When a star explodes as a supernova, it releases light that can be used to probe the distant universe, atoms that alter the chemistry of future stars and planets, and energy that impacts the evolution of galaxies. My research involves both revealing what these explosions are and using them as cosmic probes.

Thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars, known as Type Ia (read "type-one-A") supernovae are the most commonly found--but not most commonly produced--supernovae in the universe, and so far, the most useful cosmic probes.

My dissertation work at the University of Texas uncovered a new variety of supernovae with peak luminosities 10 times brighter than normal Type Ia. I am working to uncover the physical nature of these "superluminous supernovae" and to find ways to use them to study our changing universe out to greater distances than is possible with their fainter, Type Ia cousins.

• 2013 Quimby et al., "Extraordinary Magnification of the Ordinary Type Ia Supernova PS1-10afx," ApJL 768, 20 (summary, press release, Japanese version)
• 2013 Quimby et al., "Rates of Superluminous Supernovae at z~0.2," MNRAS 431, 912
• 2011 Quimby et al., "Hydrogen-poor superluminous stellar explosions," Nature 474, 487
• 2007 Quimby et al., "SN 2005ap: A Most Brilliant Explosion," ApJL 668, 99
• 1999 Perlmutter et al., "Measurements of Omega and Lambda from 42 High-Redshift Supernovae," ApJ 517, 565

For complete listing of my publications, you can:

• Search ADS (Refereed; IAUC, CBET, & ATel)
• Search arXiv

• 2010 Trumpler Award (press release from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific)
• 2008 Hyer Award (press release from the American Physical Society)

• Overview of the observational evidence for luminous supernovae

• Celebrating the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe, Stockholm, 2011 (Japanese translation).

• Rates, properties, and host galaxies of the luminous supernovae found with ROTSE-IIIb (presented at the summer 2009 AAS meeting; Quimby et al. 2009)
• Image model subtraction technique for identification of time variable sources (presented at the winter 2008 AAS meeting; Quimby 2008)