226 research outputs found
The NN2 Flux Difference Method for Constructing Variable Object Light Curves
We present a new method for optimally extracting point-source time
variability information from a series of images. Differential photometry is
generally best accomplished by subtracting two images separated in time, since
this removes all constant objects in the field. By removing background sources
such as the host galaxies of supernovae, such subtractions make possible the
measurement of the proper flux of point-source objects superimposed on extended
sources. In traditional difference photometry, a single image is designated as
the ``template'' image and subtracted from all other observations. This
procedure does not take all the available information into account and for
sub-optimal template images may produce poor results. Given N total
observations of an object, we show how to obtain an estimate of the vector of
fluxes from the individual images using the antisymmetric matrix of flux
differences formed from the N(N-1)/2 distinct possible subtractions and provide
a prescription for estimating the associated uncertainties. We then demonstrate
how this method improves results over the standard procedure of designating one
image as a ``template'' and differencing against only that image.Comment: Accepted to AJ. To be published in November 2005 issue. 16 page, 2
figures, 2 tables. Source code available at
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/essence/nn2
Cylindrical, periodic surface lattice — theory, dispersion analysis, and experiment
A two-dimensional surface lattice of cylindrical topology obtained via perturbing the inner surface of a cylinder is considered. Periodic perturbations of the surface lead to observation of high-impedance, dielectric-like media and resonant coupling of surface and non-propagating volume fields. This allows synthesis of tailored-for-purpose "coating" material with dispersion suitable, for instance, to mediate a Cherenkov type interaction. An analytical model of the lattice is discussed and coupled-wave equations are derived. Variations of the lattice dispersive properties with variation of parameters are shown, illustrating the tailoring of the structure's electromagnetic properties. Experimental results are presented showing agreement with the theoretical model
Testing non-standard cosmological models with supernovae
In this work we study the magnitude-redshift relation of a non-standard
cosmological model. The model under consideration was firstly investigated
within a special case of metric-affine gravity (MAG) and was recently recovered
via different approaches by two other groups. Apart from the usual cosmological
parameters for pressure-less matter , cosmological
constant/dark energy , and radiation a new
density parameter emerges. The field equations of the model
reduce to a system which is effectively given by the usual Friedmann equations
of general relativity, supplied by a correction to the energy density and
pressure in form of , which is related to the non-Riemannian
structure of the underlying spacetime. We search for the best-fit parameters by
using recent SN Ia data sets and constrain the possible contribution of a new
dark-energy like component at low redshifts, thereby we put an upper limit on
the presence of non-Riemannian quantities in the late stages of the universe.
In addition the impact of placing the data in redshift bins of variable size is
studied. The numerical results of this work also apply to several anisotropic
cosmological models which, on the level of the field equations, exhibit a
similar scaling behavior of the density parameters like our non-Riemannian
model.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, uses IOP preprint style, submitted to Class.
Quantum Gra
Metallicity effect in multi-dimensional SNIa nucleosynthesis
We investigate the metallicity effect (measured by the original 22Ne content)
on the detailed nucleosynthetic yields for 3D hydrodynamical simulations of the
thermonuclear burning phase in SNe Ia. Calculations are based on post-processes
of the ejecta, using passively advected tracer particles, as explained in
details by Travaglio et al.(2004). The nuclear reaction network employed in
computing the explosive nucleosynthesis contains 383 nuclear species. For this
work we use the high resolution multi-point ignition (bubbles) model b30_3d_768
(Travaglio et al.2004 for the solar metallicity case), and we cover a
metallicity range between 0.1xZ_sun up to 3xZ_sun. We find a linear dependence
of the 56Ni mass ejected on the progenitor's metallicity, with a variation in
the 56Ni mass of ~25% in the metallicity range explored. Moreover, the largest
variation in 56Ni occurs at metallicity greater than solar. Almost no
variations are shown in the unburned material 12C and 16O. The largest
metallicity effect is seen in the alpha-elements. Finally, implications for the
observed scatter in the peak luminosities of SNe Ia are also discussed.Comment: Accepted for A&A, 4 pages, 2 Figures, 2 Table
Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Supernovae from the ESSENCE Project: The First Four Years
We present the results of spectroscopic observations from the ESSENCE
high-redshift supernova (SN) survey during its first four years of operation.
This sample includes spectra of all SNe Ia whose light curves were presented by
Miknaitis et al. (2007) and used in the cosmological analyses of Davis et al.
(2007) and Wood-Vasey et al. (2007). The sample represents 273 hours of
spectroscopic observations with 6.5 - 10-m-class telescopes of objects detected
and selected for spectroscopy by the ESSENCE team. We present 174 spectra of
156 objects. Combining this sample with that of Matheson et al. (2005), we have
a total sample of 329 spectra of 274 objects. From this, we are able to
spectroscopically classify 118 Type Ia SNe. As the survey has matured, the
efficiency of classifying SNe Ia has remained constant while we have observed
both higher-redshift SNe Ia and SNe Ia farther from maximum brightness.
Examining the subsample of SNe Ia with host-galaxy redshifts shows that
redshifts derived from only the SN Ia spectra are consistent with redshifts
found from host-galaxy spectra. Moreover, the phases derived from only the SN
Ia spectra are consistent with those derived from light-curve fits. By
comparing our spectra to local templates, we find that the rate of objects
similar to the overluminous SN 1991T and the underluminous SN 1991bg in our
sample are consistent with that of the local sample. We do note, however, that
we detect no object spectroscopically or photometrically similar to SN 1991bg.
Although systematic effects could reduce the high-redshift rate we expect based
on the low-redshift surveys, it is possible that SN 1991bg-like SNe Ia are less
prevalent at high redshift.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures, accepted to A
Type Ia Supernova Properties as a Function of the Distance to the Host Galaxy in the SDSS-II SN Survey
We use type-Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered by the SDSS-II SN Survey to
search for dependencies between SN Ia properties and the projected distance to
the host galaxy center, using the distance as a proxy for local galaxy
properties (local star-formation rate, local metallicity, etc.). The sample
consists of almost 200 spectroscopically or photometrically confirmed SNe Ia at
redshifts below 0.25. The sample is split into two groups depending on the
morphology of the host galaxy. We fit light-curves using both MLCS2k2 and
SALT2, and determine color (AV, c) and light-curve shape (delta, x1) parameters
for each SN Ia, as well as its residual in the Hubble diagram. We then
correlate these parameters with both the physical and the normalized distances
to the center of the host galaxy and look for trends in the mean values and
scatters of these parameters with increasing distance. The most significant (at
the 4-sigma level) finding is that the average fitted AV from MLCS2k2 and c
from SALT2 decrease with the projected distance for SNe Ia in spiral galaxies.
We also find indications that SNe in elliptical galaxies tend to have narrower
light-curves if they explode at larger distances, although this may be due to
selection effects in our sample. We do not find strong correlations between the
residuals of the distance moduli with respect to the Hubble flow and the
galactocentric distances, which indicates a limited correlation between SN
magnitudes after standardization and local host metallicity.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (33 pages, 5
figures, 8 tables
Cosmological Results from High-z Supernovae
The High-z Supernova Search Team has discovered and observed 8 new supernovae
in the redshift interval z=0.3-1.2. These independent observations, confirm the
result of Riess et al. (1998a) and Perlmutter et al. (1999) that supernova
luminosity distances imply an accelerating universe. More importantly, they
extend the redshift range of consistently observed SN Ia to z~1, where the
signature of cosmological effects has the opposite sign of some plausible
systematic effects. Consequently, these measurements not only provide another
quantitative confirmation of the importance of dark energy, but also constitute
a powerful qualitative test for the cosmological origin of cosmic acceleration.
We find a rate for SN Ia of 1.4+/-0.5E-04 h^3/Mpc^3/yr at a mean redshift of
0.5. We present distances and host extinctions for 230 SN Ia. These place the
following constraints on cosmological quantities: if the equation of state
parameter of the dark energy is w=-1, then H0 t0 = 0.96+/-0.04, and O_l - 1.4
O_m = 0.35+/-0.14. Including the constraint of a flat Universe, we find O_m =
0.28+/-0.05, independent of any large-scale structure measurements. Adopting a
prior based on the 2dF redshift survey constraint on O_m and assuming a flat
universe, we find that the equation of state parameter of the dark energy lies
in the range -1.48-1,
we obtain w<-0.73 at 95% confidence. These constraints are similar in precision
and in value to recent results reported using the WMAP satellite, also in
combination with the 2dF redshift survey.Comment: 50 pages, AAS LateX, 15 figures, 15 tables. Accepted for publication
by Astrophysical Journa
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Nine High-Redshift ESSENCE Supernovae
We present broad-band light curves of nine supernovae ranging in redshift
from 0.5 to 0.8. The supernovae were discovered as part of the ESSENCE project,
and the light curves are a combination of Cerro Tololo 4-m and Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) photometry. On the basis of spectra and/or light-curve fitting,
eight of these objects are definitely Type Ia supernovae, while the
classification of one is problematic. The ESSENCE project is a five-year
endeavor to discover about 200 high-redshift Type Ia supernovae, with the goal
of tightly constraining the time average of the equation-of-state parameter [w
= p/(rho c^2)] of the "dark energy." To help minimize our systematic errors,
all of our ground-based photometry is obtained with the same telescope and
instrument. In 2003 the highest-redshift subset of ESSENCE supernovae was
selected for detailed study with HST. Here we present the first photometric
results of the survey. We find that all but one of the ESSENCE SNe have slowly
declining light curves, and the sample is not representative of the
low-redshift set of ESSENCE Type Ia supernovae. This is unlikely to be a sign
of evolution in the population. We attribute the decline-rate distribution of
HST events to a selection bias at the high-redshift edge of our sample and find
that such a bias will infect other magnitude-limited SN Ia searches unless
appropriate precautions are taken.Comment: 62 pages, 18 numbered figures, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journa
Stars of extragalactic origin in the solar neighborhood
We computed the spatial velocities and the galactic orbital elements using
Hipparcos data for 77 nearest main-sequence F-G-stars with published the iron,
magnesium, and europium abundances determined from high dispersion spectra and
with the ages estimated from theoretical isochrones. A comparison with the
orbital elements of the globular clusters that are known was accreted by our
Galaxy in the past reveals stars of extragalactic origin. We show that the
relative elemental abundance ratios of r- and \alpha- elements in all the
accreted stars differ sharply from those in the stars that are genetically
associated with the Galaxy. According to current theoretical models, europium
is produced mainly in low mass Type II supernovae (SNe II), while magnesium is
synthesized in larger amounts in high mass SN II progenitors. Since all the old
accreted stars of our sample exhibit a significant Eu overabundance relative to
Mg, we conclude that the maximum masses of the SNII progenitors outside the
Galaxy were much lower than those inside it are. On the other hand, only a
small number of young accreted stars exhibit low negative ratios .
The delay of primordial star formation burst and the explosions of high mass
SNe II in a relatively small part of extragalactic space can explain this
situation. We provide evidence that the interstellar medium was weakly mixed at
the early evolutionary stages of the Galaxy formed from a single proto-galactic
cloud and that the maximum mass of the SN II progenitors increased in it with
time simultaneously with the increase in mean metallicity.Comment: Accepted for 2004, Astronomy Letters, Vol. 30, No. 3, P.148-158 15
pages, 3 figure
Using Line Profiles to Test the Fraternity of Type Ia Supernovae at High and Low Redshifts
Using archival data of low-redshift (z < 0.01) Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) and
recent observations of high-redshift (0.16 < z <0.64; Matheson et al. 2005) SN
Ia, we study the "uniformity'' of the spectroscopic properties of nearby and
distant SN Ia. We find no difference in the measures we describe here. In this
paper, we base our analysis solely on line-profile morphology, focusing on
measurements of the velocity location of maximum absorption (vabs) and peak
emission (vpeak). We find that the evolution of vabs and vpeak for our sample
lines (Ca II 3945, Si II 6355, and S II 5454, 5640) is similar for both the
low- and high-redshift samples. We find that vabs for the weak S II 5454, 5640
lines, and vpeak for S II 5454, can be used to identify fast-declining [dm15 >
1.7] SN Ia, which are also subluminous. In addition, we give the first direct
evidence in two high-z SN Ia spectra of a double-absorption feature in Ca II
3945, an event also observed, though infrequently, in low-redshift SN Ia
spectra (6/22 SN Ia in our local sample). We report for the first time the
unambiguous and systematic intrinsic blueshift of peak emission of optical
P-Cygni line profiles in Type Ia spectra, by as much as 8000 km/s. All the
high-z SN Ia analyzed in this paper were discovered and followed up by the
ESSENCE collaboration, and are now publicly available.Comment: 28 pages (emulateapj), 15 figures; accepted for publication in A
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