Binary Paths to Type Ia Supernovae Explosions (IAU S281)

Reviews recent progress in theory and observations which lead to a wider range of possible progenitor models than ever before. Presents all sides of the ongoing debates, while retaining a diversity of opinions on a wide range of topics reflecting physical uncertainties relating to the Type Ia progenitor puzzle.The 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to three astrophysicists who inferred the existence of dark energy from Type Ia supernova data.