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: 1821967
• 负责人: David Sand
• 金额: $ 34.03万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1821967&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.

超新星是了解宇宙化学和恒星形成历史的关键。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，该提案旨在回答以下问题：超新星的爆炸机制和祖星系统是什么？在爆炸后的最初几个小时到几天内，超新星提供了有关它们如何爆炸以及它们的祖星系统是什么的线索。 PI将对附近星系进行为期3年、一天一次的超新星搜索，预计在爆炸后1天内发现约30颗极其年轻的超新星。 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，各类本科生将接受技术技能培训，并在科学或教育职业中发挥领导作用。他们将参与研究的所有阶段，并将领导德克萨斯理工大学戈特天文台的工作，以获得超新星的光变曲线。 PI 将使用瞬发望远镜对 40 Mpc 范围内的星系进行夜间巡天。 发现的超新星将立即用 LCOGT 的 FLOYDS 摄谱仪进行观测。 他们预计在爆炸后 1 天内发现约 10 颗 Ia 型超新星和约 20 颗核心塌缩超新星。 对于 Ia 型超新星，该团队将研究与 56Ni 分布以及超新星抛射物和任何非简并伴星之间的激波相关的早期光变特征。他们还将寻找最有可能与伴生白矮星有关的碳材料。对于核心塌缩超新星，研究小组将目睹祖星表面的冲击爆发，以及随后在最初几小时到几天后的冷却，从而可以测量祖星的半径和星周物质成分。结果将用于约束每颗超新星的起源和爆炸机制。 所有超新星发现将在发现后立即公开，以便于快速后续观测。