Spectral evolution of our deflagration model (red) from −6.3 to 14.6 days (with respect to maximum light). For comparison the observed spectra of the 2002cx-like SN 2005hk are overplotted in black.

2002cx-like supernovae are a sub-class of sub-luminous Type Ia supernovae. Their light curves and spectra are characterized by distinct features that indicate strong mixing of the explosion ejecta. Pure turbulent deflagrations have been shown to produce such mixed ejecta. In this paper, we present hydrodynamics, nucleosynthesis and radiative transfer calculations for a 3D full-star deflagration of a Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf. Our model is able to reproduce the characteristic observational features of SN 2005hk (a proto-typical 2002cx-like supernova), not only in the optical, but also in the near-infrared. Since our model burns only small parts of the initial white dwarf, it fails to completely unbind the white dwarf and leaves behind a bound remnant of ~1.03 solar masses — consisting mainly of unburned carbon and oxygen, but also enriched by some amount of intermediate-mass and iron-group elements from the explosion products that fall back on the remnant. We discuss possibilities for detecting this bound remnant and how it might influence the late-time observables of 2002cx-like SNe.

Paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 429, Issue 3, p.2287-2297 (2013), full text available at http://de.arxiv.org/abs/1210.5243.