Optical afterglow observations hold the indirect key to type-Ic Supernovae associated with Gamma Ray Bursts. In several cases where there is no spectroscopic confirmation available, presence of the supernova is inferred from the red bump seen in late afterglow light-curves. We do extensive afterglow modeling to extract the supernova contribution as residue. We compare the residual lightcurves of Supernovae associated with GRB041006, GRB030329, GRB050525A and GRB090618.

The fast shocks that characterize supernova remnants heat circumstellar and ejecta material to extremely high temperatures, resulting in significant X-ray emission. The X-ray spectrum from an SNR carries a wealth of information about the temperature and ionization state of the plasma, the density distribution of the postshock material, and the composition of the ejecta. This, in turn, places strong constraints on the properties of the progenitor star, the explosive nucleosynthesis that produced the remnant, the properties of the environment into which the SNR expands, and the effects of particle acceleration on its dynamical evolution. Here I present results from X-ray studies SNRs in various evolutionary states, and highlight key results inferred from the thermal emission.

We present results from numerical simulations of expanding and colliding supershells. These large-scale spherical shocks, created by the combined feedback from several OB stars, are unstable to a number of hydrodynamical instabilities, so they quickly fragment into cold and highly structured clumps. A collision between two large shells can organize these small clumps into very filamentary structures, of tens of parsecs length and less than a parsec thick. In simulations where the flow of stellar material is followed with a tracer quantity, cold structures practically do not contain any enriched material from the OB associations at the time of their creation. In this context then, the clumps are created almost exclusively out of diffuse ISM material, containing almost no wind or supernova matter. Although the mechanism presented here is possibly not the only route for filament creation, this predicted property may help identify regions of sequential star formation.

We present the results of near-infrared (NIR) imaging and spectroscopic observations of the Galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). Applying the method of Principal Component Analysis to our broadband NIR spectra, we identify a total of 61 NIR emission knots of Cas A and classify them into three groups of distinct spectral characteristics: Helium-rich, Sulfur-rich, and Iron-rich groups. The first and second groups are of the circumstellar and supernova ejecta origin, respectively. The third group, which has enhanced iron emission, is of particular interests since it shows intermediate characteristics between the former two groups. We suggest that the Iron-rich group is knots of swept-up circumstellar medium around the contact discontinuity in Cas A and/or supernova ejecta from deep layers of its progenitor star which have recently encountered a reverse shock in the remnant.

We have analyzed Chandra X-ray data from different parts of the shell of young supernova remnant (SNR) in the energy range of 0.7 - 8 keV. We observed that X-ray flux level varies over different shell regions of the source. Implications of X-ray observation will be discussed here. We also analyzed Fermi-LAT data in the energy range 0.5 - 50 GeV for the source. The differential spectrum obtained in this way fits with simple power-law. We also present here multi-wavelength modeling of the source considering archival radio and TeV data along with Chandra and Fermi-LAT data.

We use early optical photometric and spectroscopic data of six Type-IIP SNe to derive distances to their host galaxies using the expanding photosphere method (EPM). Our sample consists of luminous to sub-luminous SNe 1999gi, 2004et, 2005cs, 2008in, 2009md and 2012aw; having absolute V-magnitudes from -17 to -15 and host galaxy distances from 5 to 22 Mpc. The SN 2008in is peculiar in nature showing dual behavior of a luminous as well as sub-luminous event. The EPM distances for four of the events in our sample are derived for the first time. We take utmost care in minimizing the errors arising from photospheric velocity determination and the broadband filter responses, hence leaving out uncertainty in dilution factor models as the only major source of error. Our preliminary results indicate that EPM-derived distances using Dessart model is found to be consistent with the distances quoted in the literature. We find that EPM method is applicable only to the early (<50 d) photometric data of supernovae and dense spectroscopic data is necessary to estimate accurate distances.

