Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:15:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 HumbertoSG_DISSERT.pdf: 1623099 bytes, checksum: 9db2624a800c722b68b561bc7a9bc747 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-01 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Nesta disserta??o, uma revis?o sobre tr?s modelos cosmol?gicos n?o-padr?o do tipo Friedmann-Robertson-Walker s?o apresentados. O modelo !CDM, o g?s de Chaplygin generalizado e o modelo de brana de Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP). Apresentamos tamb?m, tr?s testes estat?sticos utilizados em Cosmologia, cada um envolvendo uma vela padr?o diferente. Estes testes t?m como objetivo, vincular os diferentes par?metros de cada modelo e assim compar?-los com os dados observacionais mais atuais. Efetuamos o teste do m?dulo de dist?ncia de Supernovas do tipo Ia, atrav?s de 580 Supernovas do Union Compilation 2.1 (2011) [1]. A Fra??o de massa de aglomerados de gal?xias, onde utilizamos um conjunto de 52 aglomerados observados pelo CHANDRA (2009) [2] e a raz?o CMB/BAO, onde foram utilizados um conjunto de 6 picos de BAO do WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey (2011) [3]. Esses testes foram aplicados para cada um dos modelos apresentados. Verificamos que individualmente, os testes cosmol?gicos n?o s?o bons o suficiente para vincular modelos, criando espa?os param?tricos degenerados, necessitando de uma an?lise em conjunta dos testes para vincular os par?metros. OBS: N?o foi poss?vel efetuar a descri??o integral do resumo, devido o fato do sistema utilizado n?o aceitar os s?mbolos existentes. Desse modo, solicitamos que a visualiza??o desse elemento seja efetuada no arquivo da disserta??o.

Après plus d'un siècle d'étude des rayons cosmiques, des questions persistent à propos de leur origine. À l'échelle de notre galaxie, les vestiges de supernovæ sont d'excellents candidats en tant que sources de rayons cosmiques et il est aujourd'hui avéré que ces ondes de choc générées par l'explosion d'étoiles en fin de vie accélèrent des électrons jusqu'au TeV. Cependant, des preuves tangibles manquent toujours pour confirmer que les protons, qui représentent ~90% du rayonnement cosmique, y sont également accélérés. Ces preuves sont à chercher entre 100 MeV et 10 GeV où la forme spectrale de l'émission gamma nous renseigne sur la nature des particules accélérées.Ce domaine en énergie est observé par le satellite Fermi qui scrute le ciel à haute énergie grâce au Large Area Telescope (LAT), un instrument capable de détecter les rayons gamma d'énergies comprises entre 20 MeV et plus de 300 GeV. Avec la dernière version des données en date (Pass 8) rendue publique en 2015, la surface efficace a été sensiblement accrue, notamment à haute énergie. L'objet de cette thèse a été de mettre à profit les nouvelles performances du LAT pour étudier le rayonnement provenant de jeunes vestiges de supernovæ en coquille afin d'évaluer leur capacité à accélérer des particules à haute énergie. Au total, quatre vestiges de ce type ont été étudiés en détail : RCW 86, HESS J1731-347, SN 1006 et RX J1713.7-3946.L'analyse morphologique et spatiale de ces sources nous a menés à d'importants résultats : HESS J1731-347 et SN 1006 ont été détectés pour la première fois au GeV, nous avons mis en évidence une morphologie en coquille pour RCW 86 qui était précédemment détectée comme une source ponctuelle et RX J1713.7-3946 a révélé une forme spectrale plus complexe que ce qui était alors connu. Grâce à la modélisation de l'émission non-thermique de ces sources, en s'aidant des données au TeV obtenues par H.E.S.S., nous avons montré que leur émission gamma est très largement dominée par le rayonnement Compton inverse des électrons de haute énergie diffusant sur les champs de photons ambiants. Cependant, des modifications spectrales ont également été trouvées dans certaines parties de SN 1006 et RX J1713.7-3946 où l'onde de choc est en interaction avec des régions denses en matière, traçant la possible accélération de protons en leur sein. / After more than a century of cosmic-ray studies, questions about their origin remain unanswered. In our galaxy, supernova remnants are excellent candidates to be the sources of cosmic rays and it is now certain that these shock waves created by the explosion of dying stars accelerate electrons up to TeV energies. However, undeniable proof is still missing to confirm that protons, which represent ~90% of the cosmic radiation, are also