Solving the Supernova Type Ia Progenitor Puzzle: Building Bridges between Theory and Observation

超新星(SNE)，或大质量恒星的爆炸，是测量和理解宇宙加速膨胀的关键组成部分。这是可能的，因为天文学家能够将在宇宙中观察到的某种类型的SNE(Ia型)标准化，因为它们的亮度相似。然而，标准化进程中仍然存在不确定性，其中一些不确定性源于对Ia型超新星前身的不完全了解。由史密森学会天体物理天文台领导的一个研究小组将开展一个项目，研究在其中形成Ia型SNE的白矮星准备爆炸的天体物理系统。这项工作将集中在三星系统相对于双星作为SNE前身的贡献上。这项研究的结果将引起公众的极大兴趣，这不仅是因为Ia型超新星的魅力，还因为关于三星系统的工作将产生引人注目的动画。研究人员将与科学教育专家合作，制作天文节目，其主题将来自SNE的研究。通过这个项目完成的研究将成为首席调查员教授的高中暑期课程的叙事线索的一部分，高中生将与本科生一起参与研究。该项目的目标有两个。研究人员将(1)确定三星系统相对于双星的贡献，(2)制作一种供公众使用的尖端种群合成代码，该代码采用最先进的观测和进化状态之间的联系，允许不同的研究小组对他们的结果进行有意义的比较。为了实现这一目标，科学家们将对等级三元组进行系统研究，在等级三元组中，外层恒星向内部双星贡献质量，该系统有可能形成Ia型超新星。它们还将包括三体动力学，并将彻底探索参数空间，重点是可检测的签名。这一动态将为开发包括二元组和三元组在内的新型人口合成代码提供关键投入，并将具有与来自各种来源的现有和发展中的数据集建立可扩展链接的独特特点。更好地了解近地天体前身尤其重要，因为包括美国国家科学基金会赞助的维拉·鲁宾天文台在内的大范围调查，每年都会发现如此多的近地天体，因此必须探索系统的不确定性。其他受益的领域包括对宇宙丰富的研究，这是生命发展所必需的，以及改进对重力波信号的预测。此外，三体问题本身具有很大的学术价值，三元组的质量传递工作将开辟新的研究途径。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Supernovae (SNe), or the explosions of massive stars, are a critical component in measuring and understanding the accelerated expansion of the universe. This is possible because astronomers are able to standardize a certain type of SNe (Type Ia) observed across the universe, due to similarities in their brightnesses. However, there remain uncertainties in the standardization process, some of which stem from an incomplete understanding of the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. A research team led by the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory will carry out a project to study the astrophysical systems within which the white dwarf stars that become Type Ia SNe are primed to explode. The work will focus on the contribution of triple-star systems relative to binaries as SNe progenitors. The results of this research will be of great interest to the general public, not only because of the fascination of Type Ia supernovae, but also because the work on three-star systems will produce eye-catching animations. The researchers will work with science education experts to create planetarium shows whose subjects will be derived from the SNe research. Research done through this program will become part of the narrative thread of a high school summer course the principal investigator teaches, and high school students, together with undergraduate students, will participate in the research. The objectives of the project are twofold. The researchers will (1) determine the contribution of triple-star systems relative to binaries, and (2) produce a cutting edge population synthesis code for public use, which employs state-of-the-art linkages between observations and evolutionary states, allowing diverse research groups to make meaningful comparisons of their results. To accomplish this, the scientists will conduct a systematic study of hierarchical triples in which the outer star contributes mass to an inner binary within a system that has the potential to form a Type Ia supernova. They will also include three-body dynamics and will thoroughly explore the parameter space, focusing on detectable signatures. The dynamics will provide crucial input in the development of a new type of population synthesis code that includes binaries and triples, and will have the distinctive feature of built-in expandable links to existing and developing data sets from a variety of sources. Better understanding SNe progenitors is especially important because wide-field surveys, including the NSF-sponsored Vera Rubin Observatory, are set to discover so many SNe per year that systematic uncertainties must be explored. Other areas that benefit are the study of cosmic enrichment, necessary for the development of life, and improved predictions of gravity wave signals. Furthermore, the three-body problem is itself of great intellectual interest, and the work on mass transfer in triples will open new avenues of research.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.