Supernovae, the Accelerating Cosmos, and Dark Energy. (5th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schmidt, Brian
• Editors: Montmerle, Thierry
• Is Part Of: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. Volume 10:Number H16(2012)Highlights
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 17
• Publication Date: 2015-03-05
• Subjects: Astronomy -- Congresses; Astronomy -- Periodicals; 520
• DOI: 10.1017/S174392131400461X
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1743-9213

Abstract

Abstract: Type Ia supernovae remain one of Astronomy's most precise tools for measuring distances in the Universe. I describe the cosmological application of these stellar explosions, and chronicle how they were used to discover an accelerating Universe in 1998 - an observation which is most simply explained if more than 70% of the Universe is made up of some previously undetected form of 'Dark Energy'. Over the intervening 13 years, a variety of experiments have been completed, and even more proposed to better constrain the source of the acceleration. I review the range of experiments, describing the current state of our understanding of the observed acceleration, and speculate about future progress in understanding Dark Energy.