55 research outputs found
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
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
Optical Spectroscopy of Type Ia Supernovae
We present 432 low-dispersion optical spectra of 32 Type Ia supernovae (SNe
Ia) that also have well-calibrated light curves. The coverage ranges from 6
epochs to 36 epochs of spectroscopy. Most of the data were obtained with the
1.5m Tillinghast telescope at the F. L. Whipple Observatory with typical
wavelength coverage of 3700-7400A and a resolution of ~7A. The earliest spectra
are thirteen days before B-band maximum; two-thirds of the SNe were observed
before maximum brightness. Coverage for some SNe continues almost to the
nebular phase. The consistency of the method of observation and the technique
of reduction makes this an ideal data set for studying the spectroscopic
diversity of SNe Ia.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, 109 pages
(including data table), 44 figures, full resolution figures at
http://www.noao.edu/noao/staff/matheson/Iaspec.ps.g
The absolute infrared magnitudes of type Ia supernovae
The absolute luminosities and homogeneity of early-time infrared (IR) light
curves of type Ia supernovae are examined. Eight supernovae are considered.
These are selected to have accurately known epochs of maximum blue light as
well as having reliable distance estimates and/or good light curve coverage.
Two approaches to extinction correction are considered. Owing to the low
extinction in the IR, the differences in the corrections via the two methods
are small. Absolute magnitude light curves in the J, H and K-bands are derived.
Six of the events, including five established ``Branch-normal'' supernovae show
similar coeval magnitudes. Two of these, SNe 1989B and 1998bu, were observed
near maximum infrared light. This occurs about 5 days {\it before} maximum blue
light. Absolute peak magnitudes of about -19.0, -18.7 and -18.8 in J, H & K
respectively were obtained. The two spectroscopically peculiar supernovae in
the sample, SNe 1986G and 1991T, also show atypical IR behaviour. The light
curves of the six similar supernovae can be represented fairly consistently
with a single light curve in each of the three bands. In all three IR bands the
dispersion in absolute magnitude is about 0.15 mag, and this can be accounted
for within the uncertainties of the individual light curves. No significant
variation of absolute IR magnitude with B-band light curve decline rate, Delta
m_{15}(B), is seen over the range 0.87<Delta m_{15}(B)<1.31. However, the data
are insufficient to allow us to decide whether or not the decline rate relation
is weaker in the IR than in the optical region. IR light curves of type Ia
supernovae should eventually provide cosmological distance estimates which are
of equal or even superior quality to those obtained in optical studies.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, MNRAS in press (includes Referee's changes
The Foundation Supernova Survey: Measuring Cosmological Parameters with Supernovae from a Single Telescope
Measurements of the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, , have been
limited by uncertainty in the selection effects and photometric calibration of
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The Foundation Supernova Survey is
designed to lower these uncertainties by creating a new sample of SNe
Ia observed on the Pan-STARRS system. Here, we combine the Foundation sample
with SNe from the Pan-STARRS Medium Deep Survey and measure cosmological
parameters with 1,338 SNe from a single telescope and a single, well-calibrated
photometric system. For the first time, both the low- and high- data are
predominantly discovered by surveys that do not target pre-selected galaxies,
reducing selection bias uncertainties. The data include 875 SNe without
spectroscopic classifications and we show that we can robustly marginalize over
CC SN contamination. We measure Foundation Hubble residuals to be fainter than
the pre-existing low- Hubble residuals by mag (stat+sys).
By combining the SN Ia data with cosmic microwave background constraints, we
find , consistent with CDM. With 463
spectroscopically classified SNe Ia alone, we measure . Using
the more homogeneous and better-characterized Foundation sample gives a 55%
reduction in the systematic uncertainty attributed to SN Ia sample selection
biases. Although use of just a single photometric system at low and high
redshift increases the impact of photometric calibration uncertainties in this
analysis, previous low- samples may have correlated calibration
uncertainties that were neglected in past studies. The full Foundation sample
will observe up to 800 SNe to anchor the LSST and WFIRST Hubble diagrams.Comment: 30 pages, 17 figures, accepted by Ap
The ESSENCE Supernova Survey: Survey Optimization, Observations, and Supernova Photometry
We describe the implementation and optimization of the ESSENCE supernova
survey, which we have undertaken to measure the equation of state parameter of
the dark energy. We present a method for optimizing the survey exposure times
and cadence to maximize our sensitivity to the dark energy equation of state
parameter w=P/rho c^2 for a given fixed amount of telescope time. For our
survey on the CTIO 4m telescope, measuring the luminosity distances and
redshifts for supernovae at modest redshifts (z~0.5 +- 0.2) is optimal for
determining w. We describe the data analysis pipeline based on using reliable
and robust image subtraction to find supernovae automatically and in near
real-time. Since making cosmological inferences with supernovae relies
crucially on accurate measurement of their brightnesses, we describe our
efforts to establish a thorough calibration of the CTIO 4m natural photometric
system. In its first four years, ESSENCE has discovered and spectroscopically
confirmed 102 type Ia SNe, at redshifts from 0.10 to 0.78, identified through
an impartial, effective methodology for spectroscopic classification and
redshift determination. We present the resulting light curves for the all type
Ia supernovae found by ESSENCE and used in our measurement of w, presented in
Wood-Vasey et al, 2007.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. Companion paper to Wood-Vasey et al (2007).
