Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection
The progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms responsible for the thermonuclear events observationally classified as Type Ia supernovae are uncertain and difficult to uniquely constrain using traditional observations of Type Ia supernova host galaxies, progenitors, light curves, and remnants. For...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ace68c |
| _version_ | 1797696864937574400 |
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| author | Henrique Reggiani Kevin C. Schlaufman Andrew R. Casey |
| author_facet | Henrique Reggiani Kevin C. Schlaufman Andrew R. Casey |
| author_sort | Henrique Reggiani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms responsible for the thermonuclear events observationally classified as Type Ia supernovae are uncertain and difficult to uniquely constrain using traditional observations of Type Ia supernova host galaxies, progenitors, light curves, and remnants. For the subset of thermonuclear events that are prolific producers of iron, we use published theoretical nucleosynthetic yields to identify a set of elemental abundance ratios infrequently observed in metal-poor stars but shared across a range of progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms: [Na, Mg, Co/Fe] < 0. We label stars with this abundance signature “iron-rich metal-poor,” or IRMP stars. We suggest that IRMP stars formed in environments dominated by thermonuclear nucleosynthesis and consequently that their elemental abundances can be used to constrain both the progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms responsible for thermonuclear explosions. We identify three IRMP stars in the literature and homogeneously infer their elemental abundances. We find that the elemental abundances of BD +80 245, HE 0533–5340, and SMSS J034249.53–284216.0 are best explained by the (double) detonations of sub-Chandrasekhar-mass CO white dwarfs. If our interpretation of IRMP stars is accurate, then they should be very rare in globular clusters and more common in the Magellanic Clouds and dwarf spheroidal galaxies than in the Milky Way’s halo. We propose that future studies of IRMP stars will quantify the relative occurrences of different thermonuclear event progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:32:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1a4e018ccef45bbaa70b66459f9c74c |
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| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:32:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1a4e018ccef45bbaa70b66459f9c74c2023-09-03T13:24:54ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812023-01-01166312810.3847/1538-3881/ace68cIron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the ConnectionHenrique Reggiani0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6533-6179Kevin C. Schlaufman1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5761-6779Andrew R. Casey2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-0564The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science , 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA ; hreggiani@carnegiescience.eduWilliam H. Miller III Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASchool of Physics & Astronomy, Monash University , Wellington Road, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions(ASTRO 3D) , Canberra, ACT 2611, AustraliaThe progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms responsible for the thermonuclear events observationally classified as Type Ia supernovae are uncertain and difficult to uniquely constrain using traditional observations of Type Ia supernova host galaxies, progenitors, light curves, and remnants. For the subset of thermonuclear events that are prolific producers of iron, we use published theoretical nucleosynthetic yields to identify a set of elemental abundance ratios infrequently observed in metal-poor stars but shared across a range of progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms: [Na, Mg, Co/Fe] < 0. We label stars with this abundance signature “iron-rich metal-poor,” or IRMP stars. We suggest that IRMP stars formed in environments dominated by thermonuclear nucleosynthesis and consequently that their elemental abundances can be used to constrain both the progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms responsible for thermonuclear explosions. We identify three IRMP stars in the literature and homogeneously infer their elemental abundances. We find that the elemental abundances of BD +80 245, HE 0533–5340, and SMSS J034249.53–284216.0 are best explained by the (double) detonations of sub-Chandrasekhar-mass CO white dwarfs. If our interpretation of IRMP stars is accurate, then they should be very rare in globular clusters and more common in the Magellanic Clouds and dwarf spheroidal galaxies than in the Milky Way’s halo. We propose that future studies of IRMP stars will quantify the relative occurrences of different thermonuclear event progenitor systems and explosion mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ace68cChemically peculiar starsExplosive nucleosynthesisDwarf spheroidal galaxiesGlobular star clustersMagellanic CloudsMilky Way stellar halo |
| spellingShingle | Henrique Reggiani Kevin C. Schlaufman Andrew R. Casey Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection The Astronomical Journal Chemically peculiar stars Explosive nucleosynthesis Dwarf spheroidal galaxies Globular star clusters Magellanic Clouds Milky Way stellar halo |
| title | Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection |
| title_full | Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection |
| title_fullStr | Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection |
| title_short | Iron-rich Metal-poor Stars and the Astrophysics of Thermonuclear Events Observationally Classified as Type Ia Supernovae. I. Establishing the Connection |
| title_sort | iron rich metal poor stars and the astrophysics of thermonuclear events observationally classified as type ia supernovae i establishing the connection |
| topic | Chemically peculiar stars Explosive nucleosynthesis Dwarf spheroidal galaxies Globular star clusters Magellanic Clouds Milky Way stellar halo |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ace68c |
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