Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T05:21:34.392Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Light Echoes of Transients and Variables in the Local Universe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2013

A. Rest ,
B. Sinnott  and
D. L. Welch
A. Rest*
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
B. Sinnott
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
D. L. Welch
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
*
CCorresponding author. Email: arest@stsci.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Astronomical light echoes, the time-dependent light scattered by dust in the vicinity of varying objects, have been recognized for over a century. Initially, their utility was thought to be confined to mapping out the three-dimensional distribution of interstellar dust. Recently, the discovery of spectroscopically useful light echoes around centuries-old supernovae in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud has opened up new scientific opportunities to exploit light echoes.

In this review, we describe the history of light echoes in the local Universe and cover the many new developments in both the observation of light echoes and the interpretation of the light scattered from them. Among other benefits, we highlight our new ability to classify outbursting objects spectroscopically, view them from multiple perspectives, obtain a spectroscopic time series of the outburst, and establish accurate distances to the source event. We also describe the broader range of variable objects with properties that may be better understood from light-echo observations. Finally, we discuss the prospects of new light-echo techniques not yet realized in practice.

Keywords

stars: distancesstars: supernova: individual: SN 1987A, Cas A, Tychostars: variables: generalnovae, cataclysmic variablesdust, extinctionISM: supernova remnants
Type
Research Front: 2. Supernovae and their Host Galaxies
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 29 , Issue 4 , 2012 , pp. 466 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2012

References

Afşar, M. & Bond, H. E., 2007, AJ, 133, 387CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alard, C., 2000, A&AS, 144, 363Google Scholar
Alard, C. & Lupton, R. H., 1998, ApJ, 503, 325CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews, J. E., et al. , 2011, ApJ, 731, 47CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Badenes, C., Borkowski, K. J., Hughes, J. P., Hwang, U. & Bravo, E., 2006, ApJ, 645, 1373CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Badenes, C., Hughes, J. P., Cassam-Chenaï, G. & Bravo, E., 2008, ApJ, 680, 1149CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banerjee, D. P. K., Su, K. Y. L., Misselt, K. A. & Ashok, N. M., 2006, ApJL, 644, L57CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barris, B. J., Tonry, J. L., Novicki, M. C. & Wood-Vasey, W. M., 2005, AJ, 130, 2272CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bode, M. F. & Evans, A., 1980a, A&A, 89, 158Google Scholar
Bode, M. F. & Evans, A., 1980b, MNRAS, 193, 21PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bode, M. F. & Evans, A., 1985, A&A, 151, 452Google Scholar
Bode, M. F., O'Brien, T. J. & Simpson, M., 2004, ApJL, 600, L63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boffi, F. R., Sparks, W. B. & Macchetto, F. D., 1999, A&AS, 138, 253Google Scholar
Bond, H. E. & Sparks, W. B., 2009, A&A, 495, 371Google Scholar
Bond, H. E., Panagia, N., Gilmozzi, R. & Meakes, M., 1989, IAUC, 4733, 1Google Scholar
Bond, H. E., et al. , 2003, Natur, 422, 405CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, N. J., Waagen, E. O., Scovil, C., Nelson, P., Oksanen, A., Solonen, J. & Price, A., 2002, IAUC, 7785, 1Google Scholar
Burrows, A., Walder, R., Ott, C. D. & Livne, E., 2005, in ASP Conf. Ser. 332, The Fate of the Most Massive Stars, ed. Humphreys, R. & Stanek, K. (San Francisco: ASP), 350Google Scholar
Calzavara, A. J. & Matzner, C. D., 2004, MNRAS, 351, 694CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cappellaro, E., et al. , 2001, ApJL, 549, L215CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlqvist, P., 2005, A&A, 436, 231Google Scholar
