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Abstract

The origin of strong sodium absorption, which has been observed for a few nearby Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), remains elusive. Here we analyze two high-signal-to-noise, intermediate-resolution Very Large Telescope/X-shooter spectra at epochs +18 and +27 days past peak brightness of the strongly lensed and multiply imaged Type Ia SN 2016geu, which exploded at a redshift of z = 0.4. We show that SN 2016geu exhibits very strong multiple Na i and Ca ii absorption lines with a large total Na i D rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of 5.2 +/- 0.2 & Aring;, among the highest ever detected for an SN Ia and similar to only a handful of nearby SNe Ia with extraordinarily large Na i D EWs. The absorption system is time-invariant and extends over a large velocity span similar to 250 km s(-1). The majority of the absorption is blueshifted relative to the strongest component, while there are both blueshifted and redshifted components relative to the systemic redshift of the galaxy. The column density ratios and widths of the absorption lines indicate that the absorption likely arises from a combination of interstellar dusty molecular clouds and circumgalactic in- and outflowing material rather than circumstellar matter around the supernova.