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Full-Text Articles in Physics

On The Time Variation Of Dust Extinction And Gas Absorption For Type Ia Supernovae Observed Through A Nonuniform Interstellar Medium, Xiaosheng Huang, G Aldering, M. Biederman, B. Herger Nov 2017

On The Time Variation Of Dust Extinction And Gas Absorption For Type Ia Supernovae Observed Through A Nonuniform Interstellar Medium, Xiaosheng Huang, G Aldering, M. Biederman, B. Herger

Physics and Astronomy

For Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed through a nonuniform interstellar medium (ISM) in its host galaxy, we investigate whether the nonuniformity can cause observable time variations in dust extinction and in gas absorption due to the expansion of the SN photosphere with time. We show that, owing to the steep spectral index of the ISM density power spectrum, sizable density fluctuation amplitudes at the length scale of typical ISM structures () will translate to much smaller fluctuations on the scales of an SN photosphere. Therefore, the typical amplitude of time variation due to a nonuniform ISM, of absorption equivalent …


The Extinction Properties Of And Distance To The Highly Reddened Type Ia Supernova Sn 2012cu, Xiaosheng Huang, Z. Raha, G. Aldering, P. Antilogus, S. Bailey, C. Baltay, K. Barbary, D. Baugh, K. Boone, S. Bongard, C. Buton, J. Chen, N. Chotard, Y. Copin, P. Fagrelius, H. K. Fakhouri, U. Feindt, D. Fouchez, E. Gangler, B. Hayden, W. Hillebrandt, A. G. Kim, M. Kowalski, P. F. Leget, S. Lombardo, J. Nordin, R. Pain, E. Pecontal, R. Pereira, S. Perlmutter, D. Rabinowitz, M. Rigault, D. Rubin, K. Runge, C. Saunders, G. Smadja, C. Sofiatti, A. Stocker, N. Suzuki, S. Taubenberger, C. Tao, R. C. Thomas Feb 2017

The Extinction Properties Of And Distance To The Highly Reddened Type Ia Supernova Sn 2012cu, Xiaosheng Huang, Z. Raha, G. Aldering, P. Antilogus, S. Bailey, C. Baltay, K. Barbary, D. Baugh, K. Boone, S. Bongard, C. Buton, J. Chen, N. Chotard, Y. Copin, P. Fagrelius, H. K. Fakhouri, U. Feindt, D. Fouchez, E. Gangler, B. Hayden, W. Hillebrandt, A. G. Kim, M. Kowalski, P. F. Leget, S. Lombardo, J. Nordin, R. Pain, E. Pecontal, R. Pereira, S. Perlmutter, D. Rabinowitz, M. Rigault, D. Rubin, K. Runge, C. Saunders, G. Smadja, C. Sofiatti, A. Stocker, N. Suzuki, S. Taubenberger, C. Tao, R. C. Thomas

Physics and Astronomy

Correcting Type Ia Supernova brightnesses for extinction by dust has proven to be a vexing problem. Here we study the dust foreground to the highly reddened SN 2012cu, which is projected onto a dust lane in the galaxy NGC 4772. The analysis is based on multi-epoch, spectrophotometric observations spanning from 3300–9200 Å, obtained by the Nearby Supernova Factory. Phase-matched comparison of the spectroscopically twinned SN 2012cu and SN 2011fe across 10 epochs results in the best-fit color excess of (, RMS) = (1.00, 0.03) and total-to-selective extinction ratio of (R V , RMS) = (2.95, 0.08) toward SN 2012cu …


Testing Atomic Collision Theory With The Two-Photon Continuum Of Astrophysical Nebulae, Francisco Guzmán, N. R. Badnell, Marios Chatzikos, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, Gary J. Ferland Feb 2017

Testing Atomic Collision Theory With The Two-Photon Continuum Of Astrophysical Nebulae, Francisco Guzmán, N. R. Badnell, Marios Chatzikos, P. A. M. Van Hoof, R. J. R. Williams, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Accurate rates for energy-degenerate l-changing collisions are needed to determine cosmological abundances and recombination. There are now several competing theories for the treatment of this process, and it is not possible to test these experimentally. We show that the H i two-photon continuum produced by astrophysical nebulae is strongly affected by l-changing collisions. We perform an analysis of the different underlying atomic processes and simulate the recombination and two-photon spectrum of a nebula containing H and He. We provide an extended set of effective recombination coefficients and updated l-changing 2s − 2p transition rates using …