Constraints on the progenitor systems of type Ia supernovae

¹ Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85741 Garching bei München, Germany e-mail: stritzin@mpa-garching.mpg.de; max@astro.ku.dk
² European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany e-mail: bleibundgut@eso.org
³ Universitätssternwarte München, Scheiner-Str. 1, 81679 München, Germany e-mail: swalch@usm.uni-muenchen.de

Received: 17 June 2005
Accepted: 2 December 2005

Abstract

Bolometric light curves provide a valuable insight into the nature of type Ia supernovae. We present an analysis of sixteen well-observed type Ia supernovae. Constraints are placed on several global parameters concerning the progenitor system, explosion mechanism, and subsequent radiation transport. By fitting a radioactive decay energy deposition function to the quasi-exponential phase (50 to 100 days after maximum light), it is found that the ejected mass varies by at least a factor of two. This result suggests that a sub Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf could be the progenitor system of some type Ia supernovae. We find that the range in the amount of synthesized  indicates a significant variation in the burning mechanism. In order to explain a factor of ten range in the observed bolometric luminosity, more detailed modeling of the explosion mechanism is required.