scholarly journals See Change: VLT spectroscopy of a sample of high-redshift Type Ia supernova host galaxies

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 3859-3880 ◽  
Author(s):  
S C Williams ◽  
I M Hook ◽  
B Hayden ◽  
J Nordin ◽  
G Aldering ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Very Large Telescope ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Ia Supernovae

ABSTRACT The Supernova Cosmology Project has conducted the ‘See Change’ programme, aimed at discovering and observing high-redshift (1.13 ≤ z ≤ 1.75) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We used multifilter Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of massive galaxy clusters with sufficient cadence to make the observed SN Ia light curves suitable for a cosmological probe of dark energy at z > 0.5. This See Change sample of SNe Ia with multi-colour light curves will be the largest to date at these redshifts. As part of the See Change programme, we obtained ground-based spectroscopy of each discovered transient and/or its host galaxy. Here, we present Very Large Telescope (VLT) spectra of See Change transient host galaxies, deriving their redshifts, and host parameters such as stellar mass and star formation rate. Of the 39 See Change transients/hosts that were observed with the VLT, we successfully determined the redshift for 26, including 15 SNe Ia at z > 0.97. We show that even in passive environments, it is possible to recover secure redshifts for the majority of SN hosts out to z = 1.5. We find that with typical exposure times of 3−4 h on an 8-m-class telescope we can recover ∼75 per cent of SN Ia redshifts in the range of 0.97 < z < 1.5. Furthermore, we show that the combination of HST photometry and VLT spectroscopy is able to provide estimates of host galaxy stellar mass that are sufficiently accurate for use in a mass-step correction in the cosmological analysis.

scholarly journals Verifying the Use of Supernovae as Probes of the Cosmic Expansion

2005 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 231-240
Author(s):  
Richard Ellis ◽  
Mark Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Large Range ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Hubble Diagram ◽  
Galaxy Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Ia Supernovae

We present preliminary results of a follow-up survey which aims to characterise in detail those galaxies which hosted Type Ia supernovae found by the Supernova Cosmology Project. Our survey has two components: Hubble Space Telescope imaging with STIS and Keck spectroscopy with ESI, the goal being to classify each host galaxy into one of three broad morphological/spectral classes and hence to investigate the dependence of supernovae properties on host galaxy type over a large range in redshift. Of particular interest is the supernova Hubble diagram characterised by host galaxy class which suggests that most of the scatter arises from those occurring in late-type irregulars. Supernovae hosted by (presumed dust-free) E/SO galaxies closely follow the adopted SCP cosmological model. Although larger datasets are required, we cannot yet find any significant difference in the light curves of distant supernovae hosted in different galaxy types.

scholarly journals Strong dependence of Type Ia supernova standardization on the local specific star formation rate

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A176
Author(s):  
M. Rigault ◽  
V. Brinnel ◽  
G. Aldering ◽  
P. Antilogus ◽  
C. Aragon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Galaxy Environment ◽  
Stellar Masses ◽  
Ia Supernovae

As part of an on-going effort to identify, understand and correct for astrophysics biases in the standardization of Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) for cosmology, we have statistically classified a large sample of nearby SNe Ia into those that are located in predominantly younger or older environments. This classification is based on the specific star formation rate measured within a projected distance of 1 kpc from each SN location (LsSFR). This is an important refinement compared to using the local star formation rate directly, as it provides a normalization for relative numbers of available SN progenitors and is more robust against extinction by dust. We find that the SNe Ia in predominantly younger environments are ΔY = 0.163 ± 0.029 mag (5.7σ) fainter than those in predominantly older environments after conventional light-curve standardization. This is the strongest standardized SN Ia brightness systematic connected to the host-galaxy environment measured to date. The well-established step in standardized brightnesses between SNe Ia in hosts with lower or higher total stellar masses is smaller, at ΔM = 0.119 ± 0.032 mag (4.5σ), for the same set of SNe Ia. When fit simultaneously, the environment-age offset remains very significant, with ΔY = 0.129 ± 0.032 mag (4.0σ), while the global stellar mass step is reduced to ΔM = 0.064  ±  0.029 mag (2.2σ). Thus, approximately 70% of the variance from the stellar mass step is due to an underlying dependence on environment-based progenitor age. Also, we verify that using the local star formation rate alone is not as powerful as LsSFR at sorting SNe Ia into brighter and fainter subsets. Standardization that only uses the SNe Ia in younger environments reduces the total dispersion from 0.142  ±  0.008 mag to 0.120  ±  0.010 mag. We show that as environment-ages evolve with redshift, a strong bias, especially on the measurement of the derivative of the dark energy equation of state, can develop. Fortunately, data that measure and correct for this effect using our local specific star formation rate indicator, are likely to be available for many next-generation SN Ia cosmology experiments.

