Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Dr., Suite 102, Goleta, California 93117, USA.
Nat Commun. 2011 Jun 14;2:350. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1344.
Empirically, Type Ia supernovae are the most useful, precise, and mature tools for determining astronomical distances. Acting as calibrated candles they revealed the presence of dark energy and are being used to measure its properties. However, the nature of the Type Ia explosion, and the progenitors involved, have remained elusive, even after seven decades of research. But now, new large surveys are bringing about a paradigm shift--we can finally compare samples of hundreds of supernovae to isolate critical variables. As a result of this, and advances in modelling, breakthroughs in understanding all aspects of these supernovae are finally starting to happen.
从经验上看，Ia 型超新星是确定天文距离最有用、最精确和最成熟的工具。它们作为校准的“标准烛光”，揭示了暗能量的存在，并被用于测量其性质。然而，Ia 型爆炸的性质及其涉及的前身星仍然难以捉摸，即使经过 70 年的研究也是如此。但是现在，新的大型调查正在带来范式转变——我们终于可以将数百颗超新星的样本进行比较，以隔离关键变量。因此，随着这方面的发展和建模的进步，对这些超新星各个方面的理解终于开始取得突破。
