Related papers: A Supernova Riddle
The past ten years have seen a tremendous increase in the number of Type Ia supernovae discovered and in the quality of the basic data presented. The cosmological results based on distances to Type Ia events have been spectacular, leading…
We review some results of the past 12 years derived from optical and infrared photometry of Type Ia supernovae. A combination of optical and infrared photometry allows us to determine accurately the extinction along the line of sight. The…
Type Ia supernovae are bright stellar explosions distinguished by standardizable light curves that allow for their use as distance indicators for cosmological studies. Despite the highly successful use of these events in this capacity, many…
Spectropolarimetry enables us to measure the geometry and chemical structure of the ejecta in supernova explosions, which is fundamental for the understanding of their explosion mechanism(s) and progenitor systems. We collected archival…
Spectropolarimetry provides a unique probe of ejecta asphericities, offering direct insights into the underlying explosion physics of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We analyze the statistical properties of pre-maximum spectropolarimetric data…
The subject of late-time emission of Type Ia supernovae and its implications for the understanding of the explosions of C+O WDs is reviewed.
Because calibrated light curves of Type Ia supernovae have become a major tool to determine the local expansion rate of the Universe and also its geometrical structure, considerable attention has been given to models of these events over…
Recent observations of supernovae, supernova remnants, and radio pulsars suggest that there are correlations between pulsar kicks and spins, infrared and gamma-ray line profiles, supernova polarizations, and ejecta debris fields. A…
This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on the observations of supernovae and the theory of their explosion mechanisms. Journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: observations of the spectra,…
Aims: The aim of this paper is twofold: 1) to investigate the properties of extragalactic dust and compare them to what is seen in the Galaxy; 2) to address in an independent way the problem of the anomalous extinction curves reported for…
Type Ia supernovae are key tools for measuring distances on a cosmic scale. They are generally thought to be the thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a close binary system. The nature of the mass donor is still uncertain.…
During the first several days after explosion, Type Ia supernova light curves probe the outer layers of the exploding star and therefore provide important clues for identifying their progenitors. We investigate how both the shallow…
We present a summary of our understanding of Type Ia Supernova progenitors, mostly discussing the observational approach. The main goal of this review is to provide the non-specialist with a sufficiently comprehensive view of where we…
We present six epochs of spectropolarimetric observations and one epoch of spectroscopy of the Type Ib SN iPTF 13bvn. The epochs of these observations correspond to $-$10 to $+$61 days with respect to the {\it r}-band light curve maximum.…
Fresh insights and powerful numerical tools are revitalizing the theoretical exploration of the supernova mechanism. The realization that the protoneutron star is Rayleigh-Taylor unstable at various times and radii and, hence, that a…
Motivated by the fact that calibrated light curves of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have become a major tool to determine the expansion history of the Universe, considerable attention has been given to, both, observations and models of these…
We discuss the optical spectropolarimetry of several core-collapse supernovae, SN 1996cb (Type IIB), SN 1997X (Type Ic), and SN 1998S (Type IIn). The data show polarization evolution of several spectral features at levels from 0.5% to above…
Photometry is the most easily acquired information about supernovae. The light curves constructed from regular imaging provide signatures not only for the energy input, the radiation escape, the local environment and the progenitor stars,…
Type Ia supernovae are thought to be the outcome of the thermonuclear explosion of a carbon/oxygen white dwarf in a close binary system. Their optical light curve is powered by thermalized gamma-rays produced by the radioactive decay of…
Type Ia supernovae are thought to be thermonuclear explosions of accreting white dwarfs that reach a critical mass limit. Despite their importance as cosmological distance indicators, the nature of their progenitors has remained…