Fruits series: Stellar explosions in the near infrared: Light curves of type Ia supernovae

by Suhail Dhawan (ESO)

Thursday 18 Jun 2015, 12:30 → 13:00 Europe/Berlin

Lounge area, 1st floor (Excellence Cluster Universe)

Supernovae are violent events at the end stage of the life of a star. They can either arise from the core collapse of a massive star or be a thermonuclear explosion. Thermonuclear supernovae (known as type Ia supernovae or SN Ia in short) can be used as distance indicators in cosmology and led to the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe. Moreover, there are several, interesting, unanswered questions regarding the physics of SN Ia, e.g. explosion mechanism, progenitor system, which also have potentially significant consequences for their use in cosmology. Dedicated studies of SN Ia at optical wavelengths have led to precise constraints on cosmological parameters. Detailed observations have demonstrated them to be a heterogeneous class of objects. The near infrared presents a new window for studying these explosions, both from the viewpoint of cosmology and understanding the physics of SN Ia’s. In this talk Suhail will summarize recent studies and his current work. The audience is cordially invited to discuss and comment. During this 30-minutes lunch event of the series "Fruits of the Universe", we will serve drinks and fingerfood.