Observations and Theory of Supernovae

该奖项将继续支持一项主要关注两种类型超新星的观测和理论的研究计划：核心坍缩超新星，其中非常大质量的恒星在其核心燃料耗尽后以壮观的爆炸结束其生命，以及Ia型超新星，可能是在近距离双星中的白色矮星从其邻居那里积累了太多质量并坍缩时产生的。关于核心坍缩超新星，将使用分光偏振法探索不对称性，将该数据与从已确定特定祖星的系统中获得的信息联系起来。系统的差异，在极化性质的超新星也将被调查，特别是在元素，如O和Ca。将利用麦克唐纳天文台的机器人光学瞬态搜索实验望远镜阵列和ROTSE IIIb望远镜继续研究伽马射线爆发、超新星及其联系。得克萨斯州的超新星搜索也将继续与ROTSE IIIb望远镜和霍比-埃伯利望远镜在麦克唐纳将用于快速和时间采样光谱跟踪。将用斯皮策太空望远镜研究核心坍缩超新星，并对SDSS超新星巡天发现的核心坍缩超新星进行研究。旋转磁塌缩超微粒子的性质将用球形和多维模型来研究。对于Ia型超新星，将获得光学、近红外、斯皮策空间望远镜中红外光谱和光学偏振光谱观测，目的是更好地了解Ia型超新星的祖先演化、爆炸物理和能力，以促进精确的宇宙学测量。在这方面，将分析不断增加的分光偏振测量数据集以及使用ROTSE IIIb/Hobby-Eberly望远镜组合进行的德克萨斯州超新星搜索所获得的时间序列数据。通过参与斯隆数字巡天（SDSS）超新星巡天，从0.1到0.4的红移“沙漠"将随着时间的推移继续在霍比-埃伯利望远镜上被填充，这是对这一数据集的主要贡献。这里进行的工作预计将对天文学的许多其他领域产生影响，特别是恒星演化，星系演化和宇宙学。将通过参加这项工作所需的各种联合会（SDSS、ROTSE等）促进国家和国际合作。这项工作的结果将被纳入各种教育和推广工作，包括超新星研究生课程，流行书籍，文章和StarDate广播节目。

This award will continue support for a research program primarily focused on the observation and theory of supernovae of both types: core collapse supernovae in which very massive stars end their lives in spectacular explosions following exhaustion of fuel in their cores, and Type Ia supernovae which likely arise when white dwarfs in close binaries accumulate too much mass from their neighbors and collapse.With regard to core collapse supernovae, asymmetries will be explored using spectropolarimetry, relating that data to information derived from systems for which the specific progenitor stars have been identified. Systematic differences in the polarization properties of hypernovae will also be investigated, especially in elements such as O and Ca. The study of gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and their connection will be continued with the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) telescope array and the ROTSE IIIb telescope at McDonald Observatory. The Texas Supernovae Search will also be continued with the ROTSE IIIb telescope and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald will be used for rapid and time sampled spectroscopic follow-up. Core collapse supernovae will be studied with the Spitzer Space Telescope and core collapse supernovae discovered by the SDSS Supernova survey will be investigated. The nature of rotating magnetic collapse supermovae will be examined with spherical and multi-dimensional models. For Type Ia supernovae, optical, near-infrared, Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared spectroscopy, and optical spectropolarimetry observations will be obtained with the goal of better understanding the progenitor evolution, the explosion physics, and the capacity of Type Ia supernovae to facilitate accurate cosmological measurements. A growing data set of spectropolarimetry will be analyzed in this regard as well as time series of data obtained with the Texas Supernova Search using the ROTSE IIIb/Hobby-Eberly Telescope combination. Through participation in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Supernova Survey, the red shift ''desert'' from red shift of 0.1 to 0.4 will continue to be filled in with time on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope being a principal contribution to this data set.The work carried out here is expected to have impact on many other areas of astronomy, notably stellar evolution, galactic evolution, and cosmology. National and international collaborations will be fostered through participation in the various consortia necessary for this work (SDSS, ROTSE, etc.). The results of this work will be integrated into various education and outreach efforts including a graduate course on supernovae, popular books, articles, and the StarDate radio program.