accelerated. Such proof can be searched for between 100 MeV and 10 GeV, where the spectral shape of the gamma-ray emission changes according to the nature of the particles that are accelerated.This energy range is covered by the Fermi spacecraft which observes the high energy sky with the Large Area telescope (LAT), an instrument detecting gamma-rays from 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV. With the latest version of the data, released in 2015 (Pass 8), the effective area has been greatly improved, especially at high energy. The goal of this thesis was to take advantage of the improved performance of the LAT to study the radiation coming from young shell-type supernova remnants and to evaluate their ability to accelerate particles to high energy. Four such remnants were studied in detail: RCW 86, HESS J1731-347, SN 1006 and RX J1713.7-3946.Spatial and spectral analyses of these sources yielded important results: HESS J1731-347 and SN 1006 were identified for the first time in the GeV range, we detected a shell-like morphology for RCW 86 which was previously seen as a point source, and RX J1713.7-3946 revealed an unexpected spectral shape. Broadband modeling of the non-thermal emission of these remnants, using in particular TeV data obtained with H.E.S.S., showed that their gamma-ray emission is dominated by the inverse Compton scattering of electrons on ambient photon fields. However, we also found spectral modifications in some parts of SN 1006 and RX J1713.7-3946 where the shock is interacting with dense regions that could trace the acceleration of protons.

New radio telescopes under development, will significantly enhance the capabilities of radio astronomy in the Southern Hemisphere. South Africa, in particular, is actively involved in the development of a new array (MeerKAT) as well as in the expansion of existing very long baseline interferometer arrays in the south. Participation in these new developments demands a thorough understanding of radio astronomy techniques, and data analysis, and this thesis focusses on two projects with the aim of gaining such experience. The Southern Hemisphere very long baselines array is not well served with calibrator sources and there are significant gaps in the present calibrator distribution on the sky. An adequately dense, well distributed, set of strong, compact calibrator or reference sources is needed. With this in mind, observations using the Southern Hemisphere long baseline array were conducted to investigate a sample of candidate calibrator sources. The compactness of the sources was investigated and new potential calibrators have been identified. Single antenna radio spectroscopy of OH masers has identified sources of 1720 MHz emission associated with supernova remnants at the shock interface between the expanding supernova remnant and a molecular cloud. Models indicate that these masers are shock excited and can only be produced under tight physical constraints. Out ows from newly-formed stars create nebulous regions known as Herbig-Haro objects when they interact with the surrounding medium, and these regions are potentially similar to those seen in supernova remnants. If conditions behind the shock fronts of Herbig-Haro objects are able to support 1720-MHz OH masers they could be a useful diagnostic tool for star formation. A survey toward Herbig-Haro objects using a single-dish radio telescope did detect 1720-MHz OH lines in emission, but neither their spectral signature nor follow-up observations with the Very Large Array showed evidence of maser emission. / Mathematical Sciences / Ph.D. (Astronomy)

No description available.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit zwei Aspekten der Gammastrahlungsastronomie. Einerseits studiert sie die Anforderungen an das zukünftige CTA-Observatorium für Gammastrahlung und präsentiert insbesondere Abschätzungen der Datenmengen, die während des Betriebs des Observatoriums anfallen werden. Für das größere CTA-Teleskopfeld auf der Südhalbkugel werden demnach eine Triggerate von 13 kHz und Datenraten von bis zu 2500 MB/s erwartet. Unter der Annahme, dass 15% der Zeit für Beobachtungen genutzt werden können, ergibt sich in 15 Jahren ein Datenvolumen von bis zu 165 PB. Die Implementation eines entsprechenden Systems zur Datenerfassung und -speicherung stellt eine Herausforderung dar, die jedoch mit existierenden Technik bewältigt werden kann. Andererseits befasst sie sich mit dem Supernovaüberrest RX J0852.0-4622 (auch bekannt als Vela Junior), präsentiert die Ergebnisse einer Analyse von Daten, die mit dem H.E.S.S.