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UCL Astrophysics Group

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The Carina Nebula imaged by the VLT Survey Telescope Credit: ESO

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Supernova Dust

Through a current ERC Advanced Grant (SNDUST 694520, PI: M. Barlow), plus earlier STFC grants, we have been investigating observationally how much dust can be formed in the high-velocity ejecta of core-collapse supernovae fom massive stars and, via numerical hydrodynamical modelling, how much of this dust can survive passage through supernova reverse shocks and later impacts with interstellar material. This work has included observations made with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), the Gemini 8-m telescopes and ESO's 8-m Very Large Telescope. The overall goal is to determine whether CCSNe can make a major contribution to the dust reservoirs of galaxies observed at both high and low redshifts. The links below provide an overview of some of this work.

Herschel image of the Galactic Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A. Blue is supernova dust emission at a wavelength of 70 microns and red is interstellar dust emission at a wavelength of 160 microns

Cassiopeia A

Herschel and Hubble Crab Nebula composite

Molecules in Supernova Remnants

Herschel image of the Large Magellanic Cloud showing the position of supernova 1987A

Supernova 1987A

NGC 6946: The Fireworks Galaxy, Credit & Copyright: T. Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage), Gemini Obs., AURA

Supernova Dust Masses from Red-Blue Line Asymmetries