Finding Supernova Ia Progenitors with the Chandra X-ray Observatory

TL;DR

This paper investigates supernova Ia progenitors using pre-explosion Chandra X-ray data, identifying potential progenitors and setting luminosity limits, with a notable possible detection of a Wolf-Rayet system as a supernova progenitor.

Contribution

It introduces a method to identify supernova progenitors through pre-explosion X-ray observations and reports potential detections and luminosity constraints.

Findings

One possible direct detection of a supernova progenitor.

Upper limits established for multiple progenitors' X-ray luminosities.

Potential identification of a Wolf-Rayet system as a supernova progenitor.

Abstract

We examine pre-supernova Chandra images to find X-ray luminosities of type Ia supernova progenitors. At present, we have one possible direct detection and upper limits for the X-ray luminosities of a number of other supernova progenitors. The method has also yielded a possible detection of a X-ray binary Wolf-Rayet system as the progenitor of a type Ib supernova.