37 research outputs found
Type Ia Supernovae and Cosmology
I discuss the use of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) for cosmological distance
determinations. Low-redshift SNe Ia (z < 0.1) demonstrate that the Hubble
expansion is linear with H_0 = 72 +/- 8 km/s/Mpc, and that the properties of
dust in other galaxies are generally similar to those of dust in the Milky Way.
The measured luminosity distances of SNe Ia as a function of redshift have
shown that the expansion of the Universe is currently accelerating, probably
due to the presence of repulsive dark energy such as Einstein's cosmological
constant (Lambda). From about 200 SNe Ia, we find that Omega_Lambda - 1.4
Omega_M = 0.35 +/- 0.14. Combining our data with other results, we find a best
fit for Omega_M and Omega_Lambda of 0.28 and 0.72, respectively. A number of
possible systematic effects (dust, supernova evolution) thus far do not seem to
eliminate the need for Omega_Lambda > 0. Recently, analyses of SNe Ia at z =
1.0-1.7 provide further support for current acceleration, and give tentative
evidence for an early epoch of deceleration. The dynamical age of the Universe
is estimated to be 13.1 +/- 1.5 Gyr. According to the most recent data sets,
the SN Ia rate at z > 1 is several times greater than that at low redshifts,
presumably because of higher star formation rates long ago. Moreover, the
typical delay time from progenitor star formation to SNIa explosion appears to
be substantial, ~3 Gyr. Current projects include the measurement of a few
hundred SNe Ia at z = 0.2-0.8 to more accurately determine the
equation-of-state parameter of the dark energy, w = P/(\rho c^2), whose value
is now constrained by SNe Ia to be in the range -1.48 < w < -0.72 at 95%
confidence.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figures, to be published in "White Dwarfs: Probes of
Galactic Structure and Cosmology" ed. E. M. Sion, H. L. Shipman, and S.
Vennes (Kluwer: Dordrecht). Part of the Astrophysics and Space Science
Library Serie
Prospects in space-based Gamma-Ray Astronomy
With the unequalled INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to
the astronomical community that has made Europe the world leader in the field
of gamma-ray astronomy. INTEGRAL provides an unprecedented survey of the soft
gamma-ray sky, revealing hundreds of sources of different kinds, new classes of
objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and
fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes. While INTEGRAL provides the
longly awaited global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky, there is a growing
need to perform deeper, more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources,
comparable to the step that has been taken in X-rays by going from the ROSAT
survey satellite to the more focused XMM-Newton observatory. Technological
advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue
diffraction techniques have paved the way towards a future European gamma-ray
mission, that will outreach past missions by large factors in sensitivity and
angular resolution. Such a future Gamma-Ray Imager will allow to study particle
acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented depth, providing
essential clues on the intimate nature of the most violent and most energetic
processes in the Universe.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 39th
ESLAB Symposiu
A Mismatch in the Ultraviolet Spectra between Low-Redshift and Intermediate-Redshift Type Ia Supernovae as a Possible Systematic Uncertainty for Supernova Cosmology
We present Keck high-quality rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) through optical
spectra of 21 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range 0.11 < z < 0.37
and a mean redshift of 0.22 that were discovered during the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey-II (SDSS-II) SN Survey. Using the broad-band photometry of the SDSS
survey, we are able to reconstruct the SN host-galaxy spectral energy
distributions (SEDs), allowing for a correction for the host-galaxy
contamination in the SN Ia spectra. Comparison of composite spectra constructed
from a subsample of 17 high-quality spectra to those created from a
low-redshift sample with otherwise similar properties shows that the Keck/SDSS
SNe Ia have, on average, extremely similar rest-frame optical spectra but show
a UV flux excess. This observation is confirmed by comparing synthesized
broad-band colors of the individual spectra, showing a difference in mean
colors at the 2.4 - 4.4 sigma level for various UV colors. We further see a
slight difference in the UV spectral shape between SNe with low-mass and
high-mass host galaxies. Additionally, we detect a relationship between the
flux ratio at 2770 and 2900 A and peak luminosity that differs from that
observed at low redshift. We find that changing the UV SED of an SN Ia within
the observed dispersion can change the inferred distance moduli by ~0.1 mag.
