UV emission lines in passively evolving galaxies can reveal the progenitors of type Ia supernovae

Abstract

The question of which progenitor channel can reproduce the observed rate of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) remains unresolved, the two leading models being the so-called single and double degenerate scenarios. The former implies a large population of accreting, nuclear-burning white dwarfs with photospheric temperatures T∼105–106 K during some part of their accretion history. Recently, we demonstrated that a population of accreting white dwarfs large enough to reproduce the observed SN Ia rate would contribute significantly to the ionizing radiation expected from the stellar population in early-type galaxies, now commonly observed to host spatially extended regions of neutral and ionized gas. From our photoionization calculations, we show that one can constrain the contribution of the single degenerate channel to the SN Ia rate in early-type galaxies from upper limits on the luminosity of a number of emission lines characteristic of ionization by high-temperature sources. Detection (or strong upper limits on) He II 1640 A and [C II] 1335 A, expected to be overluminous in these galaxies if the single-degenerate channel holds true, can strongly constrain the total luminosity of nuclear-burning white dwarfs in these populations. In the near-UV, our photoionization calculations demonstrate that the EW of the [O II] 3727 doublet and the [Ne III] 3869/[O II] 3727 ratio can also provide a powerful diagnostic, particularly in post-starburst galaxies. Together with the He II 3203 A (5 → 3) recombination line, these lines present an excellent opportunity for strongly constraining the population of accreting, nuclear-burning white dwarfs, and in general the available ionizing continuum, at relatively short delay-times (time from initial starburst).