TAP Colloquium

Brandon Barker, Los Alamos National Labnnopra

When

3:30 – 4:30 p.m., March 2, 2026

Where

Kuiper Space Sciences Building, Room 312

Refreshments served at 3:00 pm in the 3rd Floor Atrium

Brandon Barker, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Title: From Light Curves to Physics: Inference and Modeling Challenges in Supernova Explosions

Abstract: Supernova light curves are one of our primary windows into stellar death. From the rise and fall of a transient’s brightness, we can attempt to infer the mass, energy, composition, and environment of the progenitor. Yet this inference is an inherently challenging: supernova light curves are shaped by tightly coupled radiation transport, hydrodynamics, and the interactions with their environment, and different physical scenarios can produce remarkably similar observational signatures.

In this talk, I will review the physical processes that govern supernova light curves. I will discuss what information light curves can reliably constrain, where degeneracies arise, and why simplified modeling approaches can struggle in certain regimes. Throughout, I will emphasize the connection between physical assumptions and the features we observe.

I will conclude by discussing advances in modeling approaches that may be used to provide better predictive links between explosion physics and the transient sky.

Bio: Dr. Brandon L. Barker is a computational astrophysicist whose research focuses on modeling high-energy-density plasmas, from stellar explosions to inertial confinement fusion. His work centers on developing and applying high-fidelity radiation–hydrodynamics models to understand how supernovae evolve and how their observable signals encode information about the underlying explosion physics.

He is particularly interested in developing modern, scalable algorithms to address inverse problems spanning large spatio-temporal scales — whether interpreting an observed astrophysical transient or informing terrestrial experimental design. To this end, he develops and advocates for open-source scientific software.

Dr. Barker received his dual Ph.D. in astrophysics and computational science, mathematics, and engineering from Michigan State University as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. He is currently a Metropolis Computational Physics Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he works at the intersection of astrophysical theory, numerical methods, and laboratory high-energy-density experiments.

Brandon Barker's Website

Visitor's Schedule

Website: https://astrobarker.github.io

TAP Colloquia Series