Testing the Top Rung of the Distance Ladder: Understanding Type Ia Supernova Variations and Their Effect on the Hubble Constant
 

Type Ia supernovae have been proven extremely useful as standard candles for cosmology. However, there are intrinsic variations between individual type Ia supernova events. The peak luminosity, decline rate, and color of type Ia supernovae all correlate with each other and with properties of the host galaxy. My dissertation work focuses on understanding the variations in type Ia supernovae and how those variations affect measurements of the Hubble constant value. The first project focuses on distinguishing the progenitors systems through searches for circumstellar dust using light echoes. The second project focuses on calibrating type Ia supernovae distances using surface brightness fluctuations (SBF), comparing the properties of the SBF supernovae to those of the Cepheid supernovae, and recalculating the Hubble constant using a set of “SBF-like” supernovae which are most dissimilar to the Cepheid supernova set.

In Physics Room 3 -- See Dispatch for Zoom Link