Measuring nickel masses in Type Ia supernovae using cobalt emission in nebular phase spectra
Measuring nickel masses in Type Ia supernovae using cobalt emission in nebular phase spectra
The light curves of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are powered by the radioactive decay of $^{56}$Ni to $^{56}$Co at early times, and the decay of $^{56}$Co to $^{56}$Fe from ~60 days after explosion. We examine the evolution of the [Co III] 5892 A emission complex during the nebular phase …