Nordita Astrophysics Seminars

The Importance of Infrared Observations of Type Ia Supernovae

by Kevin Krisciunas

Europe/Stockholm
Albano 3: 6228 - Mega (22 seats) (Albano Building 3)

Albano 3: 6228 - Mega (22 seats)

Albano Building 3

22
Description
A combination of optical and infrared data shows that one can correct the photometry of Type Ia supernovae for reddening and extinction along the line of sight, with systematic errors as small as the internal random errors of the photometry.  Modeling of the explosions gives us further confidence in the observationally determined color curves.  Thus, distances to Type Ia supernovae and their host galaxies can be obtained which are exceedingly better than one can obtain from optical photometry alone.  This is, of course, very useful for determining the Hubble constant and providing further evidence for the existence of Dark Energy. Ground based observations have been used to construct near-infrared Hubble diagrams out to redshift ~0.18. Beyond that one needs space-based observations. In this talk we discuss the humble beginnings of infrared photometry of Type Ia supernovae in the 1980s and show that the advent of infrared arrays starting in the late 1990s has led to a new standard for photometric precision, even if the dust affecting individual Type Ia supernovae is considerably different than "standard" Milky Way dust.