-Experiment genommen wurden, und geht der Frage nach, ob RX J0852.0-4622 ein kosmischer Teilchenbeschleuniger ist. Dabei erlauben die präzisen Messungen eine im Vergleich zu früheren Veröffentlichungen verbesserte Bestimmung der Eigenschaften der emittierenden Teilchenpopulation. Es ergibt sich, dass das Energiespektrum von RX J0852.0-4622 ein Potenzgesetz ist, das zu hohen Energien hin mit einer Abschneideenergie von 7.2 TeV exponentiell unterdrückt wird. Abschließend wird anhand von Simulation gezeigt, dass CTA die Abschneideenergie von RX J0852.0-4622 signifikant besser bestimmen können wird. Diese genauere Vermessung des Energiespektrums sollte dazu beitragen, den hadronischen oder leptonischen Charakter der Emission aufzuklären. / This work focuses on two different aspects of gamma-ray astronomy. On the one hand, it studies the instrumental challenge posed by the future CTA Observatory by estimating the amount of data to be collected. Based on an analysis of simulated data, the more demanding southern array is expected to have an array trigger rate of 13 kHz, a data rate of up to 2500 MB/s and a data volume after 15 yr of operation and assuming a duty cycle of 15% of up to 165 PB. The design of the data acquisition and storage systems will be a challenge but should be manageable with existing technologies. On the other hand, it studies supernova remnants, by presenting analysis results of the gamma-ray data of the RX J0852.0-4622 supernova remnant (commonly known as Vela Junior) measured with the operating H.E.S.S. experiment and interpreting them in order to check the plausibility of RX J0852.0-4622 being a cosmic ray accelerator. The more precise measurements permit a better determination of the parent particle population properties with respect to previous publications. More precisely, a clear curvature of the spectrum of RX J0852.0-4622 is measured with an exponential energy cut-off at 7.2 TeV. Finally, the analysis of simulated data shows that CTA should be able to significantly improve the determination of the spectral energy cut-off of RX J0852.0-4622, which should help in identifying the nature of the gamma-ray emission.

Le détecteur d'ondes gravitationnelles par interférométrie optique Virgo atteindra bientôt sa sensibilité nominale. <br />Les sources astrophysiques attendues sont principalement les coalescences de systèmes binaires d'objets compacts et les supernovas gravitationnelles. Les amplitudes des signaux sont à la limite de la sensibilité de l'instrument, les taux d'événements observables sont faibles et les formes d'ondes mal connues, notamment pour les effondrements gravitationnels. <br />L'analyse des données repose sur la recherche de signaux de faible amplitude dans du bruit coloré. Dans ce contexte, ce travail propose l'utilisation de décompositions temps-fréquence des séries temporelles pour la détection de signaux courts. Les performances de cette approche sont estimées en simulation et comparées à celles d'autres méthodes de détection disponibles dans la communauté. <br />Une autre difficulté pour l'analyse est la présence de structures spectrales étroites dans la distribution d'énergie en fréquence des données. Elles proviennent de résonances mécaniques des miroirs et du système d'isolation sismique de l'instrument. L'utilisation de filtres de Kalman pour éliminer ces bruits bien modélisés avant l'analyse est présentée. Le problème essentiel <br />de l'estimation des paramètres du modèle est traité, avec l'objectif d'une réestimation dynamique. <br />Enfin ces outils sont appliqués aux données Virgo disponibles, avec comme résultat principal la mise en évidence de sources de bruits instrumentaux importantes, dont la suppression demandera une amélioration du fonctionnement et une meilleure isolation de l'environnement.

Les dix dernières années ont été marquées par l'arrivée à maturité de la technique d'imagerie Cherenkov atmosphérique, ce qui a permis, notamment grâce au réseau de télescopes HESS, l'ouverture d'une nouvelle fenêtre sur l'Univers non thermique. Ce mémoire d'habilitation retrace dix années de recherche en Astronomie Gamma de Très Haute énergie avec HESS puis CTA. Les aspects techniques tels que la conception de l'instrument, son calibrage, la reconstruction des événements et l'analyse de données sont présentées dans une première partie, tandis que la seconde brosse un panorama des grandes découvertes dans ce domaine.

