Strong Calcium Emission Indicates that the Ultraviolet-flashing SN Ia 2019yvq Was the Result of a Sub-Chandrasekar-mass Double-detonation Explosion

We present nebular spectra of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) SN 2019yvq, which had a bright flash of blue and ultraviolet light after exploding, followed by a rise similar to other SNe Ia. Although SN 2019yvq displayed several other rare characteristics, such as persistent high ejecta velocity near peak brightness, it was not especially peculiar, and if the early "excess" emission were not observed, it would likely be included in cosmological samples. The excess flux can be explained by several different physical models linked to the details of the progenitor system and explosion mechanism. Each has unique predictions for the optically thin emission at late times. In our nebular spectra, we detect strong [Ca ii] λλ7291, 7324 and Ca near-IR triplet emission, consistent with a double-detonation explosion. We do not detect H, He, or [O i] emission, predictions for some single-degenerate progenitor systems and violent white dwarf mergers. The amount of swept-up H or He is <2.8 × 10−4 and 2.4 × 10−4 M⊙, respectively. Aside from strong Ca emission, the SN 2019yvq nebular spectrum is similar to those of typical SNe Ia with the same light-curve shape. Comparing to double-detonation models, we find that the Ca emission is consistent with a model with a total progenitor mass of 1.15 M⊙. However, we note that a lower progenitor mass better explains the early light-curve and peak luminosity. The unique properties of SN 2019yvq suggest that thick He-shell double detonations only account for ${1.1}_{-1.1}^{+2.1} \% $ of the total "normal" SN Ia rate. The SN 2019yvq is one of the best examples yet that multiple progenitor channels appear necessary to reproduce the full diversity of "normal" SNe Ia.