OKC seminar: Type Ia Supernovae as Cosmological Probes: Successes and Problem

by Mark Phillips (LCO)

Tuesday 10 May 2011, 13:15 → 14:10 Europe/Stockholm

FA32

The development of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as cosmological distance indicators is reviewed. SNe Ia provide one of the most powerful methods of studying the nature of dark energy, but it is not yet clear if age/metallicity effects, ignorance of the progenitors, and poorly understood reddening issues will ultimately compromise the utility of SNe Ia in next-generation experiments. The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) was initiated to address some of these questions. First results from the CSP are presented in this talk. Time permitting, preliminary findings from high-dispersion observations of the Na I D absorption in SNe Ia will also briefly be mentioned.