We present the first detailed Chandra and XMM-Newton study of the young Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) Kes 73 associated with the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 1E 1841–045. Images of the remnant in the radio (20 cm), infrared (24 μm), and X-rays (0.5–7 keV) reveal a spherical morphology with a bright western limb. High-resolution Chandra images show bright diffuse emission across the remnant, with several small-scale clumpy and knotty structures filling the SNR interior. The overall Chandra and XMM-Newton spectrum of the SNR is best described by a two-component thermal model with the hard component characterized by a low ionization timescale, suggesting that the hot plasma has not yet reached ionization equilibrium. The soft component is characterized by enhanced metal abundances from Mg, Si, and S, suggesting the presence of metal-rich supernova ejecta. We discuss the explosion properties of the supernova and infer the mass of its progenitor star. Such studies shed light on our understanding of SNRs associated with highly magnetized neutron stars.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) play a key role in understanding supernovae explosion mechanisms, exploring the likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays and the chemical enrichment of interstellar medium (ISM). Reliable distance determinations to Galactic SNRs are key to obtain their basic parameters, such as size, age, explosion energy, which helps us to study their environment and interstellar medium. We review the methods to determine the distances to SNRs and highlight the kinematic distance measurement by Hi absorption and CO emission observations.

We present intensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2010as carried out by the Millennium Center for Supernova Studies (MCSS) and the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP). The SN belongs to the transitional type Ibc (SN Ibc) that is characterized by the slow appearance of weak helium lines with low expansion velocities. We find a wide variety of photometric properties among otherwise spectroscopically similar SN Ibc. A hydrodynamical model is used to provide physical properties of SN 2010as in comparison with the bolometric light curve and expansion velocity.

Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted since 1990, have allowed us to create a “movie” of the evolution of the core-collapse supernova SN 1987A from 3–25 years after the explosion. Critical to understanding the late time evolution of SN 1987A was the successful HST Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009. The repair of the STIS instrument and the installation of the WFC3 imager and COS spectrograph have provided crucial data points for understanding the temporal variability in the physical structure and energy sources for SN 1987A, as well as measurements of the chemical abundances of the ejecta. In this proceeding, I will focus on two topics that have made use of the expanded capability of HST and highlight the importance of access to a UV/optical space observatory for the studies of local supernovae: 1) 2) The decreasing maximum velocity of neutral hydrogen crossing the reverse shock front and the role of soft X-ray/EUV heating in the outer supernova debris and 2) The detection of metals (N4+ and C3+ ions) crossing the reverse shock front and CNO processing in the progenitor star.

Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are found at much higher redshifts (z > 6) than Supernova Ia (z ~ 1), and hence, they can be used to probe very primitive universe. However, radiation mechanism of GRB remains a puzzle, unlike Supernova Ia. Through comprehensive description, both empirical and physical, we shall discuss the most likely way to use the constituent pulses of a GRB to find the radiation mechanism as well as using the pulses as luminosity indicators.

We review emission processes within the supernova (SN) ejecta. Examples of the application of the theory to observational data are presented. The emission processes and thermal condition within the SN ejecta change as a function of time, and multi-epoch observations are important to obtain comprehensive views. Through the analyses, we can constrain the progenitor radius, compositions as a function of depth, ejecta properties, explosion asymmetry and so on. Multi-frequency follow-up is also important, including radio synchrotron emissions and the inverse Compton effect, γ-ray emissions from radioactive decay of newly synthesized materials. The optical data are essential to make the best use of the multi-frequency data.

Supernovae and their remnants are believed to be prodigious sources of Galactic cosmic rays and interstellar dust. Understanding the mechanisms behind their surprisingly high production rate is helped by the study of nearby young supernova remnants. There has been none better in modern times than SN1987A, for which radio observations have been made for over a quarter of a century. We review extensive observations made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at centimetre wavelengths. Emission at frequencies from 1 to 100 GHz is dominated by synchrotron radiation from an outer shock front which has been growing exponentially in strength from day 3000, and is currently sweeping around the circumstellar ring at about 4000 km s−1. Three dimensional models of the propagation of the shock into the circumstellar medium are able to reproduce the main observational features of the remnant, and their evolution. We find that up to 4% of the electrons encountered by the shock are accelerated to relativistic energies. High-frequency ALMA observations will break new ground in the understanding of dust and molecule production.

We present survey results obtained from the UBVRI optical photometric follow-up of 19 bright core-collapse SNe during 2002-2012 using 1-m class optical telescopes operated by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Science (acronym ARIES), Nainital India. This homogeneous set of data have been used to study behavior of optical light/color curve, and to gain insight into objet-to-object peculiarity. We derive integrated luminosities for types IIP, Ibc and luminous SNe. Two peculiar type IIP events having photometric properties similar to normal IIP and spectroscopic properties similar to sub-lumnious IIP have been identified.

