54 research outputs found
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
Supernova Cosmology and the ESSENCE project
The proper usage of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as distance indicators has
revolutionized cosmology, and added a new dominant component to the energy
density of the Universe, dark energy. Following the discovery and confirmation
era, the currently ongoing SNe Ia surveys aim to determine the properties of
the dark energy. ESSENCE is a five year ground-based supernova survey aimed at
finding and characterizing 200 SNe Ia in the redshift domain z=[0.2-0.8]. The
goal of the project is to put constraints on the equation of state parameter,
w, of the dark energy with an accuracy of <10%. This paper presents these
ongoing efforts in the context of the current developments in observational
cosmology.Comment: Submitted to EPS1
Imaging and Demography of the Host Galaxies of High-Redshift Type Ia Supernovae
We present the results of a study of the host galaxies of high redshift Type
Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We provide a catalog of 18 hosts of SNe Ia observed
with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) by the High-z Supernova Search Team
(HZT), including images, scale-lengths, measurements of integrated (Hubble
equivalent) BVRIZ photometry in bands where the galaxies are brighter than m ~
25 mag, and galactocentric distances of the supernovae. We compare the
residuals of SN Ia distance measurements from cosmological fits to measurable
properties of the supernova host galaxies that might be expected to correlate
with variable properties of the progenitor population, such as host galaxy
color and position of the supernova. We find mostly null results; the current
data are generally consistent with no correlations of the distance residuals
with host galaxy properties in the redshift range 0.42 < z < 1.06. Although a
subsample of SN hosts shows a formally significant (3-sigma) correlation
between apparent V-R host color and distance residuals, the correlation is not
consistent with the null results from other host colors probed by our largest
samples. There is also evidence for the same correlations between SN Ia
properties and host type at low redshift and high redshift. These similarities
support the current practice of extrapolating properties of the nearby
population to high redshifts pending more robust detections of any correlations
between distance residuals from cosmological fits and host properties.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A
23 High Redshift Supernovae from the IfA Deep Survey: Doubling the SN Sample at z>0.7
We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of 23 high redshift
supernovae spanning a range of z=0.34-1.03, 9 of which are unambiguously
classified as Type Ia. These supernovae were discovered during the IfA Deep
Survey, which began in September 2001 and observed a total of 2.5 square
degrees to a depth of approximately m=25-26 in RIZ over 9-17 visits, typically
every 1-3 weeks for nearly 5 months, with additional observations continuing
until April 2002. We give a brief description of the survey motivations,
observational strategy, and reduction process. This sample of 23 high-redshift
supernovae includes 15 at z>0.7, doubling the published number of objects at
these redshifts, and indicates that the evidence for acceleration of the
universe is not due to a systematic effect proportional to redshift. In
combination with the recent compilation of Tonry et al. (2003), we calculate
cosmological parameter density contours which are consistent with the flat
universe indicated by the CMB (Spergel et al. 2003). Adopting the constraint
that Omega_total = 1.0, we obtain best-fit values of (Omega_m,
Omega_Lambda)=(0.33, 0.67) using 22 SNe from this survey augmented by the
literature compilation. We show that using the empty-beam model for
gravitational lensing does not eliminate the need for Omega_Lambda > 0.
Experience from this survey indicates great potential for similar large-scale
surveys while also revealing the limitations of performing surveys for z>1 SNe
from the ground.Comment: 67 pages, 12 figures, 12 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Supernovae from the ESSENCE Project: The First Two Years
We present the results of spectroscopic observations of targets discovered
during the first two years of the ESSENCE project. The goal of ESSENCE is to
use a sample of ~200 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at moderate redshifts (0.2 < z
< 0.8) to place constraints on the equation of state of the Universe.
Spectroscopy not only provides the redshifts of the objects, but also confirms
that some of the discoveries are indeed SNe Ia. This confirmation is critical
to the project, as techniques developed to determine luminosity distances to
SNe Ia depend upon the knowledge that the objects at high redshift are the same
as the ones at low redshift. We describe the methods of target selection and
prioritization, the telescopes and detectors, and the software used to identify
objects. The redshifts deduced from spectral matching of high-redshift SNe Ia
with low-redshift SNe Ia are consistent with those determined from host-galaxy
spectra. We show that the high-redshift SNe Ia match well with low-redshift
templates. We include all spectra obtained by the ESSENCE project, including 52
SNe Ia, 5 core-collapse SNe, 12 active galactic nuclei, 19 galaxies, 4 possibly
variable stars, and 16 objects with uncertain identifications.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figures (many with multiple parts), submitted to A
Hubble Space Telescope and Ground-Based Observations of Type Ia Supernovae at Redshift 0.5: Cosmological Implications
We present observations of the Type Ia supernovae (SNe) 1999M, 1999N, 1999Q,
1999S, and 1999U, at redshift z~0.5. They were discovered in early 1999 with
the 4.0~m Blanco telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory by the
High-z Supernova Search Team (HZT) and subsequently followed with many
ground-based telescopes. SNe 1999Q and 1999U were also observed with the Hubble
Space Telescope. We computed luminosity distances to the new SNe using two
methods, and added them to the high-z Hubble diagram that the HZT has been
constructing since 1995.
The new distance moduli confirm the results of previous work. At z~0.5,
luminosity distances are larger than those expected for an empty universe,
implying that a ``Cosmological Constant,'' or another form of ``dark energy,''
has been increasing the expansion rate of the Universe during the last few
billion years.Comment: 68 pages, 22 figures. Scheduled for the 01 February 2006 issue of
Ap.J. (v637
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
Type Ia Supernova Rate Measurements To Redshift 2.5 From CANDELS: Searching For Prompt Explosions In The Early Universe
dThe Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) was a multi-cycle treasury program on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that surveyed a total area of -0.25 deg2 with -900 HST orbits spread across five fields over three years. Within these survey images we discovered 65 supernovae (SNe) of all types, out to z 2.5. We classify -24 of these as Type Ia SNe (SNe Ia) based on host galaxy redshifts and SN photometry (supplemented by grism spectroscopy of six SNe). Here we present a measurement of the volumetric SN Ia rate as a function of redshift, reaching for the first time beyond z =- 2 and putting new constraints on SN Ia progenitor models. Our highest redshift bin includes detections of SNe that exploded when the universe was only -3 Gyr old and near the peak of the cosmic star formation history. This gives the CANDELS high redshift sample unique leverage for evaluating the fraction of SNe Ia that explode promptly after formation ( 40 Myr. However, mild tension is apparent between ground-based low-z surveys and space-based high-z surveys. In both CANDELS and the sister HST program CLASH (Cluster Lensing And Supernova Survey with Hubble), we find a low rate of SNe Ia at z > 1. This could be a hint that prompt progenitors are in fact relatively rare, accounting for only 20% of all SN Ia explosions-though further analysis and larger samples will be needed to examine that suggestion. Key words: infrared: general - supernovae:Astronom
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