Le télescope H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System), implanté en Namibie, est actuellement le plus efficace pour l'observation de sources de rayons gamma de très haute énergie. Constitué de 4 télescopes de grand diamètre fonctionnant en stéréoscopie, il permet une cartographie sans précédent du plan de la Galaxie à ces longueurs d'onde extrêmes. L'expérience HESS a mis en évidence la présence de particules chargées d'énergie supérieure à une centaine de TeV dans plusieurs vestiges de supernova, lieux probables d'accélération de particules dans la Galaxie, sans toutefois pouvoir conclure sur la nature hadronique ou leptonique des particules. Cette thèse présente une démarche observationnelle alternative visant à mettre en évidence l'accélération de hadrons par onde de choc dans les vestiges de supernova. Une recherche de vestiges associés à des nuages moléculaires a été menée avec les sources déjà détectées par H.E.S.S. et dans l'ensemble des observations réalisées. L'analyse et l'interprétation de trois sources de rayons gamma sont décrites. La première est la nouvelle source découverte par H.E.S.S. dans la constellation de Monoceros. Je présente ensuite l'analyse des nouvelles observations réalisées en direction de la source non identifiée HESS J1745-303. Enfin l'analyse multi-longueurs d'onde de la nouvelle source de rayons gamma coïncidente avec le vestige de supernova CTB37A est décrite. Je développe les possibles interprétations de cette émission de rayons gamma. Un apport à la construction de la seconde phase de l'expérience H.E.S.S. est présentée. Cette deuxième phase consiste en l'adjonction d'un cinquième télescope de 28 mètres de diamètre au centre du système existant. J'ai pris en charge les tests et la sélection des 6000 puces constituant le système d'échantillonnage de la caméra qui équipera ce télescope.

L'expérience H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System) est un réseau de quatre télescopes dédié à l'astronomie gamma de très haute énergie et situé en Namibie. Ces télescopes utilisent la technique de l'imagerie Cherenkov atmosphérique en mode stéréoscopique pour détecter des rayons gamma entre 100 GeV et quelques dizaines de TeV. Les caméras de H.E.S.S., dotées de 960 photomultiplicateurs et d'une électronique rapide, nécessitent un étalonnage précis de la réponse de l'instrument au signal généré par les gerbes. Un couplage capacitif parasite entre les photomultiplicateurs et le système d'acquisition a été révélé et corrigé au cours de cette thèse, résultant en un étalonnage de meilleure qualité. H.E.S.S. bénéficie d'une situation géographique optimale pour l'observation des régions centrales de la Galaxie. Le relevé du plan Galactique a ainsi été un des objectifs principaux de H.E.S.S. dès le début des prises de données en 2004. Cette thèse présente la recherche de sources dans les régions centrales de la Galaxie en utilisant les méthodes d'analyse par modèle semi-analytique les plus sensibles disponibles actuellement. Une recherche de sources transitoires a également été effectuée. Les méthodes utilisées, caractérisées en détail au moyen de simulations, s'appuient sur les intervalles temporels entre les événements et n'ont pas révélées de sources significativement variables. La détection d'émission gamma de très haute énergie en direction de la région W49 et du vestige de supernova W49B en particulier a été mise en évidence durant cette thèse. L'étude de cette région et les implications de ce résultats sont présentées en détails dans ce manuscrit.

A white dwarf is most likely the end stage of a low mass star like our Sun, which results when the parent star consumes all the hydrogen in its core, thus bringing fusion to a halt. It is a dense and compact object, where the inward gravitational pull is balanced by the outward pressure arising due to the motion of its constituent degenerate electrons. The theory of non-magnetized and non-rotating white dwarfs was formulated extensively by S. Chandrasekhar in the 1930s, who also proposed a maximum possible mass for this objects, known as the Chandrasekhar limit (Chandrasekhar 1935)1. White dwarfs are believed to be the progenitors of extremely bright explosions called type Ia supernovae (SNeIa). SNeIa are extremely important and popular astronomical events, which are hypothesized to be triggered in white dwarfs having mass close to the famous Chandrasekhar limit ∼ 1.44M⊙. The characteristic nature of the variation of luminosity with time of SNeIa is believed to be powered by the decay of 56Ni to 56Co and, finally, to 56Fe. This feature, along with the consistent mass of the exploding white dwarf, is deeply linked with their utilization as “standard candles” for cosmic distance measurement. In fact, SNeIa measurements were instrumental in establishing the accelerated nature of the current expansion of the universe (Perlmutter et al. 1999). However, several recently observed peculiar SNeIa do not conform to this traditional explanation. Some of these SNeIa are highly over-luminous, e.g. SN 2003fg, SN 2006gz, SN 2007if, SN 2009dc (Howell et al. 2006; Scalzo et al. 2010), and some others are highly under-luminous, e.g. SN 1991bg, SN 1997cn, SN 1998de, SN 1999by, SN 2005bl (Filippenko et al. 1992; Taubenberger et al. 2008). The luminosity of the former group of SNeIa implies a huge Ni-mass (often itself