| Description: | Young supernovae and supernova remnants have been detected using radio interferometry techniques to image optically obscured regions in a number of nearby starburst and merger galaxies. Arp 220 is the most famous example of such objects, with a number of deep VLBI images revealing large populations of compact radio sources. This talk will summarize broadly the observational state of supernova searches in a number of starburst galaxies, and will discuss recent multi-epoch, multi-frequency VLBI images of the merger Arp 299 (NGC 3690) made with the the Very Long Baseline Array and the Green Bank Telescope. These observations have provided a luminosity function for the young supernova remnants that can be compared to many other nearby galaxies, as well as detecting the explosion of a very luminous young supernova in the secondary merger nucleus. Prospects for future observations with more sensitive interferometers also will be discussed.
Above: Combined radio/near-IR/UV image of merger galaxy Arp 299, roughly 10 kpc (50 arcseconds) on a side. |
