Supernovae Illuminating the Universe: from Individuals to Populations
The conference will cover all aspects of supernova research and in particular the advances of the past decade. 25 years after SN 1987A a rich diversity of stellar explosion phenomena is known or hypothesized. There are several subclasses and a marked variability amongst thermonuclear supernovae with indications of deflagrations as well as delayed detonations occurring in nature. The first pair-instability supernovae and pulsational explosions have probably been observed recently. Also, a connection of very faint explosions with novae is emerging. All known aspects of supernova explosions will be investigated. The range covers from the theoretical ideas of stellar evolution without metals, core collapses and instabilities, the observational information on progenitor systems and a manifest variety of thermonuclear supernovae, traces of the enriched end products in the most metal-poor stars to search programmes for finding more supernovae.Germany, Sept. 10-14, 2012