ABSTRACT After correcting for their light-curve shape and colour, Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are precise cosmological distance indicators. However, there remains a non-zero intrinsic scatter in the differences between measured distance and that inferred from a cosmological model (i.e. Hubble residuals or HRs), indicating that SN Ia distances can potentially be further improved. We use the open-source relational data base kaepora to generate composite spectra with desired average properties of phase, light-curve shape, and HR. At many phases, the composite spectra from two subsamples with positive and negative average HRs are significantly different. In particular, in all spectra from 9 d before to 15 d after peak brightness, we find that SNe with negative HRs have, on average, higher ejecta velocities (as seen in nearly every optical spectral feature) than SNe with positive HRs. At +4 d relative to B-band maximum, using a sample of 62 SNe Ia, we measure a 0.091 ± 0.035 mag (2.7σ) HR step between SNe with Si ii λ6355 line velocities ($v_{Si\, rm{\small II}}$) higher/lower than −11 000 km s−1 (the median velocity). After light-curve shape and colour correction, SNe with higher velocities tend to have underestimated distance moduli relative to a cosmological model. The intrinsic scatter in our sample reduces from 0.094 to 0.082 mag after making this correction. Using the Si ii λ6355 velocity evolution of 115 SNe Ia, we estimate that a velocity difference >500 km s−1 exists at each epoch between the positive-HR and negative-HR samples with 99.4 per cent confidence. Finally at epochs later than +37 d, we observe that negative-HR composite spectra tend to have weaker spectral features in comparison to positive-HR composite spectra.
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This content will become publicly available on July 1, 2024
A comparative analysis of type Ia supernovae 2018xx and 2019gbx
We present a comparative study of two nearby type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), 2018xx and 2019gbx, that exploded in NGC 4767 and MCG-02-33-017 at a distance of 48 Mpc and 60 Mpc, respectively. The B -band light curve decline rate for SN 2018xx is estimated to be 1.48 ± 0.07 mag and for SN 2019gbx it is 1.37 ± 0.07 mag. Despite the similarities in photometric evolution, quasi-bolometric luminosity, and spectroscopy between these two SNe Ia, SN 2018xx has been found to be fainter by about ∼0.38 mag in the B -band and has a lower 56 Ni yield. Their host galaxies have similar metallicities at the SN location, indicating that the differences between these two SNe Ia may be associated with the higher progenitor metallicity of SN 2018xx. Further inspection of the near-maximum-light spectra has revealed that SN 2018xx has relatively strong absorption features near 4300 Å relative to SN 2019gbx. The application of the code TARDIS fitting to the above features indicates that the absorption features near 4300 Å appear to be related to not only Fe II /Mg II abundance but possibly to the other element abundances as well. Moreover, SN 2018xx shows a weaker carbon absorption at earlier times, which is also consistent with higher ejecta metallicity.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10450582
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Volume:
- 675
- ISSN:
- 0004-6361
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- A73
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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