TAPIR Seminar

In person: 370 Cahill

To Join via Zoom: 864 8902 5566

ABSTRACT: Supernovae explosions pose numerous challenges when modeling their complex and dynamic nature. I will propose a method to overcome one of the main obstacles in this regard - modeling the observed light through radiation transfer, which is inherently uncertain. The method capitalizes on the fact that the primary energy source of most supernovae consists of high-energy gamma rays emitted by the decay products of Ni56. By studying the incomplete energy deposition of these gamma-ray photons, we can calculate observables that can be derived easily from models utilizing basic, well-known physics.
This approach can effectively limit and, in some cases, eliminate certain explosion models more robustly than conventional radiation transfer techniques. We have applied this methodology to various types of supernovae, and have found that in many instances, there are significant disparities between the models and the observations. Notably, this holds true for Type Ia supernovae, where all currently known models are in tension with the observed characteristics.