Related papers: Observability of Scattered-Light Echoes Around Var…
A light echo around SN 1993J was observed 8.2 years after explosion by a HST WFPC2 observation, adding to the small family of supernovae with light echoes. The light echo was formed by supernova light scattered from a dust sheet, which lies…
Astronomical light echoes, the time-dependent light scattered by dust in the vicinity of varying objects, have been recognized for over a century. Initially, their utility was thought to be confined to mapping out the three-dimensional…
The spectra of type IIn supernovae indicate the presence of apre-existing slow, dense circumstellar wind (CSW). If the CSW extends sufficiently far from the progenitor star, then dust formation should occur in the wind. The light from the…
We present multiple-epoch measurements of the size and surface brightness of the light echoes from supernova (SN) 2014J in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ACS/WFC images were taken ~277 and ~416 days after…
We confirm the discovery of a light echo around the Type II-plateau Supernova 2003gd in Messier 74 (NGC 628), seen in images obtained with the High Resolution Channel of the Advanced Camera for Surveys on-board the Hubble Space Telescope…
Light echoes of flares on active stars offer the opportunity for direct detection of circumstellar dust. We revisit the problem of identifying faint echoes in post-flare light curves, focusing on debris disks from on-going planet formation.…
The light echo systems of historical supernovae in the Milky Way and local group galaxies provide an unprecedented opportunity to reveal the effects of asymmetry on observables, particularly optical spectra. Scattering dust at different…
Light echoes, light from a variable source scattered off dust, have been observed for over a century. The recent discovery of light echoes around centuries-old supernovae in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud have allowed the…
Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely associated with the collapse of massive stars, which produce dust and are born in dusty environments. Absorption and scattering of ultraviolet/X-ray photons from the prompt, optical flash and…
Archival HST/ACS data reveal details of a light echo around SN 2003gd in the galaxy M74, only the fifth supernova around which resolved echoes have been reported. An echo is detected 0."3 from the supernova between PA 250--360, with fainter…
Light echoes occur when light from a luminous transient is scattered by dust back into our line of sight with a time delay due to the extra propagation distance. We introduce a novel approach to estimating the distance to a source by…
We identify a light echo candidate from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of NGC 2441, the host galaxy of the Type Ia supernova 1995E. From the echo's angular size and the estimated distance to the host galaxy, we find a distance of 207…
A significant fraction of binary neutron star mergers occur in star-forming galaxies where the UV-optical and soft X-ray afterglow emission from the relativistic jet may be absorbed by dust and re-emitted at longer wavelengths. We show…
X-ray bright quasars might be used to trace dust in the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium through the phenomenon of X-ray scattering, which is observed around Galactic objects whose light passes through a sufficient column of…
In the last ten years, observational evidences about a possible connection between Type Ia Supernovae (SNe) properties and the environment where they explode have been steadily growing. In this paper I discuss, from a theoretical point of…
Multi-wavelength spectroscopy can be used to constrain the dust and gas properties in debris disks. Circumstellar dust absorbs and scatters incident stellar light. The scattered light is sometimes resolved spatially at visual and…
I have discovered a prominent light echo around the low-luminosity Type II-Plateau Supernova (SN) 2008bk in NGC 7793, seen in archival images obtained with the Wide Field Channel of the Advanced Camera for Surveys on-board the Hubble Space…
Light echoes give us a unique perspective on the nature of supernovae and non-terminal stellar explosions. Spectroscopy of light echoes can reveal details on the kinematics of the ejecta, probe asymmetry, and reveal details on its…
Light echoes of debris disks around active stars can reveal disk structure and composition even when disks are not spatially resolved. Unfortunately, distinguishing reflected light from quiescent starlight and unexpected post-peak flare…
Using the technique of PSF-matched image subtraction, we have analyzed archival HST/WFPC2 data to reveal details of at least two light-echo structures, including some unknown before now, around SN 1993J in the galaxy M81. In particular, we…