Unveiling the Physics and Progenitors of Cosmic Explosions with a One Day Cadence Supernova Search

通过一日超新星搜索揭示宇宙爆炸的物理原理和起源

• 批准号: 1517649
• 负责人: David Sand
• 金额: $ 53.8万
• 依托单位: Texas Tech University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-15 至 2018-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1517649&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Unveiling; Physics; Progenitors; Cosmic; Explosions

Supernovae are linchpins for understanding the chemical and star formation history of the Universe. Despite progress, some of the most basic questions about supernovae persist, and this proposal seeks to answer the question: What are the explosion mechanisms and progenitor star systems of supernovae? In the early hours to days after explosion, supernovae provide clues to how they explode, and what their progenitor star systems were. The PI will carry out a 3-year, one-day-cadence supernova search of nearby galaxies, which is expected to discover about 30 extremely young supernovae within 1 day of explosion. This will help determine which type of stars explode into particular types of supernovae. Through this research, a diverse set of undergraduate students will be trained in technical skills and t to take leadership roles in scientific or educational careers. They will be involved in all phases of the research, and they will lead an effort at Texas Tech's Gott Observatory to obtain light curves of SNe. The PI will use the prompt telescope to conduct a nightly survey of galaxies within 40 Mpc. Discovered supernovae will immediately be observed with the FLOYDS spectrographs at LCOGT. They expect to discover around 10 type Ia supernovae and about 20 core collapse supernovae within 1 day of explosion. For type Ia supernovae, the team will study early light curve signatures related to the distribution of 56Ni and of shocking between the supernova ejecta and any non-degenerate companion star. They will also hunt for the carbon material most likely associated with a companion progenitor white dwarf. For core collapse supernovae, the team will witness the shock breakout from the surface of the progenitor star, and the subsequent cooling in the initial hours to days afterwards, which allows for a measurement of the progenitor star's radius and circumstellar material composition. The results will be used to constrain the progenitor and explosion mechanism of each supernova. All supernovae discoveries will be made public immediately after discovery to facilitate rapid follow-up observations.

超新星是理解宇宙化学和星星形成历史的关键。尽管取得了进展，但关于超新星的一些最基本的问题仍然存在，本提案试图回答这个问题：超新星的爆炸机制和祖星星系统是什么？在爆炸后的最初几个小时到几天，超新星提供了它们如何爆炸的线索，以及它们的祖先星星系统是什么。PI将对附近的星系进行为期3年，为期一天的超新星搜索，预计将在爆炸后1天内发现约30颗非常年轻的超新星。 这将有助于确定哪种类型的恒星爆炸成特定类型的超新星。 通过这项研究，一组不同的本科生将接受技术技能培训，并在科学或教育事业中发挥领导作用。他们将参与研究的所有阶段，并将在德克萨斯理工大学的戈特天文台领导一项工作，以获得SNe的光变曲线。PI将使用即时望远镜对40 Mpc以内的星系进行夜间调查。 发现的超新星将立即被LCOGT的FLOYDS光谱仪观测到。 他们希望在爆炸后的一天内发现大约10颗Ia型超新星和大约20颗核心坍缩超新星。 对于Ia型超新星，研究小组将研究与56 Ni分布有关的早期光变曲线特征，以及超新星喷出物与任何非简并伴星星星之间的冲击。他们还将寻找最有可能与伴星祖先白色矮星有关的碳物质。对于核心坍缩的超新星，研究小组将见证从祖星星表面的冲击爆发，以及随后在最初几小时到几天内的冷却，这使得可以测量祖星星的半径和星周物质组成。这些结果将被用来约束每个超新星的祖先和爆炸机制。 所有超新星的发现都将在发现后立即公布，以便于快速跟踪观测。