All known Type Ia supernovae models fail to reproduce the observed $t_0-M_\text{Ni56}$ correlation

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that all existing Type Ia supernova models cannot replicate the observed positive correlation between gamma-ray escape time and nickel-56 mass, highlighting a significant gap in current theoretical understanding.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive comparison showing that current models do not match the observed $t_0-M_{Ni56}$ relation, emphasizing the need for new modeling approaches.

Findings

All known SNe Ia models fail to reproduce the observed correlation.

The $t_0-M_{Ni56}$ relation is a critical observational constraint.

Current models do not account for the observed positive correlation.

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are likely the thermonuclear explosions of carbon-oxygen white-dwarf stars, but their progenitor systems remain elusive. A few theoretical scenarios for the progenitor systems have been suggested, which have been shown to agree with some observational properties of SNe Ia. However, several computational challenges prohibit a robust comparison to the observations. We focus on the observed $t_0-M_\text{Ni56}$ relation, where $t_0$ (the $\gamma$-rays' escape time from the ejecta) is positively correlated with $M_\text{Ni56}$ (the synthesized $^{56}$Ni mass). Comparing to the $t_0-M_\text{Ni56}$ relation bypasses the need for radiation transfer calculations, as the value of $t_0$ can be directly inferred from the ejecta. We show that all known SNe Ia models fail to reproduce the observed $t_0-M_\text{Ni56}$ correlation.