| 1. |
- Campbell, Heather, et al.
(author)
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COSMOLOGY WITH PHOTOMETRICALLY CLASSIFIED TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE FROM THE SDSS-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY
- 2013
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 763:2, s. 88-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the cosmological analysis of 752 photometrically classified Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained from the full Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) Supernova (SN) Survey, supplemented with host-galaxy spectroscopy from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. Our photometric-classification method is based on the SN classification technique of Sako et al., aided by host-galaxy redshifts (0.05 < z < 0.55). SuperNova ANAlysis simulations of our methodology estimate that we have an SN Ia classification efficiency of 70.8%, with only 3.9% contamination from core-collapse (non-Ia) SNe. We demonstrate that this level of contamination has no effect on our cosmological constraints. We quantify and correct for our selection effects (e. g., Malmquist bias) using simulations. When fitting to a flat.CDM cosmological model, we find that our photometric sample alone gives Omega(m) = 0.24(-0.05)(+0.07) (statistical errors only). If we relax the constraint on flatness, then our sample provides competitive joint statistical constraints on Omega(m) and Omega(Lambda), comparable to those derived from the spectroscopically confirmed Three-year Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS3). Using only our data, the statistics-only result favors an accelerating universe at 99.96% confidence. Assuming a constant wCDM cosmological model, and combining with H-0, cosmic microwave background, and luminous red galaxy data, we obtain w = -0.96(-0.10)(+0.10), Omega(m) = 0.29(-0.02)(+0.02), and Omega(k) = 0.00(-0.02)(+0.03)(statistical errors only), which is competitive with similar spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia analyses. Overall this comparison is reassuring, considering the lower redshift leverage of the SDSS-II SN sample (z < 0.55) and the lack of spectroscopic confirmation used herein. These results demonstrate the potential of photometrically classified SN Ia samples in improving cosmological constraints.
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| 2. |
- D'Andrea, Chris B., et al.
(author)
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Type II-P Supernovae from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey and the Standardized Candle Method
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 708:1, s. 661-674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We apply the Standardized Candle Method (SCM) for Type II Plateau supernovae (SNe II-P), which relates the velocity of the ejecta of a SN to its luminosity during the plateau, to 15 SNe II-P discovered over the three season run of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey. The redshifts of these SNe—0.027 < z < 0.144—cover a range hitherto sparsely sampled in the literature; in particular, our SNe II-P sample contains nearly as many SNe in the Hubble flow (z > 0.01) as all of the current literature on the SCM combined. We find that the SDSS SNe have a very small intrinsic I-band dispersion (0.22 mag), which can be attributed to selection effects. When the SCM is applied to the combined SDSS-plus-literature set of SNe II-P, the dispersion increases to 0.29 mag, larger than the scatter for either set of SNe separately. We show that the standardization cannot be further improved by eliminating SNe with positive plateau decline rates, as proposed in Poznanski et al. We thoroughly examine all potential systematic effects and conclude that for the SCM to be useful for cosmology, the methods currently used to determine the Fe II velocity at day 50 must be improved, and spectral templates able to encompass the intrinsic variations of Type II-P SNe will be needed. Based in part on data collected at Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
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| 3. |
- Davis, Tamara M., et al.
(author)
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The Effect of Peculiar Velocities on Supernova Cosmology
- 2011
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 741, s. 67-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We analyze the effect that peculiar velocities have on the cosmological inferences we make using luminosity distance indicators, such as Type Ia supernovae. In particular we study the corrections required to account for (1) our own motion, (2) correlations in galaxy motions, and (3) a possible local under- or overdensity. For all of these effects we present a case study showing the impact on the cosmology derived by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey (SDSS-II SN Survey). Correcting supernova (SN) redshifts for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) dipole slightly overcorrects nearby SNe that share some of our local motion. We show that while neglecting the CMB dipole would cause a shift in the derived equation of state of Δw ~ 0.04 (at fixed Ω m ), the additional local-motion correction is currently negligible (Δw <~ 0.01). We then demonstrate a covariance-matrix approach to statistically account for correlated peculiar velocities. This down-weights nearby SNe and effectively acts as a graduated version of the usual sharp low-redshift cut. Neglecting coherent velocities in the current sample causes a systematic shift of Δw ~ 0.02. This will therefore have to be considered carefully when future surveys aim for percent-level accuracy and we recommend our statistical approach to down-weighting peculiar velocities as a more robust option than a sharp low-redshift cut.
