Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Time-Dependent Spectropolarimetric Modeling Of Interacting Core Collapse Supernovae, Leah N. Huk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Explosive deaths of massive stars in core collapse supernovae are rare events that are only observed with any frequency at large intergalactic distances. This makes identification of progenitors difficult and massive star evolution a challenge to pin down. This dissertation addresses the question of how the properties of the circumstellar environment around supernovae can be used to identify progenitors via their mass loss history. Massive stars all lose mass through a variety of mechanisms that are characteristic of their mass, age, and binarity. This gives rise to a wide range of circumstellar environments which with supernovae may interact, producing multi-component …