A new type Ia supernova discovered

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) discovered a new supernova. The newly found stellar explosion, designated SN 2023adsy, is the most distant Type Ia supernova detected to date. The finding was detailed in a research paper published June 7 on the preprint server arXiv.

Supernovae (SNe) are powerful and luminous stellar explosions. They are important to the scientific community because they offer fundamental clues to the evolution of stars and galaxies. In general, SNe are divided into two groups based on their atomic spectra: Type I (no hydrogen in their spectra) and Type II (showing hydrogen spectral lines).

Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) are found in binary systems in which one of the stars is a white dwarf. Star explosions of this type are important to the scientific community because they offer crucial clues to the evolution of stars and galaxies.

SN 2023adsy was originally identified in 2023 as a transient object in the galaxy JADES-GS+53.13485-27.82088 at a redshift of 2.9. Subsequent observations of SN 2023adsy suggested that it might be a Type Ia supernova.

Now, a new study by a team of astronomers led by Justin R. Pierel of STScI confirms previous assumptions.

“We present an observation of a JWST SN (SN 2023adsy) with a spectroscopic redshift of z = 2.903 ± 0.007, which we classify using spectral and light curve information as the most distant SN Ia to date,” the researchers wrote in the paper.

The acquired images show that SN 2023adsy is very red, which may be due to significant dust attenuation from the host galaxy JADES-GS+53.13485−27.82088. However, this galaxy has a relatively low mass, low metallicity and low extinction, suggesting that SN 2023adsy could indeed be red.

The study found that SN 2023adsy exhibits strong spectral lines of ionized calcium (Ca II) in its spectrum with a measured velocity of about 19,000 km/s. This is a relatively high rate compared to the common population of known SNe Ia.

Astronomers point out that while these features of SN 2023adsy are also observable in some calcium-rich Type Ia supernovae, the newly found SN is naturally brighter than the overall population of low-redshift calcium-rich SNe Ia.

Summarizing the results, the authors of the paper note that more observations of Type Ia supernovae are needed to determine whether SN 2023adsy is an outlier among the population of SNe Ia due to its peculiarities, or whether the distribution of supernova properties of these supernovae changes significantly with redshift due to changes in the progenitors or their environment.

“A larger sample of distant SNe Ia is needed to determine whether the characteristics of the SN Ia population at high z do indeed differ from their low z counterparts, and to confirm that the standardized luminosities nevertheless remain constant with redshift,” the researchers conclude.

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