Thursday, April 12, 2007, 12:30 pm, Pratt Conference Room
Determining the Type, Redshift, and Age of a Supernova Spectrum
Dr. Stephane Blondin (CfA)
| I will present an algorithm to automatically classify supernova (SN) spectra, and determine their redshift and age. This SuperNova IDentification tool (SNID) is based on the correlation techniques of Tonry & Davis. SNID relies on a large database of supernova spectral templates--- the majority of which come from the FLWO 1.5m telescope through the CfA Supernova Program (PI: Bob Kirshner). SNID is currently used by members of the ESSENCE project to distinguish between Type Ia and Type Ib/c supernovae at high redshift, and to identify ``peculiar'' SN Ia. It is also used to determine supernova redshifts (with a typical accuracy < 0.01) without a spectrum of the host galaxy. Last, the rest-frame age of an input SN spectrum is determined with a typical accuracy < 3 days, which enables an investigation of time-dilation effects in supernova spectra. |