Catchpole, R. M., et al. , 1987, MNRAS, 229, 15PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catchpole, R. M., et al. , 1988, MNRAS, 231, 75PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catchpole, R. M., et al. , 1989, MNRAS, 237, 55PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chevalier, R. A., 1986, ApJ, 308, 225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chugai, N. N., 1992, SvA, 36, 63Google Scholar
Couch, W. J., Allen, D. A. & Malin, D. F., 1990, MNRAS, 242, 555CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Couderc, P., 1939, AnAp, 2, 271Google Scholar
Crause, L. A., Lawson, W. A., Menzies, J. W. & Marang, F., 2005, MNRAS, 358, 1352CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crotts, A., 1988, IAUC, 4561, 4Google Scholar
Crotts, A. P. S. & Kunkel, W. E., 1991, ApJL, 366, L73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crotts, A. P. S. & Yourdon, D., 2008, ApJ, 689, 1186CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crotts, A. P. S., Kunkel, W. E. & McCarthy, P. J., 1989, ApJL, 347, L61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crotts, A. P. S., Kunkel, W. E. & Heathcote, S. R., 1995, ApJ, 438, 724CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeLaney, T., et al. , 2010, ApJ, 725, 2038CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Carlo, E., et al. , 2002, ApJ, 573, 144CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Draine, B. T., 2003, ApJ, 598, 1017CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Draine, B. T. & Lee, H. M., 1984, ApJ, 285, 89CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dwek, E., 1983, ApJ, 274, 175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dwek, E. & Arendt, R. G., 2008, ApJ, 685, 976CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallagher, J. S., et al. , 2011, BAAS, 43, 337.22Google Scholar
Garnavich, P. M., et al. , 2001, BAAS, 33, 1370Google Scholar
Gehrz, R. D., 1988, ARA&A, 26, 377Google Scholar
Gouiffes, C., et al. , 1988, A&A, 198, L9Google Scholar
Gould, A., 1994, ApJ, 425, 51CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gould, A. & Uza, O., 1998, ApJ, 494, 118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamuy, M. & Suntzeff, N. B., 1990, AJ, 99, 1146CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamuy, M., Suntzeff, N. B., Gonzalez, R. & Martin, G., 1988, AJ, 95, 63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Havlen, R. J., 1972, A&A, 16, 252Google Scholar
Henden, A., Munari, U. & Schwartz, M., 2002, IAUC, 7859, 1Google Scholar
Henyey, L. C. & Greenstein, J. L., 1941, ApJ, 93, 70CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubble, E., 1922, CMWCI, 250, 1Google Scholar
Hughes, J. P., et al. , 1995, ApJL, 444, L81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ivezic, Z., et al. , 2008, ArXiv e-print (0805.2366)Google Scholar
Kaiser, N., et al. , 2010, in Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Vol. 7733, The Pan-STARRS Wide-Field Optical/NIR Imaging Survey, ed. Stepp, L. M., Gilmozzi, R. & Hall, H. J., 77330EGoogle Scholar
Kapteyn, J. C., 1902, AN, 157, 201Google Scholar
Keller, S. C., et al. , 2007, PASA, 24, 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kervella, P., Mérand, A., Szabados, L., Fouqué, P., Bersier, D., Pompei, E. & Perrin, G., 2008, A&A, 480, 167Google Scholar
Kim, Y., Rieke, G. H., Krause, O., Misselt, K., Indebetouw, R. & Johnson, K. E., 2008, ApJ, in pressGoogle Scholar
Kimeswenger, S., Lederle, C., Schmeja, S. & Armsdorfer, B., 2002, MNRAS, 336, L43CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotak, R., et al. , 2009, ApJ, 704, 306CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, O., et al. , 2005, Sci, 308, 1604CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, O., Birkmann, S. M., Usuda, T., Hattori, T., Goto, M., Rieke, G. H. & Misselt, K. A., 2008a, Sci, 320, 1195CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, O., Tanaka, M., Usuda, T., Hattori, T., Goto, M., Birkmann, S. & Nomoto, K., 2008b, Natur, 456, 617CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laor, A. & Draine, B. T., 1993, ApJ, 402, 441CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, A. & Draine, B. T., 2001, ApJ, 554, 778CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lightfoot, J. F., 1989, MNRAS, 239, 665CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lintott, C. J., et al. , 2009, MNRAS, 399, 129CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, J.-F., Bregman, J. N. & Seitzer, P., 2003, ApJ, 582, 919CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslov, I. A., 2000, AstL, 26, 428Google Scholar