scholarly journals The ESO’s VLT type Ia supernova spectral set of the final two years of SNLS

2018 ◽  
Vol 614 ◽  
pp. A134 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Balland ◽  
F. Cellier-Holzem ◽  
C. Lidman ◽  
P. Astier ◽  
M. Betoule ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Redshift ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Spectral Evolution ◽  
Local Color ◽  
Galaxy Surveys ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Spectral Set ◽  
Ia Supernovae

Aims. We aim to present 70 spectra of 68 new high-redshift type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) measured at ESO’s VLT during the final two years of operation (2006–2008) of the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). This new sample complements the VLT three year spectral set. Altogether, these two data sets form the five year sample of SNLS SN Ia spectra measured at the VLT on which the final SNLS cosmological analysis will partly be based. In the redshift range considered, this sample is unique in terms of homogeneity and number of spectra. We use it to investigate the possibility of a spectral evolution of SNe Ia populations with redshift as well as SNe Ia spectral properties as a function of lightcurve fit parameters and the mass of the host-galaxy. Methods. Reduction and extraction are based on both IRAF standard tasks and our own reduction pipeline. Redshifts are estimated from host-galaxy lines whenever possible or alternatively from supernova features. We used the spectro-photometric SN Ia model SALT2 combined with a set of galaxy templates that model the host-galaxy contamination to assess the type Ia nature of the candidates. Results. We identify 68 new SNe Ia with redshift ranging from z = 0.207 to z = 0.98 for an average redshift of z = 0.62. Each spectrum is presented individually along with its best-fit SALT2 model. Adding this new sample to the three year VLT sample of SNLS, the final dataset contains 209 spectra corresponding to 192 SNe Ia identified at the VLT. We also publish the redshifts of other candidates (host galaxies or other transients) whose spectra were obtained at the same time as the spectra of live SNe Ia. This list provides a new redshift catalog useful for upcoming galaxy surveys. Using the full VLT SNe Ia sample, we build composite spectra around maximum light with cuts in color, the lightcurve shape parameter (“stretch”), host-galaxy mass and redshift. We find that high-z SNe Ia are bluer, brighter and have weaker intermediate mass element absorption lines than their low-z counterparts at a level consistent with what is expected from selection effects. We also find a flux excess in the range [3000–3400] Å for SNe Ia in low mass host-galaxies (M < 1010M⊙) or with locally blue U–V colors, and suggest that the UV flux (or local color) may be used in future cosmological studies as a third standardization parameter in addition to stretch and color.

scholarly journals An Efficient Approach to Obtaining Large Numbers of Distant Supernova Host Galaxy Redshifts

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Lidman ◽  
V. Ruhlmann-Kleider ◽  
M. Sullivan ◽  
J. Myzska ◽  
P. Dobbie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Redshift ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Type Ia Supernovae ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Dark Energy Survey ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Ia Supernovae ◽  
Energy Survey

AbstractWe use the wide-field capabilities of the 2 degree field fibre positioner and the AAOmega spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) to obtain redshifts of galaxies that hosted supernovae during the first 3 years of the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). With exposure times ranging from 10 to 60 ks per galaxy, we were able to obtain redshifts for 400 host galaxies in two SNLS fields, thereby substantially increasing the total number of SNLS supernovae with host galaxy redshifts. The median redshift of the galaxies in our sample that hosted photometrically classified Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is z ~ 0.77, which is 25% higher than the median redshift of spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia in the 3-year sample of the SNLS. Our results demonstrate that one can use wide-field fibre-fed multi-object spectrographs on 4-m telescopes to efficiently obtain redshifts for large numbers of supernova host galaxies over the large areas of the sky that will be covered by future high-redshift supernova surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey.

scholarly journals Local Environments of Low-redshift Supernovae

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Serena A. Cronin ◽  
Dyas Utomo ◽  
Adam K. Leroy ◽  
Erica A. Behrens ◽  
Jérémy Chastenet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Surface Density ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Near Ir ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Ir Light

