JWST spectroscopy of SNe Ia 2022aaiq and 2024gy: Evidence for enhanced central stable Ni abundance and a deflagration-to-detonation transition

Abstract

We present optical + near-infrared + mid-infrared (MIR) observations of the normal Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) 2022aaiq and 2024gy in the nebular phase, continuously spanning 0.35─28 μm. Medium-resolution JWST spectroscopy reveals novel narrow (vFWHM < 1500 km s−1) [Ni II] 1.94 and 6.64 μm cores in both events. The MIR [Ni II] 6.64 μm line exhibits a distinct narrow core atop a broader base, indicating a central enhancement of stable Ni. This structure points to high central densities consistent with a near-Chandrasekhar-mass (MCh) progenitor or a high-metallicity sub-MCh progenitor. From detailed line-profile inversions of SN 2024gy, we derive emissivity profiles for stable iron-group elements, radioactive material, and intermediate-mass elements, revealing spatially distinct ejecta zones. The [Ni III] 7.35 μm line shows a shallow-to-steep slope transition—a "broken-slope" morphology—that matches predictions for delayed detonation explosions with separated deflagration and detonation ashes. We also reanalyze and compare to archival JWST spectra of SN 2021aefx and the subluminous SN 2022xkq. From the stable Ni luminosities, we infer that SN 2024gy produced ∼5─10 times more stable Ni mass than SN 2022xkq, favoring a near-MCh scenario for SN 2024gy and a sub-MCh scenario for SN 2022xkq. These results demonstrate that resolved line profiles, now accessible with JWST, provide powerful diagnostics of explosion geometry, central density, and progenitor mass in SNe Ia.