The End of Amnesia: A New Method for Measuring the Metallicity of Type Ia Supernova Progenitors Using Manganese Lines in Supernova Remnants

We propose a new method to measure the metallicity of Type Ia supernova progenitors using Mn and Cr lines in the X-ray spectra of young supernova remnants. We show that the Mn-to-Cr mass ratio in Type Ia supernova ejecta is tightly correlated with the initial metallicity of the progenitor, as determ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Astrophysical journal 2008-06, Vol.680 (1), p.L33-L36
Main Authors:	Badenes, Carles, Bravo, Eduardo, Hughes, John P
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Astronomia i astrofísica Astronomy Earth, ocean, space Exact sciences and technology Física Supernovae Supernoves Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
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Summary:	We propose a new method to measure the metallicity of Type Ia supernova progenitors using Mn and Cr lines in the X-ray spectra of young supernova remnants. We show that the Mn-to-Cr mass ratio in Type Ia supernova ejecta is tightly correlated with the initial metallicity of the progenitor, as determined by the neutron excess of the white dwarf material before thermonuclear runaway. We use this correlation, together with the flux of the Cr and Mn K alpha X-ray lines in the Tycho supernova remnant recently detected by Suzaku, to derive a metallicity of log(Z) = -1.32 super(+) sub(-) super(0) sub(0) super(.) sub(.) super(0) sub(0) super(7) sub(3) for the progenitor of this supernova, which corresponds to log(Z/Z sun) = 0.60(+0.31,-0.60) according to the latest determination of the solar metallicity by Asplund and coworkers. The uncertainty in the measurement is large, but metallicitles much smaller than the solar value can be confidently discarded. We discuss the implications of this result for future research on Type Ia supernova progenitors.
ISSN:	1538-4357 0004-637X 2041-8205 1538-4357 2041-8213