This award will fund the continuation of a successful survey of white-dwarf supernova explosions (called "Type I") at telescopes in Arizona and Chile. The main goal of the work will be to compare low redshift (nearby) supernovae with their high-redshift (distant) counterparts, especially through observations in the infrared which can reduce the effects of dust. Under earlier funding from NSF, this group has assembled a large and homogeneous set of Type I supernovae light curves and spectra, developed original methods for using them using advanced statistical techniques, and addressed problems of cosmic expansion such as local flows, the Hubble constant, cosmic acceleration and the nature of the dark energy.
The project is expected to advance the study of dark energy, which makes up most of the universe. Results from this survey will be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum at Harvard, and students will be involved in the research. The award will also support ongoing efforts outreach and public education.
