Hunting for the progenitor of SN 1006: High resolution spectroscopic search with the FLAMES instrument

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution spectroscopy to search for a surviving donor star in the SN 1006 remnant, aiming to identify the progenitor scenario of this Type Ia supernova, but finds no such star.

Contribution

The paper provides the first high-resolution spectroscopic search for a surviving donor star in SN 1006, testing the accretion scenario for Type Ia supernova progenitors.

Findings

No candidate donor star found in the SN 1006 remnant.

Results challenge the traditional accretion scenario for this supernova.

Supports alternative progenitor models or scenarios.

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae play a significant role in the evolution of the Universe and have a wide range of applications. It is widely believed that these events are the thermonuclear explosions of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs close to the Chandrasekhar mass (1.38 M\odot). However, CO white dwarfs are born with masses much below the Chandrasekhar limit and thus require mass accretion to become Type Ia supernovae. There are two main scenarios for accretion. First, the merger of two white dwarfs and, second, a stable mass accretion from a companion star. According to predictions, this companion star (also referred to as donor star) survives the explosion and thus should be visible in the center of Type Ia remnants. In this paper we scrutinize the central stars (79 in total) of the SN 1006 remnant to search for the surviving donor star as predicted by this scenario. We find no star consistent with the traditional accretion scenario in SN1006.