Armin Rest
Constraining Supernova Explosions with Kepler's High-Cadence Lightcurves
February 27, 2020
When: February 27, 2020 3:30PM
Armin Rest
Space Telescope Science Institute
Despite the expanding set of SNe discovered in recent surveys like PS1, ZTF, ATLAS, and ASAS-SN, several fundamental questions remain of the nature of these explosions and their progenitor systems. The early light curves of SNe contain the critical information to understanding the nature of the progenitors and explosion physics: detonation, deflagration, and inwards-moving diffusion waves and much more. However, it has been difficult to obtain early light curve data with sufficient cadence and accuracy from the ground. With Kepler and TESS, we are, for the first time, able to obtain high-cadence early light curves with exquisite photometric accuracy for thermonuclear and core-collapse SNe. I will discuss how these allow us to use observations to disentangle different theoretical explosion models and progenitor system signatures.