Pre-explosion companion stars in Type Iax supernovae

Understand

Type Iax supernovae (SNe Iax) are proposed as one new sub-class of SNe Ia since they present observational properties that are sufficiently distinct from the bulk of SNe Ia.

• SNe Iax are the most common of all types of peculiar SNe by both number and rate, with an estimated rate of occurrence of about 5-30% of the total SN Ia rate.
• However, the progenitor systems of SNe Iax are still uncertain.
• Analyzing pre-explosion images at SN Iax positions provides a direct way to place strong constraints on the nature of progenitor systems of SNe Iax.