1. A RECONNAISSANCE OF THE POSSIBLE DONOR STARS TO THE KEPLER SUPERNOVA.
- Author
-
Kerzendorf, Wolfgang E., Childress, Michael, Scharwächter, Julia, Do, Tuan, and Schmidt, Brian P.
- Subjects
SUPERNOVAE ,SUPERNOVA remnants ,STARS ,RED giants ,WHITE dwarf stars - Abstract
The identity of Type Ia supernova progenitors remains a mystery, with various lines of evidence pointing toward either accretion from a nondegenerate companion or the rapid merger of two degenerate stars leading to the thermonuclear destruction of a white dwarf. In this paper, we spectroscopically scrutinize 24 of the brightest stars residing in the central 38″ × 38″ of the SN 1604 (Kepler) supernova remnant to search for a possible surviving companion star. We can rule out, with high certainty, a red giant companion star—a progenitor indicated by some models of the supernova remnant. Furthermore, we find no star that exhibits properties uniquely consistent with those expected of a donor star down to L > 10 L
☼ . While the distribution of star properties toward the remnant are consistent with unrelated stars, we identify the most promising candidates for further astrometric and spectroscopic follow up. Such a program would either discover the donor star or place strong limits on progenitor systems to luminosities with L ≪ L☼ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF