Rival teams shared in Nobel celebration

Science : In 2011, Brian Schmidt, Adam Riess, and Saul Perlmutter were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae”. The Nobel may not be shared among more than three people, and the three men wanted to recognize the colleagues who had worked alongside them for decades toward the discovery. Schmidt and Riess decided to invite the remaining 17 members of the High-z Supernova Search Team to Stockholm for the Nobel ceremony. Perlmutter invited the 30 members of the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP). Each laureate was allowed 14 tickets to the various events organized by the Swedish Academy, and Schmidt and Riess had enough tickets to accommodate everybody and their spouses. They gave their spare tickets to Perlmutter. Altogether, the laureates spent roughly $100,000 from the $1.5 million prize to pay for their guests’ airfares, hotel rooms, tuxedo rentals, and other expenses.