Early X-ray emission from Type Ia supernovae originating from symbiotic progenitors or recurrent novae

Dimitriadis, G. and Chiotellis, A. and Vink, J. (2014) Early X-ray emission from Type Ia supernovae originating from symbiotic progenitors or recurrent novae. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 443 (2). pp. 1370-1380. ISSN 0035-8711

Abstract

One of the key observables for determining the progenitor nature of Type Ia supernovae is provided by their immediate circumstellar medium, which according to several models should be shaped by the progenitor binary system. So far, X-ray and radio observations indicate that the surroundings are very tenuous, producing severe upper limits on the mass-loss from winds of the progenitors. In this study, we perform numerical hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction of the supernova (SN) ejecta with circumstellar structures formed by possible mass outflows from the progenitor systems and we estimate numerically the expected numerical X-ray luminosity. We consider two kinds of circumstellar structures: (a) a circumstellar medium formed by the donor star's stellar wind, in case of a symbiotic binary progenitor system; (b) a circumstellar medium shaped by the interaction of the slow wind of the donor star with consecutive nova outbursts for the case of a symbiotic recurrent nova progenitor system. For the hydrosimulations, we used well-known Type Ia supernova explosion models, as well as an approximation based on a power-law model for the density structure of the outer ejecta. We confirm the strict upper limits on stellar wind mass-loss, provided by simplified interpretations of X-ray upper limits of Type Ia supernovae. However, we show that supernova explosions going off in the cavities created by repeated nova explosions, provide a possible explanation for the lack of X-ray emission from supernovae originating from symbiotic binaries. Moreover, the velocity structure of circumstellar medium, shaped by a series of nova explosion matches well with the Na absorption features seen in absorption towards several Type Ia supernovae.