Supernovae and the VLT: More Light to Examine

Abstract

Supernovae constitute ideal laboratories for the investigation of the end phases of stellar evolution. The explosion mechanisms are fairly well understood in general, but the individuality of supernovae needs to be explored in more detail. The opportunity provided by these bright point sources to study the interstellar medium of external galaxies has not been fully exploited to date. The future 8m telescopes will provide the means for such investigations with profound implications for the chemical composition and evolution of galaxies. In addition to the expected extensions of existing observing programs to fainter and more distant supernovae, four specific projects for original observations of supernovae and the interstellar medium are described. Asymmetries in the explosions can be detected through spectropolarimetry and structure in emission lines. Interstellar dust properties can be inferred from polarimetry and light echoes, and very high-resolution spectroscopy probes gas in the halo, external galaxies, and intergalactic space. All these programs require the light gathering power of 8m class telescopes to investigate a fair sample of supernovae. Suitable instruments in the VLT program are identified.KeywordsLight CurveStellar EvolutionVirgo ClusterCore CollapseDistance IndicatorThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.