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| 4. |
- Dilday, Benjamin, et al.
(author)
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A Measurement of the Rate of Type Ia Supernovae in Galaxy Clusters from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 715, s. 1021-1035
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present measurements of the Type Ia supernova (SN) rate in galaxy clusters based on data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. The cluster SN Ia rate is determined from 9 SN events in a set of 71 C4 clusters at z <= 0.17 and 27 SN events in 492 maxBCG clusters at 0.1 <= z <= 0.3. We find values for the cluster SN Ia rate of (0.37+0.17+0.01 -0.12-0.01) SNur h 2 and (0.55+0.13+0.02 -0.11-0.01) SNur h 2 (SNux = 10-12 L -1 xsun yr-1) in C4 and maxBCG clusters, respectively, where the quoted errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. The SN rate for early-type galaxies is found to be (0.31+0.18+0.01 -0.12-0.01) SNur h 2 and (0.49+0.15+0.02 -0.11-0.01) SNur h 2 in C4 and maxBCG clusters, respectively. The SN rate for the brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) is found to be (2.04+1.99+0.07 -1.11-0.04) SNur h 2 and (0.36+0.84+0.01 -0.30-0.01) SNur h 2 in C4 and maxBCG clusters, respectively. The ratio of the SN Ia rate in cluster early-type galaxies to that of the SN Ia rate in field early-type galaxies is 1.94+1.31+0.043 -0.91-0.015 and 3.02+1.31+0.062 -1.03-0.048, for C4 and maxBCG clusters, respectively. The SN rate in galaxy clusters as a function of redshift, which probes the late time SN Ia delay distribution, shows only weak dependence on redshift. Combining our current measurements with previous measurements, we fit the cluster SN Ia rate data to a linear function of redshift, and find rL = [(0.49+0.15 -0.14)+(0.91+0.85 -0.81) × z] SNuB h 2. A comparison of the radial distribution of SNe in cluster to field early-type galaxies shows possible evidence for an enhancement of the SN rate in the cores of cluster early-type galaxies. With an observation of at most three hostless, intra-cluster SNe Ia, we estimate the fraction of cluster SNe that are hostless to be (9.4+8.3 -5.1)%.
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| 5. |
- Dilday, Benjamin, et al.
(author)
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Measurements of the Rate of Type Ia Supernovae at Redshift lsim0.3 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II Supernova Survey
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 713, s. 1026-1036
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a measurement of the volumetric Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rate based on data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. The adopted sample of supernovae (SNe) includes 516 SNe Ia at redshift z <~ 0.3, of which 270(52%) are spectroscopically identified as SNe Ia. The remaining 246 SNe Ia were identified through their light curves; 113 of these objects have spectroscopic redshifts from spectra of their host galaxy, and 133 have photometric redshifts estimated from the SN light curves. Based on consideration of 87 spectroscopically confirmed non-Ia SNe discovered by the SDSS-II SN Survey, we estimate that 2.04+1.61 -0.95% of the photometric SNe Ia may be misidentified. The sample of SNe Ia used in this measurement represents an order of magnitude increase in the statistics for SN Ia rate measurements in the redshift range covered by the SDSS-II Supernova Survey. If we assume an SN Ia rate that is constant at low redshift (z < 0.15), then the SN observations can be used to infer a value of the SN rate of rV = (2.69+0.34+0.21 -0.30-0.01)×10-5 SNe yr-1 Mpc-3 (H 0/(70 km s-1 Mpc-1))3 at a mean redshift of ~0.12, based on 79 SNe Ia of which 72 are spectroscopically confirmed. However, the large sample of SNe Ia included in this study allows us to place constraints on the redshift dependence of the SN Ia rate based on the SDSS-II Supernova Survey data alone. Fitting a power-law model of the SN rate evolution, rV (z) = Ap × ((1 + z)/(1 + z 0))ν, over the redshift range 0.0 < z < 0.3 with z 0 = 0.21, results in Ap = (3.43+0.15 -0.15) × 10-5 SNe yr-1 Mpc-3 (H 0/(70 km s-1 Mpc-1))3 and ν = 2.04+0.90 -0.89.
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| 6. |
- Foley, Ryan J., et al.
