Ultraviolet Diversity of Type Ia Supernovae

Understand

Ultraviolet (UV) observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) probe the outermost layers of the explosion, and UV spectra of SNe Ia are expected to be extremely sensitive to differences in progenitor composition and the details of the explosion.

• Here we present the first study of a sample of high signal-to-noise ratio SN Ia spectra that extend blueward of 2900 A.
• We focus on spectra taken within 5 days of maximum brightness.
• Our sample of ten SNe Ia spans the majority of the parameter space of SN Ia optical diversity.