Supernovae Ignitions Caused By Collisions, Not Internal Explosions

The complete lightcurves of three type 1a supernovae support the white dwarf merger theory of supernova formation.

AsianScientist (May 29, 2015) – Scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) have captured the early death throes of supernovae for the first time and found that the universe’s benchmark explosions are much more varied than expected. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature.

The scientists used the Kepler space telescope to photograph three type 1a supernovae in the earliest stages of ignition. They then tracked the explosions in detail to full brightness around three weeks later and the subsequent decline over the next few months.

They found the initial stages of a supernova explosion did not fit with the existing theories.

“The stars all blow up uniquely. It doesn’t make sense,” said Dr. Brad Tucker, from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“It’s particularly weird for these supernovae because even though their initial shockwaves are very different, they end up doing the same thing.”

Before this study, the earliest type 1a supernovae had been glimpsed was more than 2.5 hours after ignition, after which the explosions all followed an identical pattern.

This led astronomers to theorize that supernovae, the brilliant explosions of dying stars, all occurred through an identical process.

Astronomers had thought supernovae all happened when a dense star steadily sucked in material from a large nearby neighbor until it became so dense that carbon in the star’s core ignited.

“Somewhat to our surprise the results suggest an alternative hypothesis, that a violent collision between two smallish white dwarf stars sets off the explosion,” said lead researcher Dr. Robert Olling, from the University of Maryland in the United States.

At the peak of their brightness, supernovae are brighter than the billions of stars in their galaxy. Because of their brightness, astronomers have been able to use them to calculate distances to distant galaxies.

Measurements of distant supernovae led to the discovery that some unknown force, now called dark energy, is causing the accelerated expansion of the universe. Tucker said the new results did not undermine the discovery of dark energy.

“The new results will actually help us to better understand the physics of supernovae and figure out what is this dark energy that is dominating the universe.”

The article can be found at: Olling et al. (2015) No Signature Of Ejecta Interaction With A Stellar Companion In Three Type Ia Supernovae.

———

Source: Australian National University.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

Related Stories from Asian Scientist