(author)
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A MISMATCH IN THE ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA BETWEEN LOW-REDSHIFT AND INTERMEDIATE-REDSHIFT TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AS A POSSIBLE SYSTEMATIC UNCERTAINTY FOR SUPERNOVA COSMOLOGY
- 2012
-
In: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 143:5, s. 113-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 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 broadband 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 broadband colors of the individual spectra, showing a difference in mean colors at the 2.4 sigma-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 angstrom 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 similar to 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.
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| 7. |
- Hayden, Brian T., et al.
(author)
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The Rise and Fall of Type Ia Supernova Light Curves in the SDSS-II Supernova Survey
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 712:1, s. 350-366
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We analyze the rise and fall times of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) light curves discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. From a set of 391 light curves k-corrected to the rest-frame B and V bands, we find a smaller dispersion in the rising portion of the light curve compared to the decline. This is in qualitative agreement with computer models which predict that variations in radioactive nickel yield have less impact on the rise than on the spread of the decline rates. The differences we find in the rise and fall properties suggest that a single "stretch" correction to the light curve phase does not properly model the range of SN Ia light curve shapes. We select a subset of 105 light curves well observed in both rise and fall portions of the light curves and develop a "2-stretch" fit algorithm which estimates the rise and fall times independently. We find the average time from explosion to B-band peak brightness is 17.38 ± 0.17 days, but with a spread of rise times which range from 13 days to 23 days. Our average rise time is shorter than the 19.5 days found in previous studies; this reflects both the different light curve template used and the application of the 2-stretch algorithm. The SDSS-II supernova set and the local SNe Ia with well-observed early light curves show no significant differences in their average rise-time properties. We find that slow-declining events tend to have fast rise times, but that the distribution of rise minus fall time is broad and single peaked. This distribution is in contrast to the bimodality in this parameter that was first suggested by Strovink from an analysis of a small set of local SNe Ia. We divide the SDSS-II sample in half based on the rise minus fall value, tr - tf <= 2 days and tr - tf > 2 days, to search for differences in their host galaxy properties and Hubble residuals; we find no difference in host galaxy properties or Hubble residuals in our sample.
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| 8. |
- Kessler, Richard, et al.
(author)
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First-Year Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Results : Hubble Diagram and Cosmological Parameters
- 2009
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 185:1, s. 32-84
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present measurements of the Hubble diagram for 103 Type Ia supernovae (SNe) with redshifts 0.04 < z < 0.42, discovered during the first season (Fall 2005) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. These data fill in the redshift "desert" between low- and high-redshift SN Ia surveys. Within the framework of the MLCS2K2 light-curve fitting method, we use the SDSS-II SN sample to infer the mean reddening parameter for host galaxies, RV = 2.18 ± 0.14stat ± 0.48syst, and find that the intrinsic distribution of host-galaxy extinction is well fitted by an exponential function, P(AV ) = exp(-AV /τV), with τV = 0.334 ± 0.088 mag. We combine the SDSS-II measurements with new distance estimates for published SN data from the ESSENCE survey, the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and a compilation of Nearby SN Ia measurements. A new feature in our analysis is the use of detailed Monte Carlo simulations of all surveys to account for selection biases, including those from spectroscopic targeting. Combining the SN Hubble diagram with measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations from the SDSS Luminous Red Galaxy sample and with cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropy measurements from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, we estimate the cosmological parameters w and ΩM, assuming a spatially flat cosmological model (FwCDM) with constant dark energy equation of state parameter, w. We also consider constraints upon ΩM and ΩΛ for a cosmological constant model (ΛCDM) with w = -1 and non-zero spatial curvature. For the FwCDM model and the combined sample of 288 SNe Ia, we find w = -0.76 ± 0.07(stat) ± 0.11(syst), ΩM = 0.307 ± 0.019(stat) ± 0.023(syst) using MLCS2K2 and w = -0.96 ± 0.06(stat) ± 0.12(syst), ΩM = 0.265 ± 0.016(stat) ± 0.025(syst) using the SALT-II fitter. We trace the discrepancy between these results to a difference in the rest-frame UV model combined with a different luminosity correction from color variations; these differences mostly affect the distance estimates for the SNLS and HST SNe. We present detailed discussions of systematic errors for both light-curve methods and find that they both show data-model discrepancies in rest-frame U band. For the SALT-II approach, we also see strong evidence for redshift-dependence of the color-luminosity parameter (β). Restricting the analysis to the 136 SNe Ia in the Nearby+SDSS-II samples, we find much better agreement between the two analysis methods but with larger uncertainties: w = -0.92 ± 0.13(stat)+0.10 -0.33(syst) for MLCS2K2 and w = -0.92 ± 0.11(stat)+0.07 -0.15 (syst) for SALT-II.