Abstract We characterize the local (2 kpc sized) environments of Type Ia, II, and Ib/c supernovae (SNe) that have recently occurred in nearby (d ≲ 50 Mpc) galaxies. Using ultraviolet (UV; from Galaxy Evolution Explorer) and infrared (IR; from Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) maps of 359 galaxies and a sample of 472 SNe, we measure the star formation rate surface density (ΣSFR) and stellar mass surface density (Σ⋆) in a 2 kpc beam centered on each SN site. We show that core-collapse SNe are preferentially located along the resolved galactic star-forming main sequence, whereas Type Ia SNe are extended to lower values of ΣSFR at fixed Σ⋆, indicative of locations inside quiescent galaxies or quiescent regions of galaxies. We also test how well the radial distribution of each SN type matches the radial distributions of UV and IR light in each host galaxy. We find that, to first order, the distributions of all types of SNe mirror those of both near-IR light (3.4 and 4.5 μm, tracing the stellar mass distribution) and mid-IR light (12 and 22 μm, tracing emission from hot, small grains), and also resemble our best-estimate ΣSFR. All types of SNe appear more radially concentrated than the UV emission of their host galaxies. In more detail, the distributions of Type II SNe show small statistical differences from those of near-IR light. We attribute this overall structural uniformity to the fact that within any individual galaxy, ΣSFR and Σ⋆ track one another well, with variations in ΣSFR/Σ⋆ most visible when comparing between galaxies.

scholarly journals The Foundation Supernova Survey: Photospheric Velocity Correlations in Type Ia Supernovae

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Kyle G. Dettman ◽  
Saurabh W. Jha ◽  
Mi Dai ◽  
Ryan J. Foley ◽  
Armin Rest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Cosmic Time ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Type Ia Supernovae ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Ia Supernovae

Abstract The ejecta velocities of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), as measured by the Si ii λ6355 line, have been shown to correlate with other supernova properties, including color and standardized luminosity. We investigate these results using the Foundation Supernova Survey, with a spectroscopic data release presented here, and photometry analyzed with the SALT2 light-curve fitter. We find that the Foundation data do not show significant evidence for an offset in color between SNe Ia with high and normal photospheric velocities, with Δc = 0.004 ± 0.015. Our SALT2 analysis does show evidence for redder high-velocity SNe Ia in other samples, including objects from the Carnegie Supernova Project, with a combined sample yielding Δc = 0.018 ± 0.008. When split on velocity, the Foundation SNe Ia also do not show a significant difference in Hubble diagram residual, ΔHR = 0.015 ± 0.049 mag. Intriguingly, we find that SN Ia ejecta velocity information may be gleaned from photometry, particularly in redder optical bands. For high-redshift SNe Ia, these rest-frame red wavelengths will be observed by the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Our results are in line with previous work that suggests SN Ia host-galaxy stellar mass is correlated with ejecta velocity: high-velocity SNe Ia are found nearly exclusively in high-stellar-mass hosts. However, host-galaxy properties alone do not explain velocity-dependent differences in supernova colors and luminosities across samples. Measuring and understanding the connection between intrinsic explosion properties and supernova environments, across cosmic time, will be important for precision cosmology with SNe Ia.

scholarly journals Testing the evolution of correlations between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies using eight strongly lensed quasars

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (1) ◽  
pp. 269-280
Author(s):  
Xuheng Ding ◽  
Tommaso Treu ◽  
Simon Birrer ◽  
Adriano Agnello ◽  
Dominique Sluse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Instrumental Resolution ◽  
The Moment

ABSTRACT One of the main challenges in using high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to study the correlations between the mass of a supermassive black hole ($\mathcal {M}_{\rm BH}$) and the properties of its active host galaxy is instrumental resolution. Strong lensing magnification effectively increases instrumental resolution and thus helps to address this challenge. In this work, we study eight strongly lensed AGNs with deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, using the lens modelling code lenstronomy to reconstruct the image of the source. Using the reconstructed brightness of the host galaxy, we infer the host galaxy stellar mass based on stellar population models. $\mathcal {M}_{\rm BH}$ are estimated from broad emission lines using standard methods. Our results are in good agreement with recent work based on non-lensed AGNs, demonstrating the potential of using strongly lensed AGNs to extend the study of the correlations to higher redshifts. At the moment, the sample size of lensed AGNs is small and thus they provide mostly a consistency check on systematic errors related to resolution for non-lensed AGNs. However, the number of known lensed AGNs is expected to increase dramatically in the next few years, through dedicated searches in ground- and space-based wide-field surveys, and they may become a key diagnostic of black holes and galaxy co-evolution.

scholarly journals The star formation properties of the observed and simulated AGN Universe: BAT versus EAGLE

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (2) ◽  
pp. 2323-2338
Author(s):  
Thomas M Jackson ◽  
D J Rosario ◽  
D M Alexander ◽  
J Scholtz ◽  
Stuart McAlpine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Stellar Masses