super-Chandrasekhar), invoking highly super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs, having mass 2.1 − 2.8M⊙, as their most plausible progenitors (Howell et al. 2006; Scalzo et al. 2010). On the other hand, the latter group produces as low as ∼ 0.1M⊙ of Ni (Stritzinger et al. 2006), which rather seem to favor sub-Chandrasekhar explosion scenarios. In this thesis, as the title suggests, we have endeavored to establish the existence of exotic, super- and sub-Chandrasekhar limiting mass white dwarfs, in order to explain the aforementioned peculiar SNeIa. This is an extremely important puzzle to solve in order to comprehensively understand the phenomena of SNeIa, which in turn is essential for the correct interpretation of the evolutionary history of the universe. Effects of magnetic field: White dwarfs have been observed to be magnetized, having surface fields as high as 105 − 109 G (Vanlandingham et al. 2005). The interior field of a white dwarf cannot be probed directly but it is quite likely that it is several orders of magnitude higher than the surface field. The theory of weakly magnetized white dwarfs has been investigated by a few authors, however, their properties do not starkly contrast with that of the non-magnetized cases (Ostriker & Hartwick 1968). In our venture to find a fundamental basis behind the formation of super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs, we have explored in this thesis the impact of stronger magnetic fields on the properties of white dwarfs, which has so far been overlooked. We have progressed from a simplistic to a more rigorous, self-consistent model, by adding complexities step by step, as follows: • spherically symmetric Newtonian model with constant (central) magnetic field • spherically symmetric general relativistic model with varying magnetic field • model with self-consistent departure from spherical symmetry by general relativis-tic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) numerical modeling. We have started by exploiting the quantum mechanical effect of Landau quanti-zation due to a maximum allowed equipartition central field greater than a critical value Bc = 4.414 × 1013 G. To begin with, we have carried out the calculations in a Newtonian framework assuming spherically symmetric white dwarfs. The primary ef-fect of Landau quantization is to stiffen the equation of state (EoS) of the underlying electron degenerate matter in the high density regime, and, hence, yield significantly super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs having mass much & 2M⊙ (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2012a,b). Consequently, we have proposed a new mass limit for magnetized white dwarfs which may establish the aforementioned peculiar, over-luminous SNeIa as new standard candles (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2013a,b). We have furthermore predicted possible evo-lutionary scenarios by which super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs could form by accretion on to a commonly observed magnetized white dwarf, by invoking the phenomenon of flux freezing, subsequently ending in over-luminous, super-Chandrasekhar SNeIa (Das et al. 2013). Before moving on to a more complex model, we have justified the assumptions in our simplistic model, in the light of various related physics issues (Das & Mukhopad-hyay 2014b), and have also clarified, and, hence, removed some serious misconceptions regarding our work (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2015c). Next, we have considered a more self-consistent general relativistic framework. We have obtained stable solutions of magnetostatic equilibrium models for white dwarfs pertaining to various magnetic field profiles, however, still in spherical symmetry. We have showed that in this framework, a maximum stable mass as high as ∼ 3.3M⊙ can be realized (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2014a). However, it is likely that the anisotropic effect due to a strong magnetic field may cause a deformation in the spherical structure of the white dwarfs. Hence, in order to most self-consistently take into account this departure from spherical symmetry, we have constructed equilibrium models of strongly magnetized, static, white dwarfs in a general relativistic framework, first time in the literature to the best of our knowledge. In order to achieve this, we have modified the GRMHD code XNS (Pili et al. 2014), to apply it in the context of white dwarfs. Interestingly, we have found that signifi-cantly super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs, in the range ∼ 1.7 − 3.4M⊙, are obtained for many possible field configurations, namely, poloidal, toroidal and mixed (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2015a). Furthermore, due to the inclusion of deformation caused by a strong magnetic field, super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs are obtained for relatively lower central magnetic field strengths (∼ 1014 G) compared to that in the simplistic model — as correctly speculated in our first work of this series (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2012a). We have also found that although the characteristic deformation induced by a purely toroidal field is prolate, the overall shape remains quasi-spherical — justifying our earlier spherically symmetric assumption while constructing at