The origins of Calcium-rich supernovae from disruptions of CO white-dwarfs by hybrid He-CO white-dwarfs

TL;DR

This paper proposes that calcium-rich supernovae originate from the merger-induced disruptions of low-mass CO white dwarfs by hybrid He-CO white dwarfs, with detailed simulations matching observed properties.

Contribution

It introduces a new model for Ca-rich supernovae based on HeCO-CO white dwarf mergers, supported by multi-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations.

Findings

Simulations produce Ca-rich supernovae with properties matching observations.

The model explains the supernovae's rates, host environments, and spectral features.

The remnant HeCO white dwarf may emit X-rays as it cools.

Abstract

Calcium-rich (SN 2005E-like) explosions are very faint (typical -15.5, type I supernovae (SNe) showing strong Ca-lines, mostly observed in old stellar environments. Several models for such SNe had been explored and debated, but non were able to consistently reproduce the observed properties of Ca-rich SNe, nor their rates and host-galaxy distributions. Here we show that the disruptions of low-mass carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs) by hybrid Helium-CO (HeCO) WDs during their merger could explain the origin and properties of such SNe. We make use of detailed multi-dimensional hydrodynamical-thermonuclear (FLASH) simulations models of HeCO-CO WD-WD mergers to characterize such explosions. We find that the accretion of CO material onto a HeCO-WD heats its He-shell and eventually leads to its "weak" detonation and ejection and the production of a sub-energetic $\sim10^{49}$erg Ca-rich SN, while leaving the CO core of the HeCO-WD intact as a hot remnant white dwarf, possibly giving rise to X-ray emission as it cools down. We model the detailed light-curve and spectra of such explosions to find an excellent agreement with observations of Ia/c Ca-rich SNe. In these models most of the He is burned, producing Ia/c Ca-rich SNe but higher He-enrichment levels might potentially also explain the Ib Ca-rich SNe. We thereby provide a viable, consistent model for the origins of Ca-rich. These findings can shed new light on the role of Ca-rich in the chemical evolution of galaxies and the intra-cluster medium, and their contribution to the observed 511 kev signal in the Galaxy originating from positrons produced from ${}^{44}\textrm{Ti}$ decay. Finally, the origins of such SNe points to the key-role of HeCO WDs as SN progenitors, and their potential role as progenitors of other thermonuclear SNe including normal type Ia SNe.