Radio Observations of Six Young Type Ia Supernovae

C. E. Harris, Sumit K. Sarbadhicary, L. Chomiuk, Anthony L. Piro, D. J. Sand, S. Valenti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are important cosmological tools, probes of binary star evolution, and contributors to cosmic metal enrichment; yet, a definitive understanding of the binary star systems that produce them remains elusive. Of particular interest is the identity of the mass-donor companion to the exploding carbon-oxygen white dwarf (CO WD). In this work, we present early-time (first observation within 10 days post-explosion) radio observations of six nearby (within 40 Mpc) SNe Ia taken by the Jansky Very Large Array, which are used to constrain the presence of synchrotron emission from the interaction between ejecta and circumstellar material (CSM). The two motivations for these early-time observations are: (1) to constrain the presence of low-density winds and (2) to provide an additional avenue of investigation for those SNe Ia observed to have early-time optical/UV excesses that may be due to CSM interaction. We detect no radio emission from any of our targets. Toward our first aim, these non-detections further increase the sample of SNe Ia that rule out winds from symbiotic binaries and strongly accreting white dwarfs. and discuss the dependence on underlying model assumptions and how our observations represent a large increase in the sample of SNe Ia with low-density wind constraints. For the second aim, we present a radiation hydrodynamics simulation to explore radio emission from an SN Ia interacting with a compact shell of CSM, and find that relativistic electrons cannot survive to produce radio emission despite the rapid expansion of the shocked shell after shock breakout. The effects of model assumptions are discussed for both the wind and compact shell conclusions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number24
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume952
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Radio Observations of Six Young Type Ia Supernovae'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this