Altair Study of Supernovae in Luminous Infrared Galaxies
PI:
Stuart Ryder
Co-I(s):
Seppo Mattila, Petri Vaisanen, Miguel Perez-Torres, Antxon Alberdi, Luis Colina, Andreas Efstathiou, Jari Kotilainen
Abstract
We have commenced a Laser Guide Star adaptive optics program in Semesters 08A-09B to detect and study supernovae (SNe) in the nuclear regions of a sample of northern Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs). Discovering this previously hidden population of highly-obscured core-collapse supernovae will be crucial for revising the optically-derived SN rates (which certainly miss a significant fraction of all the SN events in the local and distant Universe), which in turn provide an independent measurement of the star formation history of the Universe. Having obtained reference images of our LIRG sample in Semester 08A, we can start discovering SNe in the coming semester.
Publications using this program's data
[data][ADS] The K-band luminosity functions of super star clusters in luminous infrared galaxies, their slopes and the effects of blending
[data][ADS] Near-infrared Adaptive Optics Imaging of Infrared Luminous Galaxies: The Brightest Cluster Magnitude-Star Formation Rate Relation
[data][ADS] A dust-enshrouded tidal disruption event with a resolved radio jet in a galaxy merger
[data][ADS] The SUNBIRD survey: the K-band luminosity functions of young massive clusters in intensely star-forming galaxies