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Supernova 1604, Kepler’s Supernova, and its Remnant

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Handbook of Supernovae

Abstract

Supernova 1604 is the last galactic supernova for which historical records exist. Johannes Kepler’s name is attached to it, as he published a detailed account of the observations made by himself and European colleagues. Supernova 1604 was very likely a type Ia supernova, which exploded 350–750 pc above the galactic plane. Its supernova remnant, known as Kepler’s supernova remnant, shows clear evidence for interaction with nitrogen-rich material in the north/northwest part of the remnant, which, given the height above the galactic plane, must find its origin in mass loss from the supernova progenitor system. The combination of a type Ia supernova and the presence of circumstellar material make Kepler’s supernova remnant a unique object to study the origin of type Ia supernovae. The evidence suggests that the progenitor binary system of Supernova 1604 consisted of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf and an evolved companion star, which most likely was in the (post)-asymptotic giant branch of its evolution. A problem with this scenario is that the companion star must have survived the explosion, but no trace of its existence has yet been found, despite a deep search.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter is born out of a long fascination for Kepler’s supernova remnant; and my view on the supernova remnant was influenced by my collaboration with my former graduate students Alexandros Chiotellis and Klara Schure. During this collaboration also discussions with Onno Pols about the evolution of binary stars and the process of hot bottom burning were much appreciated.

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  1. Anton Pannekoek Institute and GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jacco Vink

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  1. Jacco Vink
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Correspondence to Jacco Vink .

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  1. University College London Observatory, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Athem W. Alsabti

  2. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Paul Murdin

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Vink, J. (2017). Supernova 1604, Kepler’s Supernova, and its Remnant. In: Alsabti, A., Murdin, P. (eds) Handbook of Supernovae. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21846-5_49

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