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| 9. |
- Kessler, Richard, et al.
(author)
-
Photometric Estimates of Redshifts and Distance Moduli for Type Ia Supernovae
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 717:1, s. 40-57
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large planned photometric surveys will discover hundreds of thousands of supernovae (SNe), outstripping the resources available for spectroscopic follow-up and necessitating the development of purely photometric methods to exploit these events for cosmological study. We present a light curve fitting technique for type Ia supernova (SN Ia) photometric redshift (photo-z) estimation in which the redshift is determined simultaneously with the other fit parameters. We implement this "LCFIT+Z" technique within the frameworks of the MLCS2K2 and SALTII light curve fit methods and determine the precision on the redshift and distance modulus. This method is applied to a spectroscopically confirmed sample of 296 SNe Ia from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) SN Survey and 37 publicly available SNe Ia from the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). We have also applied the method to a large suite of realistic simulated light curves for existing and planned surveys, including the SDSS, SNLS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. When intrinsic SN color fluctuations are included, the photo-z precision for the simulation is consistent with that in the data. Finally, we compare the LCFIT+Z photo-z precision with previous results using color-based SN photo-z estimates.
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| 10. |
- Kessler, Richard, et al.
(author)
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Results from the Supernova Photometric Classification Challenge
- 2010
-
In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 122:898, s. 1415-1431
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report results from the Supernova Photometric Classification Challenge (SNPhotCC), a publicly released mix of simulated supernovae (SNe), with types (Ia, Ibc, and II) selected in proportion to their expected rates. The simulation was realized in the griz filters of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with realistic observing conditions (sky noise, point-spread function, and atmospheric transparency) based on years of recorded conditions at the DES site. Simulations of non-Ia-type SNe are based on spectroscopically confirmed light curves that include unpublished non-Ia samples donated from the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP), the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS), and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II). A spectroscopically confirmed subset was provided for training. We challenged scientists to run their classification algorithms and report a type and photo-z for each SN. Participants from 10 groups contributed 13 entries for the sample that included a host-galaxy photo-z for each SN and nine entries for the sample that had no redshift information. Several different classification strategies resulted in similar performance, and for all entries the performance was significantly better for the training subset than for the unconfirmed sample. For the spectroscopically unconfirmed subset, the entry with the highest average figure of merit for classifying SNe Ia has an efficiency of 0.96 and an SN Ia purity of 0.79. As a public resource for the future development of photometric SN classification and photo-z estimators, we have released updated simulations with improvements based on our experience from the SNPhotCC, added samples corresponding to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the SDSS-II, and provided the answer keys so that developers can evaluate their own analysis.
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| 11. |
- Lampeitl, Hubert, et al.
(author)
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The Effect of Host Galaxies on Type Ia Supernovae in the SDSS-II Supernova Survey
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 722, s. 566-576
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present an analysis of the host galaxy dependences of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) from the full three year sample of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey. We re-discover, to high significance, the strong correlation between host galaxy type and the width of the observed SN light curve, i.e., fainter, quickly declining SNe Ia favor passive host galaxies, while brighter, slowly declining Ia's favor star-forming galaxies. We also find evidence (at between 2σ and 3σ) that SNe Ia are sime0.1 ± 0.04 mag brighter in passive host galaxies than in star-forming hosts, after the SN Ia light curves have been standardized using the light-curve shape and color variations. This difference in brightness is present in both the SALT2 and MCLS2k2 light-curve fitting methodologies. We see evidence for differences in the SN Ia color relationship between passive and star-forming host galaxies, e.g., for the MLCS2k2 technique, we see that SNe Ia in passive hosts favor a dust law of RV = 1.0 ± 0.2, while SNe Ia in star-forming hosts require RV = 1.8+0.2 -0.4. The significance of these trends depends on the range of SN colors considered. We demonstrate that these effects can be parameterized using the stellar mass of the host galaxy (with a confidence of >4σ) and including this extra parameter provides a better statistical fit to our data. Our results suggest that future cosmological analyses of SN Ia samples should include host galaxy information.
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| 12. |
- McClelland, Colin M., et al.
