UVOIR maximum-light spectrum of SN 2011iv (black curve). The blue, red, and orange curves represent model spectra generated from the zero-metallicity delayed-detonation N100 model, the W7 model, and the solar-metallicity polluted W7Z⊙ model, respectively.

In this Letter (The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 753, Issue 1, article id. L5, 2012), we present the first maximum-light ultraviolet (UV) through near-infrared (NIR) Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) spectrum. This spectrum of SN 2011iv was obtained nearly simultaneously by the Hubble Space Telescope at UV/optical wavelengths and the Magellan Baade telescope at NIR wavelengths. These data provide the opportunity to examine the entire maximum-light SN Ia spectral energy distribution. Since the UV region of an SN Ia spectrum is extremely sensitive to the composition of the outer layers of the explosion, which are transparent at longer wavelengths, this unprecedented spectrum can provide strong constraints on the composition of the SN ejecta, and similarly the SN explosion and progenitor system. Through a comparison with explosion models, we find that both a solar-metallicity W7 and a zero-metallicity delayed-detonation model provide a reasonable fit to the spectrum of SN 2011iv from the UV to the NIR.

Full text available at http://de.arxiv.org/abs/1202.5301.