Astronomers have actually discovered that Type Ia supernovae, through interactions with surrounding gas, are a brand-new source of cosmic dust, challenging previous beliefs that dust development was special to core-collapse supernovae. Credit: SciTechDaily.comAstronomers determine Type Ia supernovae interacting with gas as a brand-new source of cosmic dust, providing insights into the procedure of dust development in elliptical galaxies.Cosmic dust– like dust on Earth– makes up groupings of particles that have actually condensed and stuck together in a grain. Now, however, a global team of astronomers from China, the United States, Chile, the United Kingdom, Spain, and so on, has made a significant discovery by recognizing a formerly unknown source of dust in the universe: a Type Ia supernova communicating with gas from its surroundings.The research study will be released in Nature Astronomy today (February 9) and was led by Prof. Lingzhi Wang from the South America Center for Astronomy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Supernovae and Dust FormationSupernovae have been understood to play a function in dust development, and to date, dust formation has just been seen in core-collapse supernovae– the surge of massive stars. While these dust factories are not as numerous or efficient as core-collapse supernovae, there may be enough of these thermonuclear supernovae engaging with their surroundings to be a substantial or even dominant source of dust in elliptical galaxies.
Astronomers have found that Type Ia supernovae, through interactions with surrounding gas, are a new source of cosmic dust, challenging previous beliefs that dust formation was unique to core-collapse supernovae. This discovery expands our understanding of dust formation in elliptical galaxies, potentially revising our views on the cosmic cycle of matter. Credit: SciTechDaily.comAstronomers determine Type Ia supernovae interacting with gas as a brand-new source of cosmic dust, offering insights into the procedure of dust formation in elliptical galaxies.Cosmic dust– like dust on Earth– consists of groupings of particles that have actually condensed and stuck together in a grain. However the precise nature of dust creation in deep space has actually long been a secret. Now, nevertheless, a global team of astronomers from China, the United States, Chile, the United Kingdom, Spain, etc, has actually made a considerable discovery by identifying a previously unidentified source of dust in the universe: a Type Ia supernova communicating with gas from its surroundings.The research study will be released in Nature Astronomy today (February 9) and was led by Prof. Lingzhi Wang from the South America Center for Astronomy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Supernovae and Dust FormationSupernovae have been understood to contribute in dust development, and to date, dust formation has only been seen in core-collapse supernovae– the explosion of huge stars. Considering that core-collapse supernovae do not occur in elliptical galaxies, the nature of dust creation in such galaxies has actually remained elusive. These galaxies are not arranged into a spiral pattern like our Milky Way but are giant swarms of stars. This study reveals that thermonuclear Type Ia supernovae, the explosion of white dwarf stars in double stars with another star, may account for a significant quantity of dust in these galaxies.The researchers kept an eye on a supernova, SN 2018evt, for over three years using space-based centers like NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE missions, ground-based facilities like the Las Cumbres Observatorys international network of telescopes, and other facilities in China, South America, and Australia. They discovered that the supernova was running into product formerly abandoned by one or both stars in the binary system before the white dwarf star exploded, and the supernova sent out a shock wave into this pre-existing gas.Discovery and ImplicationsDuring more than a thousand days of keeping track of the supernova, the researchers observed that its light started to dim precipitously in the optical wavelengths that our eyes can see and then began radiant brighter in infrared light. This was a telltale indication that dust was being produced in the circumstellar gas after it cooled following the supernova shock wave going through it.” The origins of cosmic dust have long been a mystery. This research study marks the first detection of a fast and substantial dust formation process in the atomic supernova communicating with circumstellar gas,” said Prof. Wang, very first author of the study.The study estimated that a large amount of dust must have been created by this one supernova occasion– a quantity equal to more than 1% of the Suns mass. As the supernova cools, the amount of dust produced need to increase, maybe significantly. While these dust factories are not as numerous or efficient as core-collapse supernovae, there may suffice of these thermonuclear supernovae interacting with their environments to be a significant or perhaps dominant source of dust in elliptical galaxies.” This research study offers insights into the contribution of thermonuclear supernovae to cosmic dust, and more such events might be anticipated to be found in the age of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST),” stated Prof. Lifan Wang from Texas A&M University, a co-first author of the study. The Webb telescope sees infrared light that is best for the detection of dust.” The production of dust is just gas getting cold sufficient to condense,” said Prof. Andy Howell from Las Cumbres Observatory and the University of California Santa Barbara. Howell is the Principal Investigator of the Global Supernova Project whose information was utilized in the study. “One day that dust will condense into planetesimals and, eventually, planets. This is creation beginning anew in the wake of excellent death. It is exciting to comprehend another link in the circle of life and death in the universe.” Reference: “Newly formed dust within the circumstellar environment of SN Ia-CSM 2018evt” 9 February 2024, Nature Astronomy.DOI: 10.1038/ s41550-024-02197-9.