This effect only occurs when the data probe the rest-frame UV. We suggest that
this discrepancy could be due to differences in the host-galaxy population of
the two SN samples or to small-sample statistics.Comment: 28 pages, 21 figures, accepted by AJ, spectra are available at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~rfoley/data
Identification of the Red Supergiant Progenitor of Supernova 2005cs: Do the Progenitors of Type II-P Supernovae Have Low Mass?
The stars that end their lives as supernovae (SNe) have been directly
observed in only a handful of cases, due mainly to the extreme difficulty in
identifying them in images obtained prior to the SN explosions. Here we report
the identification of the progenitor for the recent Type II-plateau
(core-collapse) SN 2005cs in pre-explosion archival images of the Whirlpool
Galaxy (M51) obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for
Surveys (ACS). From high-quality ground-based images of the SN from the
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, we precisely determine the position of the SN
and are able to isolate the SN progenitor to within 0".04 in the HST/ACS
optical images. We further pinpoint the SN location to within 0".005 from
HST/ACS ultraviolet images of the SN, confirming our progenitor identification.
From photometry of the SN progenitor obtained with the pre-SN ACS images, and
also limits to its brightness in pre-SN HST/NICMOS images, we infer that the
progenitor is a red supergiant star of spectral type K0--M3, with initial mass
7--9 Msun. We also discuss the implications of the SN 2005cs progenitor
identification and its mass estimate. There is an emerging trend that the most
common Type II-plateau SNe originate from low-mass supergiants 8--15 Msun.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. A high resolution version can be found at
http://astron.berkeley.edu/~weidong/sn05cs.p
The Type Ia Supernova Rate in Radio and Infrared Galaxies from the CFHT Supernova Legacy Survey
We have combined the large SN Ia database of the Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope Supernova Legacy Survey and catalogs of galaxies with photometric
redshifts, VLA 1.4 GHz radio sources, and Spitzer infrared sources. We present
eight SNe Ia in early-type host galaxies which have counterparts in the radio
and infrared source catalogs. We find the SN Ia rate in subsets of radio and
infrared early-type galaxies is ~1-5 times the rate in all early-type galaxies,
and that any enhancement is always <~ 2 sigma. Rates in these subsets are
consistent with predictions of the two component "A+B" SN Ia rate model. Since
infrared properties of radio SN Ia hosts indicate dust obscured star formation,
we incorporate infrared star formation rates into the "A+B" model. We also show
the properties of SNe Ia in radio and infrared galaxies suggest the hosts
contain dust and support a continuum of delay time distributions for SNe Ia,
although other delay time distributions cannot be ruled out based on our data.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in A
Long gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae have different environments
When massive stars exhaust their fuel they collapse and often produce the
extraordinarily bright explosions known as core-collapse supernovae. On
occasion, this stellar collapse also powers an even more brilliant relativistic
explosion known as a long-duration gamma-ray burst. One would then expect that
long gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae should be found in similar
galactic environments. Here we show that this expectation is wrong. We find
that the long gamma-ray bursts are far more concentrated on the very brightest
regions of their host galaxies than are the core-collapse supernovae.
Furthermore, the host galaxies of the long gamma-ray bursts are significantly
fainter and more irregular than the hosts of the core-collapse supernovae.
