C. Balland

Improved cosmological constraints from new, old, and combined supernova data sets

We present a new compilation of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), a new data set of low-redshift nearby-Hubble-flow SNe, and new analysis procedures to work with these heterogeneous compilations. This Union compilation of 414 SNe Ia, which reduces to 307 SNe after selection cuts, includes the recent large samples of SNe Ia from the Supernova Legacy Survey and ESSENCE Survey, the older data sets, as well as the recently extended data set of distant supernovae observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). A single, consistent, and blind analysis procedure is used for all the various SN Ia subsamples, and a new procedure is implemented that consistently weights the heterogeneous data sets and rejects outliers. We present the latest results from this Union compilation and discuss the cosmological constraints from this new compilation and its combination with other cosmological measurements (CMB and BAO). The constraint we obtain from supernovae on the dark energy density is Ω_Λ = 0.713^(+0.027)_(−0.029)(stat)^(+ 0.036)_(−0.039)(sys), for a flat, ΛCDM universe. Assuming a constant equation of state parameter, w, the combined constraints from SNe, BAO, and CMB give w = − 0.969^(+ 0.059)_(−0.063)(stat)^(+ 0.063)_(−0.066)(sys) . While our results are consistent with a cosmological constant, we obtain only relatively weak constraints on a w that varies with redshift. In particular, the current SN data do not yet significantly constrain w at z > 1. With the addition of our new nearby Hubble-flow SNe Ia, these resulting cosmological constraints are currently the tightest available.

The Effect of Progenitor Age and Metallicity on Luminosity and 56Ni Yield in Type Ia Supernovae

Timmes et al. found that metallicity variations could theoretically account for a 25% variation in the mass of 56Ni synthesized in Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and thus account for a large fraction of the scatter in observed SN Ia luminosities. Higher-metallicity progenitors are more neutron rich, producing more stable burning products relative to radioactive 56Ni. We develop a new method for estimating bolometric luminosity and 56Ni yield in SNe Ia and use it to test the theory with data from the Supernova Legacy Survey. We find that the average 56Ni yield does drop in SNe Ia from high-metallicity environments, but the theory can only account for 7%-10% of the dispersion in SN Ia 56Ni mass, and thus luminosity. This is because the effect is dominant at metallicities significantly above solar, whereas we find that SN hosts have predominantly subsolar or only moderately above-solar metallicities. We also show that allowing for changes in O/Fe with the metallicity [Fe/H] does not have a major effect on the theoretical prediction of Timmes et al., so long as one is using the O/H as the independent variable. Age may have a greater effect than metallicity—we find that the luminosity-weighted age of the host galaxy is correlated with 56Ni yield, and thus more massive progenitors give rise to more luminous explosions. This is hard to understand if most SNe Ia explode when the primaries reach the Chandrasekhar mass. Finally, we test the findings of Gallagher et al. that the residuals of SNe Ia from the Hubble diagram are correlated with host galaxy metallicity, and we find no such correlation.

SNLS spectroscopy: testing for evolution in type Ia supernovae

Aims. We present a quantitative study of a new data set of high redshift Type Ia supernovae spectra, observed at the Gemini telescopes during the first 34 months of the Supernova Legacy Survey. During this time 123 supernovae candidates were observed, of which 87 have been identified as SNe Ia at a median redshift of z=0.720. Spectra from the entire second year of the survey and part of the third year (59 total SNe candidates with 46 confirmed SNe Ia) are published here for the first time. The spectroscopic measurements made on this data set are used determine if these distant SNe comprise a population similar to those observed locally. n nMethods. Rest-frame equivalent width and ejection velocity measurements are made on four spectroscopic features. Corresponding measurements are presented for a set of 167 spectra from 24 low-z SNe Ia from the literature. n nResults. We show that there exists a sample at high redshift with properties similar to nearby SNe. The high-z measurements are consistent with the range of measurements at low-z and no significant difference was found between the distributions of measurements at low and high redsift for three of the features. The fourth feature displays a possible difference that should be investigated further. Correlations between Type Ia SNe properties and host galaxy morphology were also found to be similar at low and high z, and within each host galaxy class we see no evidence for redshift-evolution in SN properties. A new correlation between SNe Ia peak magnitude and the equivalent width of SiII absorption is presented. Tests on a sub-set of the SNLS SNe demonstrates that this correlation reduces the scatter in SNe Ia luminosity distances in a manner consistent with the lightcurve shape-luminosity corrections that are used for Type Ia SNe cosmology. n nConclusions. We show that this new sample of SNLS SNe Ia has spectroscopic properties similar to nearby objects.

