Optical Spectra of Supernovae

Supernova flux and polarization spectra bring vital information on the geometry, physical conditions, and composition structure of the ejected matter. For some supernovae the circumstellar matter is also probed by the observed spectra. Some of this information can be inferred directly from the observed line profiles and fluxes but, because of the Doppler broadening and severe line blending, interpretation often involves the use of synthetic spectra. The emphasis in this chapter is on recent results obtained with the help of synthetic spectra.