137 research outputs found
Optical Photometry of the Type Ia SN 1999ee and the Type Ib/c SN 1999ex in IC 5179
We present UBVRIz lightcurves of the Type Ia SN 1999ee and the Type Ib/c SN
1999ex, both located in the galaxy IC 5179. SN 1999ee has an extremely well
sampled lightcurve spanning from 10 days before Bmax through 53 days after
peak. Near maximum we find systematic differences ~0.05 mag in photometry
measured with two different telescopes, even though the photometry is reduced
to the same local standards around the supernova using the specific color terms
for each instrumental system. We use models for our bandpasses and
spectrophotometry of SN 1999ee to derive magnitude corrections (S-corrections)
and remedy this problem. This exercise demonstrates the need of accurately
characterizing the instrumental system before great photometric accuracies of
Type Ia supernovae can be claimed. It also shows that this effect can have
important astrophysical consequences since a small systematic shift of 0.02 mag
in the B-V color can introduce a 0.08 mag error in the extinction corrected
peak B magnitudes of a supernova and thus lead to biased cosmological
parameters. The data for the Type Ib/c SN 1999ex present us with the first ever
observed shock breakout of a supernova of this class. These observations show
that shock breakout occurred 18 days before Bmax and support the idea that Type
Ib/c supernovae are due to core collapse of massive stars rather than
thermonuclear disruption of white dwarfs.Comment: 55 pages, 15 figures, accepted by the Astronomical Journa
Dust in the Host Galaxies of Supernovae
We present Spitzer/MIPS 24 micron observations of 50 supernova host galaxies
at 0.1<z<1.7 in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) fields. We
also discuss the detection of SN host galaxies in SCUBA/850 micron observations
of GOODS-N and Spitzer/Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) 16 micron observations of
GOODS-S. About 60% of the host galaxies of both Type Ia and core-collapse
supernovae are detected at 24 microns, a detection rate which is a factor of
1.5 higher than the field galaxy population. Among the 24 micron detected
hosts, 80% have far-infrared luminosities that are comparable to or greater
than the optical luminosity indicating the presence of substantial amounts of
dust in the hosts. The median bolometric luminosity of the Type Ia SN hosts is
\~10^10.5 L_sun, very similar to that of core-collapse SN hosts. Using the high
resolution Hubble/ACS data, we have studied the variation of rest-frame
optical/ultraviolet colors within the 24 micron detected galaxies at z<1 to
understand the origin of the dust emission. The 24 micron detected galaxies
have average colors which are redder by ~0.1 mag than the 24 micron undetected
hosts while the latter show greater scatter in internal colors. This suggests
that a smooth distribution of dust is responsible for the observed mid- and
far-infrared emission. 70% of supernovae that have been detected in the GOODS
fields are located within the half-light radius of the hosts where dust
obscuration effects are significant. Although the dust emission that we detect
cannot be translated into a line of sight A_V, we suggest that the factor of
2-3 larger scatter in the peak B-V colors that is seen in the high-z Type Ia
supernova sample relative to the low-z supernovae might be partially due to the
dust that we detect in the hosts.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables; ApJ 635, Dec 20, 2005 issu
Dynamical dark energy: Current constraints and forecasts
We consider how well the dark energy equation of state as a function of
red shift will be measured using current and anticipated experiments. We
use a procedure which takes fair account of the uncertainties in the functional
dependence of on , as well as the parameter degeneracies, and avoids the
use of strong prior constraints. We apply the procedure to current data from
WMAP, SDSS, and the supernova searches, and obtain results that are consistent
with other analyses using different combinations of data sets. The effects of
systematic experimental errors and variations in the analysis technique are
discussed. Next, we use the same procedure to forecast the dark energy
constraints achieveable by the end of the decade, assuming 8 years of WMAP data
and realistic projections for ground-based measurements of supernovae and weak
lensing. We find the constraints on the current value of to be
, and on (between and ) to be
. Finally, we compare these limits to other
projections in the literature. Most show only a modest improvement; others show
a more substantial improvement, but there are serious concerns about
systematics. The remaining uncertainty still allows a significant span of
competing dark energy models. Most likely, new kinds of measurements, or
experiments more sophisticated than those currently planned, are needed to
reveal the true nature of dark energy.Comment: 24 pages, 20 figures. Added SN systematic uncertainties, extended
discussio
Q-LET - Quick Lensing Estimation Tool - An application to SN2003es
Q-LET is a FORTRAN 77 code that enables a quick estimate of the gravitational
lensing effects on a point- or an extended source. The user provided input
consists of the redshifts, angular positions relative to the source, mass or
velocity dispersion estimate and halo type for the lens galaxies. The
considered halo types are the Navarro-Frenk-White and the Singular Isothermal
Sphere. The code uses the so-called multiple lens-plane method to find the
magnification and intrinsic shape of the source. This method takes into account
the multiple deflections that may arise when several mass accumulations are
situated at different redshifts close to the line-of-sight.