(author)
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The Subluminous Supernova 2007qd : A Missing Link in a Family of Low-luminosity Type Ia Supernovae
- 2010
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 720:1, s. 704-716
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present multi-band photometry and multi-epoch spectroscopy of the peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2007qd, discovered by the SDSS-II Supernova Survey. It possesses physical properties intermediate to those of the peculiar SN 2002cx and the extremely low-luminosity SN 2008ha. Optical photometry indicates that it had an extraordinarily fast rise time of lsim10 days and a peak absolute B magnitude of -15.4 ± 0.2 at most, making it one of the most subluminous SN Ia ever observed. Follow-up spectroscopy of SN 2007qd near maximum brightness unambiguously shows the presence of intermediate-mass elements which are likely caused by carbon/oxygen nuclear burning. Near maximum brightness, SN 2007qd had a photospheric velocity of only 2800 km s-1, similar to that of SN 2008ha but about 4000 and 7000 km s-1 less than that of SN 2002cx and normal SN Ia, respectively. We show that the peak luminosities of SN 2002cx like objects are highly correlated with both their light-curve stretch and photospheric velocities. Its strong apparent connection to other SN 2002cx like events suggests that SN 2007qd is also a pure deflagration of a white dwarf, although other mechanisms cannot be ruled out. It may be a critical link between SN 2008ha and the other members of the SN 2002cx like class of objects.
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| 13. |
- Sako, Masao, et al.
(author)
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Photometric Type Ia Supernova Candidates from the Three-year SDSS-II SN Survey Data
- 2011
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 738, s. 162-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We analyze the three-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) Supernova (SN) Survey data and identify a sample of 1070 photometric Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) candidates based on their multiband light curve data. This sample consists of SN candidates with no spectroscopic confirmation, with a subset of 210 candidates having spectroscopic redshifts of their host galaxies measured while the remaining 860 candidates are purely photometric in their identification. We describe a method for estimating the efficiency and purity of photometric SN Ia classification when spectroscopic confirmation of only a limited sample is available, and demonstrate that SN Ia candidates from SDSS-II can be identified photometrically with ~91% efficiency and with a contamination of ~6%. Although this is the largest uniform sample of SN candidates to date for studying photometric identification, we find that a larger spectroscopic sample of contaminating sources is required to obtain a better characterization of the background events. A Hubble diagram using SN candidates with no spectroscopic confirmation, but with host galaxy spectroscopic redshifts, yields a distance modulus dispersion that is only ~20%-40% larger than that of the spectroscopically confirmed SN Ia sample alone with no significant bias. A Hubble diagram with purely photometric classification and redshift-distance measurements, however, exhibits biases that require further investigation for precision cosmology.
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| 14. |
- Sako, Masao, et al.
(author)
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The Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey
- 2018
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In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 130:988
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes the data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey conducted between 2005 and 2007. Light curves, spectra, classifications, and ancillary data are presented for 10,258 variable and transient sources discovered through repeat ugriz imaging of SDSS Stripe 82, a 300 deg(2) area along the celestial equator. This data release is comprised of all transient sources brighter than r similar or equal to 22.5 mag with no history of variability prior to 2004. Dedicated spectroscopic observations were performed on a subset of 889 transients, as well as spectra for thousands of transient host galaxies using the SDSS-III BOSS spectrographs. Photometric classifications are provided for the candidates with good multi-color light curves that were not observed spectroscopically, using host galaxy redshift information when available. From these observations, 4607 transients are either spectroscopically confirmed, or likely to be, supernovae, making this the largest sample of supernova candidates ever compiled. We present a new method for SN host-galaxy identification and derive host-galaxy properties including stellar masses, star formation rates, and the average stellar population ages from our SDSS multi-band photometry. We derive SALT2 distance moduli for a total of 1364 SN. Ia with spectroscopic redshifts as well as photometric redshifts for a further 624 purely photometric SN. Ia candidates. Using the spectroscopically confirmed subset of the three-year SDSS-II SN. Ia sample and assuming a flat.CDM cosmology, we determine Omega(M) = 0.315 +/- 0.093 (statistical error only) and detect a non-zero cosmological constant at 5.7 sigma.
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| 15. |
- Smith, Mathew, et al.
