Primordial Black Hole Triggered Type Ia Supernovae I: Impact on Explosion Dynamics and Light Curves

TL;DR

This paper explores how primordial black holes can trigger Type Ia supernovae by inducing thermonuclear explosions in white dwarfs, using 2D simulations to analyze explosion dynamics, light curves, and nucleosynthesis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model where PBHs trigger supernovae, providing detailed simulations of explosion dynamics and light curves consistent with observed relations.

Findings

Light curves align with Phillips' relation

PBH-triggered explosions may unify supernova triggering mechanisms

Simulations show viable ignition conditions for white dwarfs

Abstract

Primordial black holes (PBHs) in the asteroid-mass window are compelling dark matter candidates, made plausible by the existence of black holes and by the variety of mechanisms of their production in the early universe. If a PBH falls into a white dwarf (WD), the strong tidal forces can generate enough heat to trigger a thermonuclear runaway explosion, depending on the WD mass and the PBH orbital parameters. In this work, we investigate the WD explosion triggered by the passage of PBH. We perform 2D simulations of the WD undergoing thermonuclear explosion in this scenario, with the predicted ignition site as the parameter assuming the deflagration-detonation transition model. We study the explosion dynamics and predict the associated light curves and nucleosynthesis. We find that the model sequence predicts the light curves which align with the Phillip's relation ($B_{\max}$ vs. $\Delta M_{15}$). Our models hint at a unifying approach in triggering Type Ia supernovae without involving two distinctive evolutionary tracks.