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Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Kirshner, Robert Paul
URN	etd-04092004-111020
Persistent URL	http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-04092004-111020
Title	Spectrophotometry of supernovae and their remnants
Degree	PhD
Option	Astronomy
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title J.B. Oke Committee Chair
Keywords	none
Date of Defense	1974-07-26
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract NOTE: Text or symbols not renderable in plain ASCII are indicated by [...]. Abstract is included in .pdf document. Spectrophotometry of extragalactic supernovae shortly after discovery, and of galactic supernova remnants has been used to derive the masses, temeratures[sic], compositions, and distances of supernovae. The Crab Nebula is shown to have a mass of ionized hydrogen in excess of 0.3 [...], but no enrichment of oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur. The Cygnus Loop is shown to emit [Fe XIV], indicating gas at 2 x 10[superscript 6] ?K: this establishes the thermal nature of the x-ray emission, and casts doubt on the Loop's size and distance. Type II supernovae are shown to be consistent with a few solar masses of material at cosmic abundance. Their distances are found without reference to any other astronomical distance through a model of the expansion. Type I supernovae are shown to consist of about 1 solar mass of matter that may be 20 times enriched in iron, if the identification of [Fe II] lines at late stages is correct.
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