Oxygen emission in remnants of thermonuclear supernovae as a probe for their progenitor system

TL;DR

This study uses advanced simulations and X-ray spectral analysis of supernova remnants to distinguish between different Type Ia supernova progenitor scenarios, focusing on oxygen emission lines.

Contribution

It integrates explosion models with remnant evolution simulations and atomic data to create realistic synthetic spectra for identifying supernova progenitors.

Findings

SNR 0509-67.5 likely from a delayed detonation explosion

SNR 0519-69.0 possibly from an oxygen-rich merger

Oxygen emission lines help constrain supernova progenitor types

Abstract

Recent progress in numerical simulations of thermonuclear supernova explosions brings up a unique opportunity in studying the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. Coupling state-of-the-art explosion models with detailed hydrodynamical simulations of the supernova remnant evolution and the most up-to-date atomic data for X-ray emission calculations makes it possible to create realistic synthetic X-ray spectra for the supernova remnant phase. Comparing such spectra with high quality observations of supernova remnants could allow to constrain the explosion mechanism and the progenitor of the supernova. The present study focuses in particular on the oxygen emission line properties in young supernova remnants, since different explosion scenarios predict a different amount and distribution of this element. Analysis of the soft X-ray spectra from supernova remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud and confrontation with remnant models for different explosion scenarios suggests that SNR 0509-67.5 could originate from a delayed detonation explosion and SNR 0519-69.0 from an oxygen-rich merger.