17.01.2017

Seppo Mattila (University of Turku, Finland)

Supernovae in the nuclear regions of galaxies

STRESZCZENIE Previous searches have been neglecting supernovae (SNe) that occur within the nuclear regions of galaxies due to dust extinction and lack of sufficient spatial resolution. In particular, the properties and rates of SNe in the nuclear environments of luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) which are the most prolific SN factories in the Universe have remained largely unexplored. Here I present results from high angular resolution observations of nearby LIRGs at infrared and radio wavelengths much less affected by the effects of extinction and lack of resolution hampering the optical searches. I will also discuss the potential of Gaia to discover SNe within the unobscured nuclear regions of galaxies over the whole sky.

O PRELEGENCIE I am a professor of astronomy at the Tuorla observatory, University of Turku, Finland. Previously, I have held positions at the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, Tuorla observatory, Queen's University Belfast, Helsinki University of Technology, and Stockholm University. I was awarded my PhD from Imperial College London in 2002 and did my undergraduate studies at University College London and University of Helsinki. The research of my group focus on observational work on core-collapse SNe and range from detailed studies of individual SNe and their progenitors to the occurrence of SNe within the nuclear regions of galaxies and their use as probes of the star formation rates and extinctions therein.