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A New LISA-detectable Type Ia Supernova Progenitor in the Southern Sky: SMSS J1138‑5139
Kosakowski, Alekzander et al., 2025, The Astrophysical Journal, 987, 205 | View on ADS (2025ApJ...987..205K)
Abstract
We present the discovery and analysis of a nearby eclipsing ultracompact accreting binary SMSS J1138‑5139, the first well-constrained LISA-detectable Type Ia supernova progenitor. Our time-series optical spectroscopy identifies its orbital period through radial velocity monitoring at Porb,RV=27.682minutes , twice the photometric period seen in 2 minute cadence data from TESS Sector 37. We model our optical spectroscopy together with new simultaneous multiband time-series photometry from Gemini to place constraints on the binary parameters. Our light-curve modeling finds that SMSS J1138‑5139 contains an M2 = 0.25 ± 0.01 M⊙ pre-white-dwarf donor with a massive M1 = 1.02 ± 0.05 M⊙ white dwarf accretor at orbital inclination i=88.∘6±0.∘1 . Based on our photometrically derived system parameters, we expect that gravitational-wave radiation will drive SMSS J1138‑5139 to a merger within τ = 5.7 ± 0.3 Myr and result in a Type Ia supernova. Even without a direct merger event, the component masses of SMSS J1138‑5139 and active hydrogen accretion suggest that eventual helium accretion will likely also trigger a Type Ia supernova explosion through the dynamically driven double-degenerate double-detonation (D6) channel. We expect LISA to detect the gravitational-wave emission from SMSS J1138‑5139 with a signal-to-noise ratio of 7–10 after a 48 month mission.
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