Milagro has recently reported an extended TeV γ-ray source MGRO J2019+37 in the Cygnus region. It is the second brightest TeV source after Crab nebula in their source catalogue. No confirmed counterparts of this source are known although possible associations with several known sources have been suggested. We study leptonic as well as hadronic models of TeV emission within the context of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWN) and Supernova Remnant (SNR) type sources, using constraints from multi-wavelength data from observations made on sources around MGRO J2019+37. These include radio upper limit given by GMRT, GeV observations by Fermi-LAT, EGRET and AGILE and very high energy data taken from Milagro. We find that, within the PWN scenario, while both leptonic as well as hadronic models can explain the TeV flux from this source, the GMRT upper limit imposes a stringent upper limit on the size of the emission region in the case of leptonic model. In the SNR scenario, on the other hand, a purely leptonic origin of TeV flux is inconsistent with the GMRT upper limit. At the same time, a dominantly hadronic origin of the TeV flux is consistent with all observations, and the required hadronic energy budget is comparable to that of typical supernovae explosions.

We present optical UBVRI photometric and low-resolution spectroscopic follow-up observations of a type II SN 2012aw in a nearby (~10 Mpc) galaxy M95 during 4 to 270 days post-explosion. The evolution characteristics of optical brightness and color are found to have striking similarity with the archetypal type IIP SN 1999em. The mid-plateau MV is −16.7 mag and the ejected nickel mass is ~0.06 M⊙. The presence and evolution of optical spectral features during 7d to 104d are also similar to SN 1999em as well as other normal type IIP events. The mid-plateau photospheric velocity is around 4200 km s−1 which is same as that of SN 2004et at similar phases, indicating similar energy of explosion i.e. 2 × 1051 erg s−1.

SN 2001ja was observed twice in three months using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The X-ray flux could be due to interaction with the circumstellar medium, perhaps dominated by the reverse shock heated thermal plasma, or from inverse Compton scattering at the forward shock. In both cases, for a steady wind-like circumstellar density profile, the X-ray flux is expected to fall off as a power law or faster. But the flux from the position of SN 2011ja, increased by a factor of three between these observations. In this presentation, we investigated possible reasons, including contamination from other astrophysical sources such as a X-Ray Binary, within the Chandra's resolution, in the host galaxy using our observations, modelling and pre-explosion Chandra/XMM data.

Supernovae are the most energetic stellar events and influence the interstellar medium by their gasdynamics and energetics. By this, both also affect the star formation positively and negatively. In this paper, we review the complexity of investigations aiming at understanding the interchange between supernova explosions with the star-forming molecular clouds. Commencing from analytical studies the paper advances to numerical models of supernova feedback from superbubble scales to galaxy structure. We also discuss parametrizations of star-formation and supernova-energy transfer efficiencies. Since evolutionary models from the interstellar medium to galaxies are numerous and are applying multiple recipes of these parameters, only a representative selection of studies can be discussed here.

We present optical photometry and spectrosopy of the transient SN 2011A. Our data spans 140 days after discovery including BVRIu'g'r'i'z' photometry and a sequence of 11 spectra. First classified as a type IIn supernova due to the presence of narrow Hα emission, this object shows exceptional characteristics. Firstly, the light curve shows a double plateau; a property only before observed in the impostor object SN 1997bs. Secondly SN 2011A has a very low luminosity for a type IIn supernova placing it between the type IIn supernovae and impostor classes in terms of luminosity. Thirdly, SN 2011A shows low velocity and high equivalent width sodium doublet absorption which increases with time and is most likely of circumstellar origin. This evolution is also accompanied by a change of line profile. When the absorption becomes stronger, a P-Cygni profile appears.

We study the formation of molecules and dust clusters in the ejecta of solar metallicity, Type II-P supernovae using a chemical kinetic approach and follow the evolution of molecules and small dust cluster masses from day 100 to day 1500 after explosion. We predict that large masses of molecules including CO, SiO, SiS, O2, and SO form in the ejecta. We show that the non-equilibrium chemistry results in a gradual build up of the dust mass from small (~10−5M⊙) to large values (~5×10−2M⊙) over a five-year period after explosion. This result provides a natural explanation to the discrepancy between the small dust masses detected at infrared wavelengths some 500 days post-explosion and the larger amounts of dust recently detected with the Herschel telescope in supernova remnants.