Electronic tables available at http://www.ctio.noao.edu/essence/wresult
Constraining Cosmic Evolution of Type Ia Supernovae
We present the first large-scale effort of creating composite spectra of
high-redshift type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and comparing them to low-redshift
counterparts. Through the ESSENCE project, we have obtained 107 spectra of 88
high-redshift SNe Ia with excellent light-curve information. In addition, we
have obtained 397 spectra of low-redshift SNe through a multiple-decade effort
at Lick and Keck Observatories, and we have used 45 UV spectra obtained by
HST/IUE. The low-redshift spectra act as a control sample when comparing to the
ESSENCE spectra. In all instances, the ESSENCE and Lick composite spectra
appear very similar. The addition of galaxy light to the Lick composite spectra
allows a nearly perfect match of the overall spectral-energy distribution with
the ESSENCE composite spectra, indicating that the high-redshift SNe are more
contaminated with host-galaxy light than their low-redshift counterparts. This
is caused by observing objects at all redshifts with the same slit width, which
corresponds to different projected distances. After correcting for the
galaxy-light contamination, subtle differences in the spectra remain. We have
estimated the systematic errors when using current spectral templates for
K-corrections to be ~0.02 mag. The variance in the composite spectra give an
estimate of the intrinsic variance in low-redshift maximum-light SN spectra of
~3% in the optical and growing toward the UV. The difference between the
maximum light low and high-redshift spectra constrain SN evolution between our
samples to be < 10% in the rest-frame optical.Comment: 22 pages, 22 figures, submitted to ApJ. Composite spectra can be
downloaded from http://astro.berkeley.edu/~rfoley/composite
The Spectroscopic Diversity of Type Ia Supernovae
We present 2603 spectra of 462 nearby Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) obtained
during 1993-2008 through the Center for Astrophysics Supernova Program. Most of
the spectra were obtained with the FAST spectrograph at the FLWO 1.5m telescope
and reduced in a consistent manner, making data set well suited for studies of
SN Ia spectroscopic diversity. We study the spectroscopic and photometric
properties of SN Ia as a function of spectroscopic class using the
classification schemes of Branch et al. and Wang et al. The width-luminosity
relation appears to be steeper for SN Ia with broader lines. Based on the
evolution of the characteristic Si II 6355 line, we propose improved methods
for measuring velocity gradients, revealing a larger range than previously
suspected, from ~0 to ~400 km/s/day considering the instantaneous velocity
decline rate at maximum light. We find a weaker and less significant
correlation between Si II velocity and intrinsic B-V color at maximum light
than reported by Foley et al., owing to a more comprehensive treatment of
uncertainties and host galaxy dust. We study the extent of nuclear burning and
report new detections of C II 6580 in 23 early-time spectra. The frequency of C
II detections is not higher in SN Ia with bluer colors or narrower light
curves, in conflict with the recent results of Thomas et al. Based on nebular
spectra of 27 SN Ia, we find no relation between the FWHM of the iron emission
feature at ~4700 A and Dm15(B) after removing the two low-luminosity SN 1986G
and SN 1991bg, suggesting that the peak luminosity is not strongly dependent on
the kinetic energy of the explosion for most SN Ia. Finally, we confirm the
correlation of velocity shifts in some nebular lines with the intrinsic B-V
color of SN Ia at maximum light, although several outliers suggest a possible
non-monotonic behavior for the largest blueshifts.Comment: 36 pages (emulateapj), 23 figures. Accepted for publication in AJ.
Spectroscopic data available at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/supernova/SNarchive.html . New SNID template set
available at http://marwww.in2p3.fr/~blondin/software/snid/index.html . Minor
changes from v1 to conform to published versio
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
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