2023 Fall Colloquium Series; Ben Rose, Ph.D., Baylor University
The Golden Age of Supernova Cosmology

Type Ia Supernovae (SN Ia) have been used as cosmic distance probes for over 30 years. They showed the first evidence of Dark Energy and the accelerated expansion of the Universe. They have also been a key part of measuring the current expansion rate (the Hubble constant, H0) to less than 1% precision. Though SN Ia are a well-tested cosmic probe, they are also a part of several controversies, namely the disagreement of the measured and predicted values of H0 and the lack of a physical model for Dark Energy. Recent SN Ia data sets have made stringent measurements of Dark Energy and H0 but there are both astrophysical and instrumentation limitations to continuing to improve our measurements. In this talk, I will describe my research into improving our astrophysical models and hardware calibration in preparation for the SN Ia data sets into the 2030s, particularly from NASA's next flagship mission, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Slides: https://baylor.box.com/s/d8r493shnk94r9z79os4s1wc3z40rzsx