Universe Colloquium: Answers in the light: High-resolution spectra and type Ia supernovae progenitors

by Assaf Sternberg (TUM)

Wednesday 9 Apr 2014, 16:30 → 17:30 Europe/Berlin

seminar room (Excellence Cluster Universe, Boltzmannstrasse 2, Garching)

A Type Ia supernovae is the very luminous thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white-dwarf in a close binary system. Despite numerous studies, the nature of the companion star remains uncertain and under much debate. A main discriminant between the progenitor models that have been proposed is the predicted circumstellar environment in which the white-dwarf explodes. Therefore, studying the circumstellar environment of Type Ia supernovae can help us validate which progenitor channel, or channels, can lead to these brilliant events. High-resolution spectroscopy is currently the most promising method with which one can probe the circumstellar material around a Type Ia supernova, while using the supernova as back-light. This talk will present an overview of the high-spectral-resolution studies that have been performed in recent years, what we have learned from them, and what we can do in the future to get us closer to solving the long standing progenitor mystery. The Universe Colloquium is followed by a social gathering with wine and cheese.