Spectroscopic Observations and Analysis of the Peculiar SN 1999aa

We present an extensive new time series of spectroscopic data of the peculiar SN 1999aa in NGC 2595. Our data set includes 25 optical spectra between -11 and +58 days with respect to B-band maximum light, providing an unusually complete time history. The early spectra resemble those of an SN 1991T-like object but with a relatively strong CaH and K absorption feature. The first clear sign of Si II lambda 6355, characteristic of Type Ia supernovae, is found at day -7, and its velocity remains constant up to at least the first month after B-band maximum light. The transition to normal-looking spectra is found to occur earlier than in SN 1991T, suggesting SN 1999aa as a possible link between SN 1991T-like and Branch-normal supernovae. Comparing the observations with synthetic spectra, doubly ionized Fe, Si, and Ni are identified at early epochs. These are characteristic of SN 1991 T-like objects. Furthermore, in the day -11 spectrum, evidence is found for an absorption feature that could be identified as high velocity C II lambda 6580 or H alpha. At the same epoch C III lambda 4648.8 at photospheric velocity is probably responsible for the absorption feature at 4500 8. High-velocity Ca ismorexa0» found around maximum light together with Si II and Fe II confined in a narrow velocity window. Implied constraints on supernovae progenitor systems and explosion hydrodynamic models are briefly discussed.«xa0less

TWO SUPERLUMINOUS SUPERNOVAE FROM THE EARLY UNIVERSE DISCOVERED BY THE SUPERNOVA LEGACY SURVEY

We present spectra and light curves of SNLS 06D4eu and SNLS 07D2bv, two hydrogen-free superluminous supernovae (SNe) discovered by the Supernova Legacy Survey. At z = 1.588, SNLS 06D4eu is the highest redshift superluminous SN with a spectrum, at MU = –22.7 it is one of the most luminous SNe ever observed, and it gives a rare glimpse into the rest-frame ultraviolet where these SNe put out their peak energy. SNLS 07D2bv does not have a host galaxy redshift, but on the basis of the SN spectrum, we estimate it to be at z ~ 1.5. Both SNe have similar observer-frame griz light curves, which map to rest-frame light curves in the U band and UV, rising in ~20 rest-frame days or longer and declining over a similar timescale. The light curves peak in the shortest wavelengths first, consistent with an expanding blackbody starting near 15,000xa0K and steadily declining in temperature. We compare the spectra with theoretical models, and we identify lines of C II, C III, Fe III, and Mg II in the spectra of SNLS 06D4eu and SCP 06F6 and find that they are consistent with an expanding explosion of only a few solar masses of carbon, oxygen, and other trace metals. Thus, the progenitors appear to be related to those suspected for SNe Ic. A high kinetic energy, 1052 erg, is also favored. Normal mechanisms of powering core-collapse or thermonuclear SNe do not seem to work for these SNe. We consider models powered by 56Ni decay and interaction with circumstellar material, but we find that the creation and spin-down of a magnetar with a period of 2xa0ms, a magnetic field of 2 × 1014 G, and a 3 M ☉ progenitor provides the best fit to the data.

CONSTRAINING TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE PROGENITORS FROM THREE YEARS OF SUPERNOVA LEGACY SURVEY DATA

While it is generally accepted that Type Ia supernovae are the result of the explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf accreting mass in a binary system, the details of their genesis still elude us, and the nature of the binary companion is uncertain. Kasen points out that the presence of a non-degenerate companion in the progenitor system could leave an observable trace: a flux excess in the early rise portion of the light curve caused by the ejecta impact with the companion itself. This excess would be observable only under favorable viewing angles, and its intensity depends on the nature of the companion. We searched for the signature of a non-degenerate companion in three years of Supernova Legacy Survey data by generating synthetic light curves accounting for the effects of shocking and comparing true and synthetic time series with Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Our most constraining result comes from noting that the shocking effect is more prominent in the rest-frame B than V band: we rule out a contribution from white dwarf-red giant binary systems to Type Ia supernova explosions greater than 10% at the 2{sigma}, and greater than 20% at the 3{sigma} level.

