This project will explore the mechanisms responsible for supernova explosions of the Type II-P ("plateau") type. These arise from isolated red supergiant stars with initial masses ranging from 8 to 16 times the mass of the Sun. Current data on a limited number of these events suggest that the mechanism produces strongly non-spherical explosions. Dr. Leonard will conduct new observations of polarized light from type II-P supernovae and will re-analyze data from earlier events. He and collaborators will also compare the data against theoretical models developed specifically for this type of supernova, with the goal of determining whether the explosion geometry of red supergiants is the same for all Type II-P events and to discover what that geometry is. The result will form a key discriminant for stellar explosion models at the lower end of the high-mass star sequence.
The project will involve training graduate and undergraduate students in the acquisition, analysis, and publication of scientific data. To provide light curve information critical to the success of the spectropolarimetry program, the PI will exploit the research capabilities of his department's newly upgraded Mount Laguna Observatory facility by initiating a student-led program of optical and near-infrared photometric studies of supernovae.
