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 56Ni. The 56Ni is commonly believed to be buried deeply in the expanding supernova cloud. In SN2014J, we detected the lines at 158 and 812 kiloelectron volts from 56Ni decay (time ~8.8 days) earlier than the expected several-week time scale, only ~20 days after the explosion and with flux levels corresponding to roughly 10% of the total expected amount of 56Ni. Some mechanism must break the spherical symmetry of the supernova and at the same time create a major amount of 56Ni at the outskirts. A plausible explanation is that a belt of helium from the companion star is accreted by the white dwarf, where this material explodes and then triggers the supernova event.