Together these results suggest that long-duration gamma-ray bursts are
associated with the most massive stars and may be restricted to galaxies of
limited chemical evolution. Our results directly imply that long gamma-ray
bursts are relatively rare in galaxies such as our own Milky Way.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Nature on 22 August 2005, revised 9
February 2006, online publication 10 May 2006. Supplementary material
referred to in the text can be found at
http://www.stsci.edu/~fruchter/GRB/locations/supplement.pdf . This new
version contains minor changes to match the final published versio
Quantum instability of magnetized stellar objects
The equations of state for degenerate electron and neutron gases are studied
in the presence of magnetic fields. After including quantum effects to study
the structural properties of these systems, it is found that some
hypermagnetized stars can be unstable based on the criterium of stability of
pressures. Highly magnetized white dwarfs should collapse producing a supernova
type Ia, whilst superstrongly magnetized neutron stars cannot stand their own
magnetic field and must implode, too. A comparison of our results with a set of
the available observational data of some compact stars is also presented, and
the agreement between this theory and observations is verified.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, uses ChJAA LaTeX macro; final version to appear
in ChJA
Tidally-induced thermonuclear Supernovae
We discuss the results of 3D simulations of tidal disruptions of white dwarfs
by moderate-mass black holes as they may exist in the cores of globular
clusters or dwarf galaxies. Our simulations follow self-consistently the
hydrodynamic and nuclear evolution from the initial parabolic orbit over the
disruption to the build-up of an accretion disk around the black hole. For
strong enough encounters (pericentre distances smaller than about 1/3 of the
tidal radius) the tidal compression is reversed by a shock and finally results
in a thermonuclear explosion. These explosions are not restricted to progenitor
masses close to the Chandrasekhar limit, we find exploding examples throughout
the whole white dwarf mass range. There is, however, a restriction on the
masses of the involved black holes: black holes more massive than M swallow a typical 0.6 M dwarf before their tidal forces
can overwhelm the star's self-gravity. Therefore, this mechanism is
characteristic for black holes of moderate masses. The material that remains
bound to the black hole settles into an accretion disk and produces an X-ray
flare close to the Eddington limit of _\odot$), typically lasting for a few months. The combination
of a peculiar thermonuclear supernova together with an X-ray flare thus
whistle-blows the existence of such moderate-mass black holes. The next
generation of wide field space-based instruments should be able to detect such
events.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, EuroWD0
Type Ia supernova science 2010-2020
In the next decade Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) will be used to test theories
predicting changes in the Dark Energy equation of state with time. Ultimately
this requires a dedicated space mission like JDEM. SNe Ia are mature
cosmological probes --- their limitations are well characterized, and a path to
improvement is clear. Dominant systematic errors include photometric
calibration, selection effects, reddening, and population-dependent
differences. Building on past lessons, well-controlled new surveys are poised
to make strides in these areas: the Palomar Transient Factory, Skymapper, La
Silla QUEST, Pan-STARRS, the Dark Energy Survey, LSST, and JDEM. They will
obviate historical calibrations and selection biases, and allow comparisons via
large subsamples. Some systematics follow from our ignorance of SN Ia
progenitors, which there is hope of determining with SN Ia rate studies from
0<z<4.
Aside from cosmology, SNe Ia regulate galactic and cluster chemical
evolution, inform stellar evolution, and are laboratories for extreme physics.
Essential probes of SNe Ia in these contexts include spectroscopy from the UV
to the IR, X-ray cluster and SN remnant observations, spectropolarimetry, and
advanced theoretical studies. While there are an abundance of discovery
facilities planned, there is a deficit of follow-up resources. Living in the
systematics era demands deep understanding rather than larger statistics. NOAO
ReSTAR initiative to build 2-4m telescopes would provide necessary follow-up
capability. Finally, to fully exploit LSST, well-matched wide-field
spectroscopic capabilities are desirable.Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2010 committe
The fundamental constants and their variation: observational status and theoretical motivations
This article describes the various experimental bounds on the variation of
the fundamental constants of nature. After a discussion on the role of
fundamental constants, of their definition and link with metrology, the various
constraints on the variation of the fine structure constant, the gravitational,
weak and strong interactions couplings and the electron to proton mass ratio
are reviewed. This review aims (1) to provide the basics of each measurement,
(2) to show as clearly as possible why it constrains a given constant and (3)
to point out the underlying hypotheses. Such an investigation is of importance
to compare the different results, particularly in view of understanding the
recent claims of the detections of a variation of the fine structure constant
and of the electron to proton mass ratio in quasar absorption spectra. The
theoretical models leading to the prediction of such variation are also
reviewed, including Kaluza-Klein theories, string theories and other
alternative theories and cosmological implications of these results are
discussed. The links with the tests of general relativity are emphasized.Comment: 56 pages, l7 figures, submitted to Rev. Mod. Phy