Radioactively-Powered Rising Lightcurves of Type Ia Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper investigates how radioactive material near the surface of white dwarfs influences the early lightcurve rise of Type Ia supernovae, providing constraints on progenitor models and explosion mechanisms.

Contribution

It demonstrates that shallow radioactive material is necessary to explain observed early lightcurve rises, challenging existing supernova explosion models.

Findings

SN 2011fe's rise requires 0.03 mass fraction of 56Ni near the surface.

Shallow radioactive material is not predicted by single C/O detonation simulations.

Different explosion scenarios can produce the necessary shallow radioactive elements.

Abstract

The rising luminosity of the recent, nearby supernova 2011fe shows a quadratic dependence with time during the first 0.5-4 days. In addition, the composite lightcurves formed from stacking together many Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) show a similar power-law index of 1.8+-0.2 with time. I explore what range of power-law rises are possible due to the presence of radioactive material near the surface of the exploding white dwarf (WD). I summarize what constraints such a model places on the structure of the progenitor and the distribution and velocity of ejecta. My main conclusion is that the rise of SN 2011fe requires a mass fraction 0.03 of 56Ni (or some other heating source like 48Cr) distributed between a depth of ~0.004-0.1Msun below the WD's surface. Radioactive elements this shallow are not found in simulations of a single C/O detonation. Scenarios that may produce this material include helium-shell burning during a double-detonation ignition, a gravitationally confined detonation, and a subset of deflagration to detonation transition models. In general, the power-law rise can differ from quadratic depending on the details of the event, so comparisons of this work with observed bolometric rises of SNe Ia would place strong constraints on the distribution of shallow radioactive material, providing important clues for identifying the elusive progenitors of SNe Ia.