Events in Physics
Phillip Podsiadlowski
The Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have provided the first evidence that the
Universe is accelerating. Nevertheless, the nature of the progenitors
has remained a mystery, indeed controversial. In this talk I will
first summarize the main supernova explosion mechanisms and the
observational classification of supernovae. I will show how SNe Ia can
be used as standardizable distance candles and discuss possible
limitations of the method. In the main part of the talk I will
discuss the main progenitor models that have been proposed,
emphasizing the problems and advantages of each, and how they can be
observationally tested. I will then present some relatively recent
discoveries by the Palomar Transient Factory that directly constrain
the progenitors in a few cases.