Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs are the progenitors of a small fraction of Type Ia supernovae according to nucleosythesis constraints

Abstract

The precise progenitor system of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), whether it is a white dwarf (WD) close to the Chandrasekhar limit or substantially less massive, has been a matter of debate for decades. Recent research by our group on the accretion and simmering phases preceding the explosion of a massive WD has shown that the central density at thermal runaway lies in the range $(3.6-6.3)\times 10^9$ g cm${}^{-3}$ for reasonable choices of accretion rate onto the WD and progenitor metallicity. In this work, we have computed one-dimensional simulations of the explosion of such WDs, with special emphasis on the chemical composition of the ejecta, which in all cases is extremely rich in neutronized isotopes of chromium (${}^{54}$Cr) and titanium (${}^{50}$Ti). We show that, in order to reconcile such a nucleosynthesis with the isotopic abundances of the Solar System, Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs can account for at most 26 per cent of normal-luminosity SNe Ia, or at most 20 per cent of all SNe Ia.

5 pages, 1 table, 3 figures; Letter accepted by MNRAS

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• Do not forget the electrons: Extending moderately-sized nuclear networks for multidimensional hydrodynamic codes
• Understanding the cosmic abundance of ${}^{22}$Na: lifetime measurements in ${}^{23}$Mg
• The evolution of relative frequencies of ONe and CO SNe Ia