Matzner, C. D. & McKee, C. F., 1999, ApJ, 510, 379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meaburn, J., McGee, R. X. & Newton, L. M., 1984, MNRAS, 206, 705CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menzies, J. W., et al. , 1987, MNRAS, 227, 39PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, A. A., Smith, N., Li, W., Bloom, J. S., Chornock, R., Filippenko, A. V. & Prochaska, J. X., 2010, AJ, 139, 2218CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munari, U., et al. , 2002, A&A, 389, L51Google Scholar
Newman, A. B. & Rest, A., 2006, PASP, 118, 1484CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ortiz, J. L., Sugerman, B. E. K., de La Cueva, I., Santos-Sanz, P., Duffard, R, Gil-Hutton, R, Melita, M & Morales, N, 2010, A&A, 519, A7Google Scholar
Otsuka, M., et al. , 2012, ApJ, 744, 26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panagia, N., Gilmozzi, R., Macchetto, F., Adorf, H.-M. & Kirshner, R. P., 1991, ApJL, 380, L23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patat, F., 2005, MNRAS, 357, 1161CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patat, F., Benetti, S., Cappellaro, E. & Turatto, M., 2006, MNRAS, 369, 1949CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perrine, C. D., 1903, ApJ, 17, 310CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, M. M., Heathcote, S. R., Hamuy, M. & Navarrete, M., 1988, AJ, 95, 1087CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, M. M., Hamuy, M., Heathcote, S. R., Suntzeff, N. B. & Kirhakos, S., 1990, AJ, 99, 1133CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pojmanski, G., 1997, AcA, 47, 467Google Scholar
Quinn, J. L., Garnavich, P. M., Li, W., Panagia, N., Riess, A., Schmidt, B. P. & Della Valle, M., 2006, ApJ, 652, 512CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rampadarath, H., et al. , 2010, A&A, 517, L8Google Scholar
Rau, A., et al. , 2009, PASP, 121, 1334CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2005a, ApJ, 634, 1103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2005b, Natur, 438, 1132CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2007, BAAS, 38, 935Google Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2008a, ApJ, 680, 1137CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2008b, ApJL, 681, L81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2011a, ApJ, 732, 3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., Sinnott, B., Welch, D. L., Foley, R. J., Narayan, G., Mandel, K., Huber, M. E. & Blondin, S., 2011b, ApJ, 732, 2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rest, A., et al. , 2012, Natur, 482, 375CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritchey, G. W., 1901a, ApJ, 14, 293CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritchey, G. W., 1901b, ApJ, 14, 167CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritchey, G. W., 1902, ApJ, 15, 129CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romaniello, M., Patat, F., Panagia, N., Sparks, W. B., Gilmozzi, R. & Spyromilio, J., 2005, ApJ, 629, 250CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roscherr, B. & Schaefer, B. E., 2000, ApJ, 532, 415CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruiz-Lapuente, P., et al. , 2004, Natur, 431, 1069CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaefer, B. E., 1987a, ApJL, 323, L47CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaefer, B. E., 1987b, ApJL, 323, L51CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaefer, B. E., 1988, ApJ, 327, 347CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, B. P., Kirshner, R. P., Leibundgut, B., Wells, L. A., Porter, A. C., Ruiz-Lapuente, P., Challis, P. & Filippenko, A. V., 1994, ApJL, 434, L19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seaquist, E. R., Bode, M. F., Frail, D. A., Roberts, J. A., Evans, A. & Albinson, J. S., 1989, ApJ, 344, 805CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shklovskii, I. S., 1964, Astron. Circ. USSR, 306Google Scholar
