Early ⁵⁶Ni decay gamma rays from SN2014J suggest an unusual explosion.

Type Ia supernovae result from binary systems that include a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, and these thermonuclear explosions typically produce 0.5 solar mass of radioactive (56)Ni. The (56)Ni is commonly believed to be buried deeply in the expanding supernova cloud.

Sub-luminous type Ia supernovae from the mergers of equal-mass white dwarfs with mass approximately 0.9M[symbol: see text].

Type Ia supernovae are thought to result from thermonuclear explosions of carbon-oxygen white dwarf stars. Existing models generally explain the observed properties, with the exception of the sub-luminous 1991bg-like supernovae. It has long been suspected that the merger of two white dwarfs could give rise to a type Ia event, but hitherto simulations have failed to produce an explosion.

A common explosion mechanism for type Ia supernovae.

Type Ia supernovae, the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars composed of carbon and oxygen, were instrumental as distance indicators in establishing the acceleration of the universe's expansion. However, the physics of the explosion are debated. Here we report a systematic spectral analysis of a large sample of well-observed type Ia supernovae.