(author)
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THE EFFECT OF WEAK LENSING ON DISTANCE ESTIMATES FROM SUPERNOVAE
- 2014
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 780:1, s. Art.nr.-UNSP 24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using a sample of 608 Type Ia supernovae from the SDSS-II and BOSS surveys, combined with a sample of foreground galaxies from SDSS-II, we estimate the weak lensing convergence for each supernova line of sight. We find that the correlation between this measurement and the Hubble residuals is consistent with the prediction from lensing (at a significance of 1.7 sigma). Strong correlations are also found between the residuals and supernova nuisance parameters after a linear correction is applied. When these other correlations are taken into account, the lensing signal is detected at 1.4 sigma. We show, for the first time, that distance estimates from supernovae can be improved when lensing is incorporated, by including a new parameter in the SALT2 methodology for determining distance moduli. The recovered value of the new parameter is consistent with the lensing prediction. Using cosmic microwave background data from WMAP7, H-0 data from Hubble Space Telescope and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Baryon acoustic oscillations measurements, we find the best-fit value of the new lensing parameter and show that the central values and uncertainties on Omega m and w are unaffected. The lensing of supernovae, while only seen at marginal significance in this low-redshift sample, will be of vital importance for the next generation of surveys, such as DES and LSST, which will be systematics-dominated.
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| 16. |
- Smith, Mathew, et al.
(author)
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THE SDSS-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY : PARAMETERIZING THE TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA RATE AS A FUNCTION OF HOST GALAXY PROPERTIES
- 2012
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 755:1, s. 61-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Supernova Survey-II (SDSS-II SN Survey), we measure the rate of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as a function of galaxy properties at intermediate redshift. A sample of 342 SNe Ia with 0.05 < z < 0.25 is constructed. Using broadband photometry and redshifts, we use the PEGASE. 2 spectral energy distributions to estimate host galaxy stellar masses and recent star formation rates (SFRs). We find that the rate of SNe Ia per unit stellar mass is significantly higher (by a factor of similar to 30) in highly star-forming galaxies compared to passive galaxies. When parameterizing the SN Ia rate (SNRIa) based on host galaxy properties, we find that the rate of SNe Ia in passive galaxies is not linearly proportional to the stellar mass; instead an SNRIa proportional to M-0.68 is favored. However, such a parameterization does not describe the observed SNRIa in star-forming galaxies. The SNRIa in star-forming galaxies is well fitted by SNRIa = (0.41 +/- 0.15) x 10(-10) M0.72+/-0.15 + (0.65 +/- 0.25) x 10(-3) SFR1.01+/-0.22 (statistical errors only), where M is the host galaxy stellar mass (in M-circle dot) and SFR is the SFR (in M-circle dot yr(-1)). We show that our results, for SNe Ia in passive galaxies, are consistent with those at higher redshifts (favoring SNRIa proportional to M) when accounting for the difference in the ages of our galaxies. This suggests that the rate of SNe Ia is correlated with the age of the stellar population. The MLCS extinction parameter, A(V), is similar in passive and moderately star-forming galaxies, but we find indications that it is smaller, on average, in highly star-forming galaxies. This result appears to be driven by a deficit of the reddest (A(V) > 0.15) SNe Ia in highly star-forming galaxies. We consider that the high levels of dust in these systems may be obscuring the reddest and faintest SNe Ia.
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| 17. |
- Sooknunan, K., et al.
(author)
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Classification of multiwavelength transients with machine learning
- 2021
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 502:1, s. 206-224
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With the advent of powerful telescopes such as the Square Kilometer Array and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, we are entering an era of multiwavelength transient astronomy that will lead to a dramatic increase in data volume. Machine learning techniques are well suited to address this data challenge and rapidly classify newly detected transients. We present a multiwavelength classification algorithm consisting of three steps: (1) interpolation and augmentation of the data using Gaussian processes; (2) feature extraction using wavelets; and (3) classification with random forests. Augmentation provides improved performance at test time by balancing the classes and adding diversity into the training set. In the first application of machine learning to the classification of real radio transient data, we apply our technique to the Green Bank Interferometer and other radio light curves. We find we are able to accurately classify most of the 11 classes of radio variables and transients after just eight hours of observations, achieving an overall test accuracy of 78 per cent. We fully investigate the impact of the small sample size of 82 publicly available light curves and use data augmentation techniques to mitigate the effect. We also show that on a significantly larger simulated representative training set that the algorithm achieves an overall accuracy of 97 per cent, illustrating that the method is likely to provide excellent performance on future surveys. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of simultaneous multiwavelength observations by showing how incorporating just one optical data point into the analysis improves the accuracy of the worst performing class by 19 per cent.
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