Type Ia supernovae are known as the precise distance indicators that
allowed the remarkable discovery of the accelerated expansion of the
universe. Despite this astounding feat, there still remain large
uncertainties in many of the key issues surrounding these extremely
energetic events. These uncertainties, while not being horribly
detrimental to their use as distance indicators, hamper the
understanding of the far reaching consequences these cosmic factories
of heavy elements have on the chemical evolution of the Universe.
Type Ia Supernovae can be divided into three distinct phases. The
pre-supernova evolution, the explosion itself and the expansion phase.
In this talk I will first presents our findings on the progenitor
question (pre-supernova phase), then shortly touch on our
understanding of the explosion itself, and finally present our work on
modelling the spectra resulting from the expansion phase. I will close
by giving an outlook of the future of spectroscopic modeling and its
consequences for our understanding of pre-supernova evolution and
explosion physics.
