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To date, detailed core-collapse supernova simulations have not succeeded in elucidating the explosion mechanism. But whatever the mechanism turns out to be, there will be a neutrino-heated outflow between the hot, newly-born neutron star…
Dawning neutron physics was more complex than one might expect. The chance that the neutron comprised a proton and an electron was diffusely taken into account after the discovery of the neutron. Moreover, uncertainties persisted about the…
I review the use of type-Ia supernovae (SNe) for cosmological studies. After briefly recalling the main features of type-Ia SNe that lead to their use as cosmological probes, I briefly describe current and planned type-Ia SNe surveys, with…
Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) have provided the first evidence for an accelerating universe and for the existence of an unknown ``dark energy'' driving this expansion. The 5-year Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) will deliver \~700 type Ia…
Before 1998 the universe expansion was thought to be slowing down. After 1998 the universe expansion is thought to be accelerating up. This change of the belief is motivated by the observed brightness of the high redshift supernova Ia…
Supernova experiments to characterize dark energy require a well designed low redshift program; we consider this for both ongoing/near term (e.g. Supernova Legacy Survey) and comprehensive future (e.g. SNAP) experiments. The derived…
Observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) reveal correlations between their luminosities and light-curve shapes, and between their spectral sequence and photometric sequence. Assuming SNe Ia do not evolve at different redshifts, the…
There are hints that nearby Type Ia supernovae may be a little different than those at large redshift. Confidence in the conclusion that there is a cosmological constant and an accelerating Universe thus still requires the hard work of…
The hypothesis that neutrinos are massive has a strong experimental support; however, the information we have is quite limited, and many possibilities are open. Theoretical considerations might help fill the gaps (or foresee regularities),…
The unexpected dimness of Type Ia supernovae at redshifts z >~ 1 has over the past 7 years been seen as an indication that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. A new model cosmology, the "fractal bubble model", has been proposed…
In the last decades, a very important breakthrough has been brought in the elementary particle physics by the discovery of the phenomenon of the neutrino oscillations, which has shown neutrino properties beyond the Standard Model. But a…
Massive neutrinos open up the possibility for a variety of new physical phenomena. Among them are oscillations and double beta decay. Furthermore they influence several fields from particle physics to cosmology. In this article the concept…
Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) are generally believed to be the result of the thermonuclear disruption of Chandrasekhar-mass carbon-oxygen white dwarfs, mainly because such thermonuclear explosions can account for the right amount of nickel,…
The unexpected faintness of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), as measured by two teams, has been interpreted as evidence that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. We review the current challenges to this interpretation…
One of the great scientific enigmas still unsolved, the existence of dark matter, is reviewed. Simple gravitational arguments imply that most of the mass in the Universe, at least 90%, is some (unknown) non-luminous matter. Some particle…
A neutron star is pictured as a gigantic nucleus overwhelmed by the number of neutrons, unlike real atomic nuclei, that have a similar number of neutrons and protons. Is this true? What if we could find, or create nuclei without protons?…
In this article, a broad perspective of supernovae, their classification and mechanism is given. Later, the astrophysical significance of supernovae is discussed in brief.
A tradition handed down among physicists maintains that classical physics is a perfectly deterministic theory capable of predicting the future with absolute certainty, independently of any interpretations. It also tells that it was quantum…
Special relativity is no longer a new revolutionary theory but a firmly established cornerstone of modern physics. The teaching of special relativity, however, still follows its presentation as it unfolded historically, trying to convince…
Since the dawn of the new millennium, there has been a revived interest in the concept of extra dimensions.In this scenario all the standard model matter and gauge fields are confined to the 4 dimensions and only gravity can escape to…