The Q-LET code is applied to the recently discovered supernova, SN2003es,
which is likely to be of Type Ia as its host galaxy is classified as an
elliptical. We find that SN2003es is likely to have been significantly
magnified by gravitational lensing and that this should be considered in high-z
studies if this SN is to be used to determine the cosmological parameters.
Q-LET was motivated by the supernova searches, where lensing can be a
problem, but it can also be applied to any simple lens system where a quick
estimate is wanted, e.g. the single lens case.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to JCAP. Software available at
http://www.physto.se/~cg/qlet/qlet.ht
Supernova rates from the Southern inTermediate Redshift ESO Supernova Search (STRESS)
To measure the supernova (SN) rates at intermediate redshift we performed the
Southern inTermediate Redshift ESO Supernova Search (STRESS). Unlike most of
the current high redshift SN searches, this survey was specifically designed to
estimate the rate for both type Ia and core collapse (CC) SNe. We counted the
SNe discovered in a selected galaxy sample measuring SN rate per unit blue band
luminosity. Our analysis is based on a sample of ~43000 galaxies and on 25
spectroscopically confirmed SNe plus 64 selected SN candidates. Our approach is
aimed at obtaining a direct comparison of the high redshift and local rates and
at investigating the dependence of the rates on specific galaxy properties,
most notably their colour. The type Ia SN rate, at mean redshift z=0.3, amounts
to 0.22^{+0.10+0.16}_{-0.08 -0.14} h_{70}^2 SNu, while the CC SN rate, at
z=0.21, is 0.82^{+0.31 +0.30}_{-0.24 -0.26} h_{70}^2 SNu. The quoted errors are
the statistical and systematic uncertainties. With respect to local value, the
CC SN rate at z=0.2 is higher by a factor of ~2 already at redshift, whereas
the type Ia SN rate remains almost constant. This implies that a significant
fraction of SN Ia progenitors has a lifetime longer than 2-3 Gyr. We also
measured the SN rates in the red and blue galaxies and found that the SN Ia
rate seems to be constant in galaxies of different colour, whereas the CC SN
rate seems to peak in blue galaxies, as in the local Universe. SN rates per
unit volume were found to be consistent with other measurements showing a
steeper evolution with redshift for CC SNe with respect to SNe Ia. Finally we
have exploited the link between star formation (SF) and SN rates to predict the
evolutionary behaviour of the SN rates and compare it with the path indicated
by observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 25 pages (including on line
material), 13 figure
Discovery of Two Distant Type Ia Supernovae in the Hubble Deep Field North with the Advanced Camera for Surveys
We present observations of the first two supernovae discovered with the
recently installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space
Telescope. The supernovae were found in Wide Field Camera images of the Hubble
Deep Field North taken with the F775W, F850LP, and G800L optical elements as
part of the ACS guaranteed time observation program. Spectra extracted from the
ACS G800L grism exposures confirm that the objects are Type Ia supernovae (SNe
Ia) at redshifts z=0.47 and z=0.95. Follow-up HST observations have been
conducted with ACS in F775W and F850LP and with NICMOS in the near-infrared
F110W bandpass, yielding a total of 9 flux measurements in the 3 bandpasses
over a period of 50 days in the observed frame. We discuss many of the
important issues in doing accurate photometry with the ACS. We analyze the
multi-band light curves using two different fitting methods to calibrate the
supernovae luminosities and place them on the SNe Ia Hubble diagram. The
resulting distances are consistent with the redshift-distance relation of the
accelerating universe model, although evolving intergalactic grey dust remains
as a less likely possibility. The relative ease with which these SNe Ia were
found, confirmed, and monitored demonstrates the potential ACS holds for
revolutionizing the field of high-redshift SNe Ia, and therefore of testing the
accelerating universe cosmology and constraining the "epoch of deceleration".Comment: 11 pages, 8 embedded figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
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