Under amazing circumstances, big astronomical bodies function as cosmic magnifying glasses. These magnifying glasses likewise produce several light paths visible at different positions in the sky. Credit: Nikki Arendse
Within weeks of discovering the supernova at the Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory, the team observed SN Zwicky with the adaptive optics instruments on the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Maunakea, Hawaiʻi, and the Very Large Telescopes in Chile. The Keck Observatory observations resolved the numerous images, validating the strong lensing hypothesis behind the uncommon supernova brightness. The four pictures of SN Zwicky were also observed with NASAs Hubble Space Telescope.
Large astronomical bodies serve as cosmic magnifying glasses
The multiply-imaged lensing impact observed in SN Zwicky is the outcome of the gravitational field put in by a foreground galaxy acting as a gravitational lens. Observing the several images not just reveals details about the highly lensed supernova, it likewise provides a distinct opportunity to explore the residential or commercial properties of the foreground galaxy that causes the deflection of light. Lensed supernovae are also extremely promising tools to improve models describing the expansion of the universe.
Objects with large masses such as galaxies or clusters of galaxies warp the spacetime surrounding them in such a way that they can create several images of background items. This effect is called strong gravitational lensing. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA
New avenues for investigating gravitational lensing
As researchers continue to unravel the complexities of the universe, the discovery of SN Zwickys multiply-imaged lensing presents brand-new avenues for investigating gravitational lensing phenomena and their implications for cosmology. This is an important step towards opening the secrets of dark matter, dark energy, and the supreme fate of our universes. “The extreme magnification of SN Zwicky gives us an extraordinary opportunity to study the residential or commercial properties of distant Type Ia supernova surges, which we need when we use them to explore the nature of dark energy,” states Joel Johansson, a postdoctoral fellow at Stockholm University and a co-author on the research study.
Focusing to supernova Zwicky: beginning from a little portion of the Palomar ZTF video camera, one out of 64 “quadrants”, each one consisting of tens of countless stars and galaxies, the zoom in takes us to in-depth explorations carried out with the bigger and sharper VLT and Keck telescopes in Chile and Hawaii respectively. On the very best dealt with Keck images, the four nearly identical “copies” of supernova Zwicky can be seen. The numerous images occur due to the warping of area caused by a foreground galaxy, likewise seen in the center and approximately half-way between the website of the supernova surge and Earth.” Credit: J. Johansson
Professor Ariel Goobar, the tasks primary private investigator and the director of the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University, revealed his interest for this considerable finding: “The discovery of SN Zwicky not just showcases the remarkable abilities of contemporary astronomical instruments but also represents a significant advance in our quest to understand the essential forces shaping our universe.”
The team at the Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University leading the discovery of SN Zwicky: from the left Edvard Mörtsell, Steve Schulze, Joel Johansson, Ana Sagués Carracedo, Ariel Goobar and Nikki Arendse. Credit: The Oskar Klein Centre
The teams findings have been released in Nature Astronomy, in a paper entitled “Uncovering a population of gravitational lens galaxies with magnified basic candle SN Zwicky”. The publication provides a detailed analysis of SN Zwicky, consisting of imaging and spectroscopic data collected from telescopes around the globe.
For more on this research study, see Supernova Explosion Revealed by Rare “Cosmic Magnifying Glasses.”
Recommendation: “Uncovering a population of gravitational lens galaxies with amplified standard candle SN Zwicky” by Ariel Goobar, Joel Johansson, Steve Schulze, Nikki Arendse, Ana Sagués Carracedo, Suhail Dhawan, Edvard Mörtsell, Christoffer Fremling, Lin Yan, Daniel Perley, Jesper Sollerman, Rémy Joseph, K-Ryan Hinds, William Meynardie, Igor Andreoni, Eric Bellm, Josh Bloom, Thomas E. Collett, Andrew Drake, Matthew Graham, Mansi Kasliwal, Shri R. Kulkarni, Cameron Lemon, Adam A. Miller, James D. Neill, Jakob Nordin, Justin Pierel, Johan Richard, Reed Riddle, Mickael Rigault, Ben Rusholme, Yashvi Sharma, Robert Stein, Gabrielle Stewart, Alice Townsend, Yozsef Vinko, J. Craig Wheeler and Avery Wold, 12 June 2023, Nature Astronomy.DOI: 10.1038/ s41550-023-01981-3.
Institutions including the California Institute of Technology– the leading organization behind the Bright Transient Survey where SN Zwicky was found, University of Cambridge, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Maryland, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Washington, University of California, Berkeley, University of Portsmouth, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Northwestern University, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Space Telescope Science Institute, Université de Lyon, CNRS-IN2P3 in France, University of Texas at Austin, and Konkoly Observatory have actually also added to this groundbreaking research.
Scientists at Stockholm University involved in the work are Edvard Mörtsell, Steve Schulze, Joel Johansson, Ana Sagués Carracedo, Ariel Goobar, Nikki Arendse and Remy Joseph from the Department of Physics and Jesper Sollerman from the Department of Astronomy.
Zooming in to supernova Zwicky: starting from a little part of the Palomar ZTF electronic camera, one out of 64 “quadrants”, each one containing tens of thousands of galaxies and stars, the zoom-in takes us to in-depth explorations brought out with the larger and sharper VLT and Keck telescopes in Chile and Hawaii respectively. The group, led by Ariel Goobar from the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University, discovered an uncommon Type Ia supernova, SN Zwicky. Within weeks of spotting the supernova at the Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory, the team observed SN Zwicky with the adaptive optics instruments on the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Maunakea, Hawaiʻi, and the Very Large Telescopes in Chile. “The severe zoom of SN Zwicky provides us an extraordinary chance to study the properties of far-off Type Ia supernova explosions, which we require when we utilize them to explore the nature of dark energy,” says Joel Johansson, a postdoctoral fellow at Stockholm University and a co-author on the study.
Zooming in to supernova Zwicky: beginning from a little part of the Palomar ZTF video camera, one out of 64 “quadrants”, each one consisting of 10s of thousands of stars and galaxies, the zoom in takes us to in-depth explorations carried out with the bigger and sharper VLT and Keck telescopes in Chile and Hawaii respectively.
Zooming in to supernova Zwicky: beginning from a little part of the Palomar ZTF video camera, one out of 64 “quadrants”, each one consisting of tens of thousands of galaxies and stars, the zoom-in takes us to comprehensive explorations carried out with the larger and sharper VLT and Keck telescopes in Chile and Hawaii respectively. On the finest solved Keck images, the 4 almost identical “copies” of supernova Zwicky can be seen.
Astronomers and physicists have discovered a multiply-imaged lensed Type Ia supernova, “SN Zwicky,” enabling extraordinary research study of galaxy properties, gravitational lensing phenomena, dark matter, and the universes expansion.
A group of physicists and astronomers led by researchers from the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University has actually made an interesting development in our capability to explore how galaxies warp the surrounding space with the discovery of a multiply-imaged lensed Type Ia supernova, called “SN Zwicky.” The outcomes are published in Nature Astronomy.
The group, led by Ariel Goobar from the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University, discovered an uncommon Type Ia supernova, SN Zwicky. Type Ia supernovae play a vital function in determining cosmic ranges. They were used for the discovery of the sped up expansion of deep space, leading to the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics. The recently found supernova stands apart due to its extraordinary brightness and configuration of multiple images, an unusual phenomenon predicted by Albert Einsteins theory of general relativity.
