Physics of Supernovae Type Ia at Late Epochs
Abstract
We extend studies of late light curves of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) by focusing on a very nearby one - SN2011fe. This SN explosion occurred in the nearby whirlpool galaxy (~6.2 Mpc away) - the closest in decades. Thus it will remain observable up to perhaps a thousand days and provide unprecedented information on the very late behavior of SNe Ia. We are focusing our efforts on gathering near- infrared data - both spectroscopy and imaging. Previous observations done by us and others show an emerging importance of the NIR at late times and a plateau in brightness at late times. Observations of the normal supernova 2011fe at these wavelengths will allow us to explore the thermodynamics of the ejecta, and understand the distribution of SN material - both of which hint at the explosion physics. We can also get a detailed measure of the color evolution, investigate what appears to be excess power output at late times for SNe Ia, and probe intrinsic variations in SN Ia physics.
- Publication:
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NOAO Proposal
- Pub Date:
- August 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012noao.prop..428B