REAL-TIME ANALYSIS AND SELECTION BIASES IN THE SUPERNOVA LEGACY SURVEY

The Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) has produced a high-quality, homogeneous sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) out to redshifts greater than z = 1. In its first four years of full operation (to 2007 June), the SNLS discovered more than 3000 transient candidates, 373 of which have been spectroscopically confirmed as SNe Ia. Use of these SNe Ia in precision cosmology critically depends on an analysis of the observational biases incurred in the SNLS survey due to the incomplete sampling of the underlying SN Ia population. This paper describes our real-time supernova detection and analysis procedures, and uses detailed Monte Carlo simulations to examine the effects of Malmquist bias and spectroscopic sampling. Such sampling effects are found to become apparent at z {approx} 0.6, with a significant shift in the average magnitude of the spectroscopically confirmed SN Ia sample toward brighter values for z {approx}> 0.75. We describe our approach to correct for these selection biases in our three-year SNLS cosmological analysis (SNLS3) and present a breakdown of the systematic uncertainties involved.

SUBLUMINOUS TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AT HIGH REDSHIFT FROM THE SUPERNOVA LEGACY SURVEY

The rate evolution of subluminous Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is presented using data from the Supernova Legacy Survey. This sub-sample represents the faint and rapidly declining light curves of the observed SN Ia population here defined by low-stretch values (s ≤ 0.8). Up to redshift z = 0.6, we find 18 photometrically identified subluminous SNe Ia, of which six have spectroscopic redshift (and three are spectroscopically confirmed SNexa0Ia). The evolution of the subluminous volumetric rate is constant or slightly decreasing with redshift, in contrast to the increasing SN Ia rate found for the normal stretch population, although a rising behavior is not conclusively ruled out. The subluminous sample is mainly found in early-type galaxies with little or no star formation, so that the rate evolution is consistent with a galactic mass-dependent behavior: r(z) = A × Mg , with A = (1.1 ± 0.3) × 10–14 SNe yr–1 M –1 ☉.

Gravitational lensing in the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS)

The observed brightness of Type Ia supernovae is affected by gravitational lensing caused by the mass distribution along the line of sight, which introduces an additional dispersion into the Hubble diagram. We look for evidence of lensing in the SuperNova Legacy Survey 3-year data set. We investigate the correlation between the residuals from the Hubble diagram and the gravitational magnification based on a modeling of the mass distribution of foreground galaxies. A deep photometric catalog, photometric redshifts, and well established mass luminosity relations are used. We find evidence of a lensing signal with a 2.3 sigma significance. The current result is limited by the number of SNe, their redshift distribution, and the other sources of scatter in the Hubble diagram. Separating the galaxy population into a red and a blue sample has a positive impact on the significance of the signal detection. On the other hand, increasing the depth of the galaxy catalog, the precision of photometric redshifts or reducing the scatter in the mass luminosity relations have little effect. We show that for the full SuperNova Legacy Survey sample (~400 spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia SNe and ~200 photometrically identified Type Ia SNe), there is an 80% probability of detecting the lensing signal with a 3 sigma significance.

Photometric selection of Type Ia supernovae in the Supernova Legacy Survey

We present a sample of 485 photometrically identified Type Ia supernova candidates mined from the first three years of data of the CFHT SuperNova Legacy Survey (SNLS). The images were submitted to a deferred processing independent of the SNLS real-time detection pipeline. Light curves of all transient events were reconstructed in the gM, rM, iM and zM filters and submitted to automated sequential cuts in order to identify possible supernovae. Pure noise and long-term variable events were rejected by light curve shape criteria. Type Ia supernova identification relied on event characteristics fitted to their light curves assuming the events to be normal SNe Ia. The light curve fitter SALT2 was used for this purpose, assigning host galaxy photometric redshifts to the tested events. The selected sample of 485 candidates is one magnitude deeper than that allowed by the SNLS spectroscopic identification. The contamination by supernovae of other types is estimated to be 4%. Testing Hubble diagram residuals with this enlarged sample allows us to measure the Malmquist bias due to spectroscopic selections directly. The result is fully consistent with the precise Monte Carlo based estimate used to correct SN Ia distance moduli in the SNLS 3-year cosmological analyses. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of a photometric selection of high redshift supernovae with known host galaxy redshifts, opening interesting prospects for cosmological analyses from future large photometric SN Ia surveys.