The radial distribution of type Ia supernovae in early-type galaxies: implications for progenitor scenarios

TL;DR

This study analyzes the radial distribution of type Ia supernovae in early-type galaxies, finding it aligns with the light profile and supporting the idea of long delay times for some progenitors.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence that the radial distribution of SNe Ia in early-type galaxies matches the galaxy light profile, supporting long delay progenitor scenarios.

Findings

No significant difference between SNe Ia distribution and galaxy light profile.

Supports the hypothesis of long time delay progenitors for SNe Ia.

Early-type galaxies contain small fractions of young stellar populations.

Abstract

We study the radial distribution of supernova Ia (SNe Ia) in morphologically selected early-type host galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and discuss its implications for the progenitor systems of SNe Ia. While new observations of early-type galaxies suggest that they contain small fractions of young stellar populations, they are also the most likely hosts for long time delay SNe Ia. We find that there is no statistically significant difference between the radial distribution of SNe Ia and the light profile of their early-type host galaxies, which are dominated by old, metal-rich stellar populations. This confirms the commonly accepted idea that some SN Ia progenitors have time delays of the order of several Gyr.