2015ApJ...814L...2F

The observational effects of the ''Infrared Catastrophe'' are discussed in view of the very late observations of the Type Ia SN 2011fe. Our model spectra at 1000 days take non-local radiative transfer into account and find that this has a crucial impact on the spectral formation. Although rapid cooling of the ejecta to a few 100 K occurs also in these models, the late-time optical/NIR flux is brighter by 1-2 mag due to redistribution of UV emissivity, resulting from non-thermal excitation and ionization. This effect brings models into better agreement with late-time observations of SN 2011fe, and other SNe Ia, and offers a solution to the long-standing discrepancy between models and observations. The models show that spectral formation shifts from Fe ii and Fe iii at 300 days to Fe i at 1000 days, which explains the apparent wavelength shifts seen in SN 2011fe. We discuss the effects of time dependence and energy input from ⁵⁷Co, finding both to be important at 1000 days.