Numerical Modeling of Superluminous Supernovae and Unusual Astronomical Transients

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The advent of deep, wide-field, high-cadence astronomy surveys has ushered in a new, dynamical view of the transient Universe, allowing astronomers to better observe and understand the deaths of stars, and leading to the discovery of exotic, luminous transient phenomena. Among the most important new discoveries is a new class of superluminous supernovae; stellar explosions reaching luminosities up to 10 - 1000 times higher than the already very bright typical supernovae, and exhibiting striking diversity in their observed properties. These findings have ignited multiple efforts in theoretical modeling, aiming to understand the physical mechanisms involved. A research team led by Louisiana State University will run state-of-the-art numerical simulations at world-class supercomputing facilities in order to better understand these super-bright events. They will study often-overlooked aspects of radiation transport physics that are important in these phenomena, and make specific predictions that can be directly compared with observations. In order to improve the education environment in Louisiana and beyond, the principal investigator will work closely with a diverse body of K-12, undergraduate and graduate students to advance knowledge of numerical tools and data analysis methods, with an emphasis on the basic research tools that are used extensively in industry, specifically in fields such as data science, thereby enhancing the students' skills and competitiveness in the job market and in careers within and beyond academia. In the project, state-of-the-art numerical tools will be utilized, together with data from modern transient searches, to attempt to answer a number of important questions about superluminous events by simultaneously modeling the observed light curves and spectra of these events. The most significant questions include: What mechanism, or combination of mechanisms, powers the hydrogen-poor class of superluminous supernovae? What is the role of episodic, pre-supernova mass-loss and circumstellar interaction in determining the radiative properties of supernovae? What is the main source of the observed diversity in luminous transients? What are the progenitor systems of unusual transient phenomena and peculiar supernovae? This project is jointly funded by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.