3D non-LTE spectrum synthesis for Type Ia supernovae

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new 3-D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code that models the spectral evolution of Type Ia supernovae from hydrodynamical explosion models, aiding in constraining supernova explosion mechanisms.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel 3-D radiative transfer code that enables direct comparison of supernova models with observations, advancing supernova explosion modeling.

Findings

Calculated line-of-sight dependent colour light curves for an off-centre explosion model.

Demonstrated the code's capability to produce spectral evolution predictions.

Provided a tool for better constraining supernova explosion models.

Abstract

Despite the importance of Type Ia supernovae as standard candles for cosmology and to the chemical evolution of the Universe, we still have no consistent picture of the nature of these events. Much progress has been made in the hydrodynamical explosion modelling of supernovae Ia in the last few years and fully 3-D explosion models are now available. However those simulations are not directly comparable to observations: to constrain explosion models, radiative transfer calculations must be carried out. We present a new 3-D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code which allows forward modelling of the spectral evolution of Type Ia supernovae from first principles, using hydrodynamical explosion models as input. Here, as a first application, we calculate line-of-sight dependent colour light curves for a toy model of an off-centre explosion.