Robert P. Kirshner

About

Robert P. Kirshner is the Clowes Research Professor of Science, Emeritus at the Department of Astronomy at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. His research interests include observations of supernovae for their intrinsic properties and their applications in cosmology, utilizing telescopes such as HST, Magellan, MMT, and the Whipple Observatory. He focuses on the use of rest frame infrared observations of Type Ia supernovae to enhance measurements of dark energy properties. Additionally, he is engaged in an ongoing Hubble Space Telescope study of SN 1987A, the brightest supernova since 1604. Professor Kirshner graduated from Harvard College in 1970 and earned a Ph.D. in Astronomy at Caltech. His early career included a postdoctoral position at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and a nine-year faculty appointment at the University of Michigan. In 1986, he joined the Harvard Astronomy Department. He served as Chairman of the Department from 1990 to 1997 and was the head of the Optical and Infrared Division of the CfA from 1997 to 2003. He also served as Master of Quincy House, one of Harvard’s undergraduate residences, from 2001 to 2007. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Thirty Meter Telescope Project based in Mauna Kea, HI.

Research topics

• Astrophysics
• Physics
• Mathematical physics
• Astronomy
• Statistics

Selected publications

• The Pantheon+ Analysis: Cosmological Constraints

  The Astrophysical Journal · 2022 · 1182 citations

  Abstract We present constraints on cosmological parameters from the Pantheon+ analysis of 1701 light curves of 1550 distinct Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) ranging in redshift from z = 0.001 to 2.26. This work features an increased sample size from the addition of multiple cross-calibrated photometric systems of SNe covering an increased redshift span, and improved treatments of systematic uncertainties in comparison to the original Pantheon analysis, which together result in a factor of 2 improvem…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Pantheon+ Analysis: The Full Data Set and Light-curve Release

  The Astrophysical Journal · 2022 · 801 citations

  Abstract Here we present 1701 light curves of 1550 unique, spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that will be used to infer cosmological parameters as part of the Pantheon+ SN analysis and the Supernovae and H 0 for the Equation of State of dark energy distance-ladder analysis. This effort is one part of a series of works that perform an extensive review of redshifts, peculiar velocities, photometric calibration, and intrinsic-scatter models of SNe Ia. The total number of light…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Dark Energy Survey: Cosmology Results with ∼1500 New High-redshift Type Ia Supernovae Using the Full 5 yr Data Set

  The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2024-09-01 · 352 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract We present cosmological constraints from the sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered and measured during the full 5 yr of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) SN program. In contrast to most previous cosmological samples, in which SNe are classified based on their spectra, we classify the DES SNe using a machine learning algorithm applied to their light curves in four photometric bands. Spectroscopic redshifts are acquired from a dedicated follow-up survey of the host galaxies. After a…

  PublisherDOI

• Cosmological Results from the RAISIN Survey: Using Type Ia Supernovae in the Near Infrared as a Novel Path to Measure the Dark Energy Equation of State

  The Astrophysical Journal · 2022-07-01 · 53 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are more precise standardizable candles when measured in the near-infrared (NIR) than in the optical. With this motivation, from 2012 to 2017 we embarked on the RAISIN program with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain rest-frame NIR light curves for a cosmologically distant sample of 37 SNe Ia (0.2 ≲ z ≲ 0.6) discovered by Pan-STARRS and the Dark Energy Survey. By comparing higher- z HST data with 42 SNe Ia at z < 0.1 observed in the NIR by the Carne…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Carnegie Supernova Project-II: Near-infrared Spectroscopy of Stripped-envelope Core-collapse Supernovae*

  The Astrophysical Journal · 2022-02-01 · 46 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract We present 75 near-infrared (NIR; 0.8−2.5 μ m) spectra of 34 stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae (SESNe) obtained by the Carnegie Supernova Project-II (CSP-II), encompassing optical spectroscopic Types IIb, Ib, Ic, and Ic-BL. The spectra range in phase from pre-maximum to 80 days past maximum. This unique data set constitutes the largest NIR spectroscopic sample of SESNe to date. NIR spectroscopy provides observables with additional information that is not available in the optica…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Understanding Supernovae for Cosmology & Themselves

  NSF · $500k · 2015–2018

• Supernovae and Supernova Cosmology

  NSF · $866k · 2009–2013

• Understanding Supernovae for Cosmology and for Themselves

  NSF · $563k · 2006–2009

Frequent coauthors

• P. Challis

  Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

  510 shared

• T. Matheson

  NSF’s NOIRLab

  416 shared

• R. J. Foley

  332 shared

• P. Garnavich

  University of Notre Dame

  272 shared

• A. V. Filippenko

  University of California, Berkeley

  250 shared

• Saurabh W. Jha

  248 shared

• Adam G. Riess

  Space Telescope Science Institute

  213 shared

• N. B. Suntzeff

  Texas A&M University

  207 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Astronomy

  Harvard University

  1979

• B.A., Physics

  Harvard University

  1974

Similar researchers at Harvard University

• Ramesh Narayanh-141
• Christopher Stubbsh-126
• David Charbonneauh-112