Smith, N., 2006, ApJ, 644, 1151CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, N., Davidson, K., Gull, T. R., Ishibashi, K. & Hillier, D. J., 2003a, ApJ, 586, 432CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, N., Gehrz, R. D., Hinz, P. M., Hoffmann, W. F., Hora, J. L., Mamajek, E. E. & Meyer, M. R., 2003b, AJ, 125, 1458CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, W. B., 1994, ApJ, 433, 19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, W. B., 1996, ApJ, 470, 195CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, W. B., Macchetto, F., Panagia, N., Boffi, F. R., Branch, D., Hazen, M. L. & della Valle, M., 1999, ApJ, 523, 585CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, W. B., et al. , 2008, AJ, 135, 605CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephenson, F. R. & Green, D. A., 2002, Historical Supernovae and their Remnants, International Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 5 (Oxford: Clarendon Press)Google Scholar
Sugerman, B. E. K., 2003, AJ, 126, 1939CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugerman, B. E. K., 2005, ApJL, 632, L17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugerman, B. E. K. & Crotts, A. P. S., 2002, ApJL, 581, L97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugerman, B.E.K., Crotts, A. P. S., Kunkel, W.E., Heathcote, S. R. & Lawrence, S. S., 2005a, ApJ, 627, 888CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugerman, B.E.K., Crotts, A. P. S., Kunkel, W. E., Heathcote, S. R. & Lawrence, S. S., 2005b, ApJS, 159, 60CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugerman, B. E. K., et al. , 2012, ArXiv e-print (1202.3075)Google Scholar
Suntzeff, N. B., Hamuy, M., Martin, G., Gomez, A. & Gonzalez, R., 1988a, AJ, 96, 1864CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suntzeff, N. B., Heathcote, S., Weller, W. G., Caldwell, N. & Huchra, J. P., 1988b, Natur, 334, 135CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swope, H. H., 1940, BHarO, 913, 11Google Scholar
Tomaney, A. B. & Crotts, A. P. S., 1996, AJ, 112, 2872CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tylenda, R., 2004, A&A, 414, 223Google Scholar
van den Bergh, S., 1965a, AJ, 70, 667CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van den Bergh, S., 1965b, PASP, 77, 269CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van den Bergh, S., 1966, PASP, 78, 74CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van den Bergh, S., 1977, PASP, 89, 637CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dyk, S. D., Li, W. & Filippenko, A. V., 2006, PASP, 118, 351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vink, J. S., 2009, ArXiv e-print (0905.3338)Google Scholar
Walborn, N. R., Barbá, R. H., Brandner, W, Rubio, M, Grebel, E. K. & Probst, R. G., 1999, AJ, 117, 225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, X., Li, W., Filippenko, A. V., Foley, R. J., Smith, N. & Wang, L., 2008, ApJ, 677, 1060CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waxman, E., Mészáros, P. & Campana, S., 2007, ApJ, 667, 351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weingartner, J. C. & Draine, B. T., 2001, ApJ, 548, 296CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, D. L., et al. , 2007, ApJ, 669, 525CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westerlund, B., 1961, PASP, 73, 72CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheeler, J. C., Maund, J. R. & Couch, S. M., 2008, ApJ, 677, 1091CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitelock, P. A., et al. , 1988, MNRAS, 234, 5PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitelock, P. A., et al. , 1989, MNRAS, 240, 7PCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, J. & Crotts, A. P. S., 1999, ApJ, 511, 262CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, J., Crotts, A. P. S. & Kunkel, W. E., 1994, ApJ, 435, 274CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, J., Crotts, A. P. S. & Kunkel, W. E., 1995, ApJ, 451, 806CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zwicky, F., 1940, RvMP, 12, 66Google Scholar