AST
Colloquium
The JWST Revolution in
High-Redshift Supernova
Discovery
Zoom Link
here
Dr. Justin Pierel
Postdoctoral
Researcher
Space Telescope Science
Institute
Abstract:
The high-redshift
transient universe has been an unexplored field of astrophysics due to
the vast amount of resources required to discover supernovae (SNe) at
z>1. Even with the Hubble Space Telescope, discoveries of the most
distant stellar explosions have been restricted to z~2, with critical
spectroscopy limited to z~1.5. With the launch of the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST), we have entered a new era of high-redshift SN discovery
and understanding. JWST has significantly expanded our view of the
transient universe, including hundreds of SNe and dozens of rest-frame
UV-IR spectra for SNe reaching z=5.13. The JWST SN sample with both
imaging and spectroscopy now includes the most distant Type Ia SNe (used
for cosmological measurements) yet discovered, multiple strongly lensed
SNe, and a wide variety of core-collapse SN sub-types from a previously
unexplored phase of the transient universe. I will summarize the range of
discoveries made in the first few years of JWST observations, the
constraints gleaned from these exciting new objects, and our ongoing
efforts to build the first statistical samples of high-redshift SNe.
Looking ahead, these SNe give us a glimpse at what we can expect from the
upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will revolutionize the
discovery of distant stellar explosions.
Bio:
Justin graduated from Bowdoin College with a
bachelor’s degree in mathematics and spent two years at NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center as a member of the Cassini team. He received his
master’s and PhD in Physics from the University of South Carolina,
where he was awarded South Carolina Space Grant Consortium and FINESST
Fellowships. Justin moved to the Space Telescope Science Institute in
2021 as a postdoc in the “Transient Science at Space Telescope”
group, where he is now a NASA Einstein Fellow focused on time-domain
science with the James Webb Space Telescope.
Intended Audience:
Beginners, undergraduates, graduates. Those with
interest in the topic.
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