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present data from 72 low-redshift, hard X-ray selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) taken from the Swift–BAT 58 month catalogue. We utilize spectral energy distribution fitting to the optical to infrared photometry in order to estimate host galaxy properties. We compare this observational sample to a volume- and flux-matched sample of AGN from the Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments (EAGLE) hydrodynamical simulations in order to verify how accurately the simulations can reproduce observed AGN host galaxy properties. After correcting for the known +0.2 dex offset in the SFRs between EAGLE and previous observations, we find agreement in the star formation rate (SFR) and X-ray luminosity distributions; however, we find that the stellar masses in EAGLE are 0.2–0.4 dex greater than the observational sample, which consequently leads to lower specific star formation rates (sSFRs). We compare these results to our previous study at high redshift, finding agreement in both the observations and simulations, whereby the widths of sSFR distributions are similar (∼0.4–0.6 dex) and the median of the SFR distributions lie below the star-forming main sequence by ∼0.3–0.5 dex across all samples. We also use EAGLE to select a sample of AGN host galaxies at high and low redshift and follow their characteristic evolution from z = 8 to z = 0. We find similar behaviour between these two samples, whereby star formation is quenched when the black hole goes through its phase of most rapid growth. Utilizing EAGLE we find that 23 per cent of AGN selected at z ∼ 0 are also AGN at high redshift, and that their host galaxies are among the most massive objects in the simulation. Overall, we find EAGLE reproduces the observations well, with some minor inconsistencies (∼0.2 dex in stellar masses and ∼0.4 dex in sSFRs).

scholarly journals Cosmology-insensitive estimate of IGM baryon mass fraction from five localized fast radio bursts

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (1) ◽  
pp. L28-L32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Li ◽  
H Gao ◽  
J-J Wei ◽  
Y-P Yang ◽  
B Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Fraction ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Dispersion Measure ◽  
Radio Bursts ◽  
Rapid Progress ◽  
Baryon Mass ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Ia Supernovae

ABSTRACT Five fast radio bursts (FRBs), including three apparently non-repeating ones, FRB 180924, FRB 181112, and FRB 190523, and two repeaters, FRB 121102 and FRB 180916.J0158+65, have already been localized so far. We apply a method developed recently by us to these five localized FRBs to give a cosmology-insensitive estimate of the fraction of baryon mass in the intergalactic medium, fIGM. Using the measured dispersion measure (DM) and luminosity distance dL data (inferred from the FRB redshifts and dL of Type Ia supernovae at the same redshifts) of the five FRBs, we constrain the local $f_{\rm IGM} = 0.84^{+0.16}_{-0.22}$ with no evidence of redshift dependence. This cosmology-insensitive estimate of fIGM from FRB observations is in excellent agreement with previous constraints using other probes. Moreover, using the three apparently non-repeating FRBs only we get a little looser but consistent result: $f_{\rm IGM} = 0.74^{+0.24}_{-0.18}$. In these two cases, reasonable estimations for the host galaxy DM contribution (DMhost) can be achieved by modelling it as a function of star formation rate. The constraints on both fIGM and DMhost are expected to be significantly improved with the rapid progress in localizing FRBs.

scholarly journals Towards a 1% measurement of the Hubble constant: accounting for time dilation in variable-star light curves

2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A165
Author(s):  
Richard I. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Variable Star ◽  
Hubble Constant ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Type Ia Supernovae ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Pulsating Stars ◽  
Distant Galaxies ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Absolute Magnitudes ◽  
Ia Supernovae

Assessing the significance and implications of the recently established Hubble tension requires the comprehensive identification, quantification, and mitigation of uncertainties and/or biases affecting H0 measurements. Here, we investigate the previously overlooked distance scale bias resulting from the interplay between redshift and Leavitt laws in an expanding Universe: Redshift-Leavitt bias (RLB). Redshift dilates oscillation periods of pulsating stars residing in supernova-host galaxies relative to periods of identical stars residing in nearby (anchor) galaxies. Multiplying dilated log P with Leavitt Law slopes leads to underestimated absolute magnitudes, overestimated distance moduli, and a systematic error on H0. Emulating the SH0ES distance ladder, we estimate an associated H0 bias of (0.27 ± 0.01)% and obtain a corrected H0 = 73.70 ± 1.40 km s−1 Mpc−1. RLB becomes increasingly relevant as distance ladder calibrations pursue greater numbers of ever more distant galaxies hosting both Cepheids (or Miras) and type-Ia supernovae. The measured periods of oscillating stars can readily be corrected for heliocentric redshift (e.g. of their host galaxies) in order to ensure H0 measurements free of RLB.

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