Probing the geometry of supernovae with spectropolarimetry.

We present results from a spectropolarimetric survey of young supernovae completed at the Keck Observatory, including at least one example from each of the major supernova types: Ia (1997dt), Ib (1998T, 1997dq), Ib/c-pec (1997ef), IIn (1997eg), and II-P (1997ds). All objects show evidence for intrinsic polarization, suggesting that sphericity may be a common feature in young supernova atmospheres. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]