Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Supernovae Distributions And Their Relationships To Classes Of Stars, Sydney Menne

Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Showcase

Aims. Data from astronomical catalogs are plotted as spatial distributions of stars and supernovae throughout the Milky Way galaxy and the universe. I examined correlations seen between the luminosity classes of stars, types of supernovae, and selection effects observed in the data.

Methods. Data was gathered from three catalogs; the Gliese Catalog of Nearby Stars, the Tycho-2 Catalog, and the Open Supernova Catalog. Graphs and diagrams were created to visualize the distributions of the stellar luminosity classes and supernova types at different radial distances from the Sun. Trendlines were fit through the data to examine extrapolated predictions.

Results/Conclusions. Documenting stars …

Superbubbles, T. R. Gull, F. C. Bruhweiler, Menas Kafatos, S. Sofia

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Individual massive stars with Mbol < -6 have huge stellar winds that create interstellar bubbles. Stars with masses greater than 8Mo (4Mo?) are considered supernova progenitors. These massive stars are numerous in OB associations where few supernova remnants are detected. Model calculations describing the evolution of an association show: i) that large, hot cavities are formed by pushing the ambient gas into neutral shells; 2) that the shell radii change with galactocentric radius, 3) that only thirty percent of the interstellar medium is in the form of supercavities and 4) that a consequence is that only a small fraction of supernovae form supernova remnants. These results have strong bearing on interpretation of interstellar studies being done by IUE and by HEAO-B.