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Hubble Space Telescope spectra of the Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe: a tail of low-density, high-velocity material with Z < Z⊙

Mazzali, PA, Sullivan, M, Hachinger, S, Ellis, RS, Nugent, PE, Howell, DA, Gal-Yam, A, Maguire, K, Cooke, J, Thomas, R, Nomoto, K and Walker, ES (2014) Hubble Space Telescope spectra of the Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe: a tail of low-density, high-velocity material with Z < Z⊙. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 439 (2). ISSN 0035-8711

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Abstract

Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopic observations of the nearby Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) SN 2011fe, taken on 10 epochs from −13.1 to +40.8 d relative to B-band maximum light, and spanning the far-ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (IR) are presented. This spectroscopic coverage makes SN 2011fe the best-studied local SN Ia to date. SN 2011fe is a typical moderately luminous SN Ia with no evidence for dust extinction. Its near-UV spectral properties are representative of a larger sample of local events (Maguire et al.). The near-UV to optical spectra of SN 2011fe are modelled with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code using the technique of ‘abundance tomography’, constraining the density structure and the abundance stratification in the SN ejecta. SN 2011fe was a relatively weak explosion, with moderate Fe-group yields. The density structures of the classical model W7 and of a delayed detonation model were tested. Both have shortcomings. An ad hoc density distribution was developed which yields improved fits and is characterized by a high-velocity tail, which is absent in W7. However, this tail contains less mass than delayed detonation models. This improved model has a lower energy than one-dimensional explosion models matching typical SNe Ia (e.g. W7, WDD1; Iwamoto et al.). The derived Fe abundance in the outermost layer is consistent with the metallicity at the SN explosion site in M101 (∼0.5 Z⊙). The spectroscopic rise-time (∼19 d) is significantly longer than that measured from the early optical light curve, implying a ‘dark phase’ of ∼1 d. A longer rise-time has significant implications when deducing the properties of the white dwarf and binary system from the early photometric behaviour.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords: 0201 Astronomical And Space Sciences
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy
Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Astrophysics Research Institute
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Related URLs:
Date Deposited: 18 Oct 2017 11:24
Last Modified: 04 Sep 2021 03:43
DOI or ID number: 10.1093/mnras/stu077
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7378
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