RESEARCH NEWS → LSU astronomers discover origin of thermonuclear supernova - Astronomers recently discovered the solution to a long-standing fundamental problem of astrophysics: what produces thermonuclear, or Type Ia, supernovae, which are tremendous explosions where the light is often brighter than a whole galaxy? LSU Professor of Physics & Astronomy Bradley Schaefer and graduate student Ashley Pagnotta have proven that these supernova are caused by a pair of white dwarf stars. Their results will appear in the Jan. 12 issue of Nature. "Thermonuclear stars are caused by white dwarf stars reaching a maximum mass where its carbon and oxygen constituents have a runaway explosion similar to an H-bomb," said Prof. Schaefer. "The issue of determining their origin has been a fundamental problem in the field of astronomy." More . . .

RESEARCH NEWS → Far infrared and millimeter observations of Supernova 1987A made with the Herschel satellite by Geoff Clayton and collaborators reveal the presence of a population of cold dust grains with a mass close to half a solar mass. The observations, reported in Science 7 July 2011: 1205983, imply that supernovae can produce the large dust masses detected in young galaxies at high redshifts. More . . .

RESEARCH NEWS → Thomas Kutter, Martin Tzanov, and Bill Metcalf's T2K (Tokai to Kamioka) long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment has announced a new result. Using neutrinos produced in an accelerator at Tokai outside Tokyo and detected in the underground Kamiokande laboratory 185 miles away, T2K has reported observing a new variety of neutrino oscillations from "muon neutrinos" to "electron neutrinos." More . . .