Motivation

Superluminous 2025 will be held on May 20 - 22, 2025 at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, MA, where we aim to bring theorists and observers together to discuss fundamental questions about the nature of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe).

A little over a decade ago the advent of unbiased transient surveys allowed for the discovery a new class of supernovae of unprecedented luminosities, SLSNe. While we have learned a lot since then, many questions remain open about the nature of SLSNe, which we aim to cover during this conference, including but not limited to:

• How do different power sources contribute to Type I SLSNe?

• Are Type II SLSNe a distinct class from Type IIn SNe?

• How are progenitors of SLSNe influenced by their host galaxies?

• What can we learn from the diversity of SLSNe?

As we continue to learn more about SLSNe, we must also prepare for the next era of time domain science. We plan to discuss the prospect of discovering SLSNe with large transient surveys like Rubin and Roman coming online in the next few years.

Confirmed Invited Speakers:

• Ragnhild Lunnan - Stockholm University

• Raffaella Margutti - University of California, Berkeley

• Brian Metzger - Columbia University

• Takashi Moriya - National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

• Matt Nicholl - Queen's University Belfast

Important Information

Abstract submission deadline: February 28, 2025

Registration deadline: April 18, 2025

The conference will be held exclusively in person at the Phillips auditorium in the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, MA, USA from May 20 - 22, 2025. The registration fee of $90 will cover lunch every day, coffee breaks, and the conference excursion, which will be held on the evening of May 21st. We will accept abstracts for contributed talks and posters. Posters will be hosted online and not physically printed, they can be advertised by the author during a series of short "flash talks". Note that we can only accommodate a limited number of attendees. For more information about the city and venue, see the practical information tab.