least some models of strongly magnetized white dwarfs (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2014a). Indeed more accurate and extensive numerical analysis seems to have validated our analytical findings. Thus, very interestingly, our investigation has established that magnetized white dwarfs can indeed have mass that significantly exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit, irre-spective of the origin of the underlying magnetic effect — a discovery which is not only of theoretical importance, but also has a direct astrophysical implication in explaining the progenitors of the peculiar, over-luminous, super-Chandrasekhar SNeIa. Effects of modified Einstein’s gravity: A large array of models has been required to explain the peculiar, over- and under- luminous SNeIa. However, it is unlikely that nature would seek mutually antagonistic scenarios to exhibit sub-classes of apparently the same phenomena, i.e., triggering of thermonuclear explosions in white dwarfs. Hence, driven by the aim to establish a unification theory of SNeIa, we have invoked in the last part of this thesis a modification to Einstein’s theory of general relativity in white dwarfs. The validity of general relativity has been tested mainly in the weak field regime, for example, through laboratory experiments and solar system tests. However, the question remains, whether general relativity requires modification in the strong gravity regime, such as, the expanding universe, the region close to a black hole and neutron star. For instance, there is evidence from observational cosmology that the universe has undergone two epochs of cosmic acceleration, the theory behind which is not yet well understood. The period of acceleration in the early universe is known as inflation, while the current accelerated expansion is often explained by invoking a mysterious dark energy. An alternative approach to explain the mysteries of inflation and dark energy is to modify the underlying gravitational theory itself, as it conveniently avoids involving any exotic form of matter. Several modified gravity theories have been proposed which are extensions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. A popular class of such theories is known as f (R) gravity (e.g. see de Felice & Tsujikawa 2010), where the Lagrangian density f of the gravitational field is an arbitrary function of the Ricci scalar R. In the context of astrophysical compact objects, so far, modified gravity theories have been applied only to neutron stars, which are much more compact than white dwarfs, in order to test the validity of such theories in the strong field regime (e.g. Cooney et al. 2010; Arapoˇglu et al. 2011). Moreover, a general relativistic correction itself does not seem to modify the properties of a white dwarf appreciably when compared to Newtonian calculations. Our venture of exploring modified gravity in white dwarfs in this thesis, is a first in the literature to the best of our knowledge. We have exploited the advantage that white dwarfs have over neutron stars, i.e., their EoS is well established. Hence, any change in the properties of white dwarfs can be solely attributed to the modification of the underlying gravity, unlike in neutron stars, where similar effects could be produced by invoking a different EoS. We have explored a popular, yet simple, model of f (R) gravity, known as the Starobinsky model (Starobinsky 1980) or R−squared model, which was originally pro-posed to explain inflation. Based on this model, we have first shown that modified gravity reproduces those results which are already explained in the paradigm of general relativity (and Newtonian framework), namely, low density white dwarfs in this context. This is a very important test of the modified gravity model and is furthermore necessary to constrain the underlying model parameter. Next, depending on the magnitude and sign of a single model parameter, we have not only obtained both highly super-Chandrasekhar and highly sub-Chandrasekhar limiting mass white dwarfs, but we have also established them as progenitors of the peculiar, over- and under-luminous SNeIa, respectively (Das & Mukhopadhyay 2015b). Thus, an effectively single underlying the-ory unifies the two apparently disjoint sub-classes of SNeIa, which have so far hugely puzzled astronomers. To summarize, in the first part of the thesis, we have established the enormous significance of magnetic fields in white dwarfs in revealing the existence of significantly super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs. These super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs could be ideal progenitors of the peculiar, over-luminous SNeIa, which can, hence, be used as new standard candles of cosmic distance measurements. In the latter part of the thesis, we have established the importance of a modified theory of Einstein’s gravity in revealing both highly super- and highly sub-Chandrasekhar limiting mass white dwarfs. We have furthermore demonstrated how such a theory can serve as a missing link between the peculiar, super- and sub-Chandrasekhar SNeIa. Thus, the significance of the current thesis lies in the fact that it not only questions the uniqueness of the Chandrasekhar mass-limit for white dwarfs, but it also argues for the need of a modified theory of Einstein’s gravity to explain astrophysical observations.