuse Gas in Galaxies Sheds New Light on the Origin of Type Ia Supernovae
• No hot and luminous progenitor for Tycho's supernova
• Upper limits on bolometric luminosities of ten type Ia supernova progenitors from Chandra observations
• Upper limits on the luminosity of the progenitor of type Ia supernova SN2014J
• Subdwarf B stars as possible surviving companions in Type Ia supernova remnants
• 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
• Late-Time Observations of Type Ia Supernova SN 2014J with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3
• On double-degenerate type Ia supernova progenitors as supersoft X-ray sources - A population synthesis analysis using SeBa
• X-ray Limits on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2017ejb

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Carbon-Oxygen Classical Novae are Galactic ${}^7$Li Producers as well as Potential Supernova Ia Progenitors
• Supernovae Ia in 2019 (review): a rising demand for spherical explosions
• Rates and delay times of type Ia supernovae in the Dark Energy Survey
• Comprehensive models of novae at metallicity $Z=0.02$ and $Z=10^{-4}$
• Excluding super-soft X-ray sources as progenitors for four Type Ia supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• The Late-Time Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae: Confronting Models with Observations
• Exploration of Aspherical Ejecta Properties in Type Ia Supernova: Progenitor Dependence and Applications to Progenitor Classification
• Recovered SN Ia rate from simulated LSST images
• Supersoft X-Ray Nebulae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• LIN 358: A symbiotic binary accreting above the steady hydrogen fusion limit
• Linking the properties of accreting white dwarfs with the ionization state of their ambient medium
• Optical emission line spectra of symbiotic binaries