Observations and Theory of Supernovae

该奖项将支持一个综合的理论和观测计划，以研究超新星，这是伴随着大质量恒星死亡的爆炸事件。 该项目的特别重点是一类新的超亮超新星，其中五个是已知的。 目前，这些超新星的来源有几种可能性，包括大质量的对不稳定超新星或爆炸与致密的星周壳的相互作用。 惠勒博士和他的小组将开发新的技术，以适应超新星亮度随时间演变的模型，以了解祖星的质量损失。 他们还将利用光谱学和分光偏振法探索Ia型超新星，以了解其前身的演化、爆炸的物理学以及利用超新星进行精确的宇宙学测量。这项研究预计将在恒星演化、星系演化和宇宙学等领域产生广泛的科学影响。并将通过培养研究生和博士后研究员，将研究和教育结合起来，为国家的科学未来做出贡献。 惠勒博士还将继续努力向公众传播科学成果。

This award will support a combined theoretical and observational program to study supernovae, which are the explosive events accompanying the death of massive stars. The particular focus of this project is a new class of hyperluminous supernovae, of which five are known. There are currently several possibilities for the sources of these supernovae, including massive pair-instability supernovae or the interaction of the explosion with a dense circumstellar shell. Dr. Wheeler and his group will develop new techniques to fit models of the evolution of supernova brightness with time in order to learn about mass loss from the progenitor stars. They will also explore Type Ia supernovae with optical spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry in order to understand progenitor evolution, the physics of the explosions, and the use of supernovae for accurate cosmological measurements.This research is expected to have a broad scientific impact in the areas of stellar evolution, galactic evolution, and cosmology, and will contribute to the Nation's scientific future by integrating research and education by training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Wheeler will also continue his efforts to communicate scientific results to the public.