Observations and Theory of Supernovae

该奖项将支持一个理论和观测相结合的计划，以研究超新星，超新星是伴随着大质量恒星死亡的爆炸性事件。这个项目特别关注的是一类新的超光速超新星，其中五个是已知的。目前这些超新星的来源有几种可能性，包括质量对不稳定的超新星或爆炸与致密的星际壳层的相互作用。惠勒博士和他的团队将开发新的技术，使超新星亮度随时间演化的模型符合，以便了解前身恒星的质量损失。他们还将利用光学光谱和光谱偏振测量来探索Ia型超新星，以了解祖先演化、爆炸的物理学以及利用超新星进行精确的宇宙学测量。这项研究有望在恒星演化、星系演化和宇宙学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达科学成果。

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.