We report on work to increase the number of well-measured Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at high redshifts. Light curves, including high signal-to-noise Hubble Space Telescope data, and spectra of six ...SNe Ia that were discovered during 2001, are presented. Additionally, for the two SNe with z > 1, we present ground-based J-band photometry from Gemini and the Very Large Telescope. These are among the most distant SNe Ia for which ground-based near-IR observations have been obtained. We add these six SNe Ia together with other data sets that have recently become available in the literature to the Union compilation. We have made a number of refinements to the Union analysis chain, the most important ones being the refitting of all light curves with the SALT2 fitter and an improved handling of systematic errors. We call this new compilation, consisting of 557 SNe, the Union2 compilation. The flat concordance ΛCDM model remains an excellent fit to the Union2 data with the best-fit constant equation-of-state parameter w = -0.997+0.050 -0.054(stat)+0.077 -0.082(stat + sys together) for a flat universe, or w = -1.038+0.056 -0.059(stat)+0.093 -0.097(stat + sys together) with curvature. We also present improved constraints on w(z). While no significant change in w with redshift is detected, there is still considerable room for evolution in w. The strength of the constraints depends strongly on redshift. In particular, at z >~ 1, the existence and nature of dark energy are only weakly constrained by the data. Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under the NASA contract NAS 5-26555. The observations are associated with programs HST-GO-08585 and HST-GO-09075. Based, in part, on observations obtained at the ESO La Silla Paranal Observatory (ESO programs 67.A-0361 and 169.A-0382). Based, in part, on observations obtained at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Based, in part, on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory (Gemini programs GN-2001A-SV-19 and GN-2002A-Q-31). Based, in part on observations obtained at the Subaru Telescope. Based, in part, on data that were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory.
Bed sediments and a dated sediment core were collected upstream and downstream from the city of Lyon (France) to assess the spatial and temporal trends of contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl ...substances (PFASs) in this section of the Rhône River. Upstream from Lyon, concentrations of total PFASs (ΣPFASs) in sediments are low (between 0.19 and 2.6 ng g−1 dry weight - dw), being characterized by a high proportion of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Downstream from Lyon, and also from a fluoropolymer manufacturing plant, ΣPFASs concentrations reach 48.7 ng g−1 dw. A gradual decrease of concentrations is reported at the coring site further downstream (38 km). Based on a dated sediment core, the temporal evolution of PFASs is reconstructed from 1984 to 2013. Prior to 1987, ΣPFASs concentrations were low (≤2 ng g−1 dw), increasing to a maximum of 51 ng g−1 dw in the 1990s and then decreasing from 2002 to the present day (∼10 ng g−1 dw). In terms of the PFAS pattern, the proportion of perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) has remained stable since the 1980s (∼10%), whereas large variations are reported for carboxylic acids (PFCAs). Long chain- (C > 8) PFCAs characterized by an even number of perfluorinated carbons represent about 74% of the total PFAS load until 2005. However, from 2005 to 2013, the relative contribution of long chain- (C > 8) PFCAs with an odd number of perfluorinated carbons reaches 80%. Such changes in the PFAS pattern likely highlight a major shift in the industrial production process. This spatial and retrospective study provides valuable insights into the long-term contamination patterns of PFAS chemicals in river basins impacted by both urban and industrial activities.
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•Upstream-downstream PFAS concentration gradient in bed sediments in the Rhône River.•Reconstruction of temporal trends of PFAS contamination using a sediment core.•Evidence of global PFSA background levels.•Release of long-chain PFCAs from a point source into the river.•Change of PFCA pattern through time likely reflects changes in production processes.
We report the detection of a point-like source of very high energy (VHE) γ-rays coincident within $1'$ of Sgr A*, obtained with the HESS array of Cherenkov telescopes. The γ-rays exhibit a power-law ...energy spectrum with a spectral index of $-2.2 \pm 0.09 \pm 0.15$ and a flux above the 165 GeV threshold of $(1.82 \pm 0.22) \times 10^{-7}$ m-2 s-1. The measured flux and spectrum differ substantially from recent results reported in particular by the CANGAROO collaboration.
We develop a method to measure the strength of the absorption features in type Ia supernova (SN Ia) spectra and use it to make a quantitative comparisons between the spectra of type Ia supernovae at ...low and high redshifts. In this case study, we apply the method to 12 high-redshift (0.212 ≤ z ≤ 0.912) SNe Ia observed by the Supernova Cosmology Project. Through measurements of the strengths of these features and of the blueshift of the absorption minimum in Ca ii H&K, we show that the spectra of the high-redshift SNe Ia are quantitatively similar to spectra of nearby SNe Ia (z < 0.15). One supernova in our high redshift sample, SN 2002fd at z = 0.279, is found to have spectral characteristics that are associated with peculiar SN 1991T/SN 1999aa-like supernovae.
We present new results on the Hubble diagram of distant type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) segregated according to the type of host galaxy. This makes it possible to check earlier evidence for a ...cosmological constant by explicitly comparing SNe residing in galaxies likely to contain negligible dust with the larger sample. The cosmological parameters derived from these SNe Ia hosted by presumed dust-free early-type galaxies support earlier claims for a cosmological constant, which we demonstrate at ≃5σ significance, and the internal extinction implied is small even for late-type systems (AB < 0.2). Thus, our data demonstrate that host galaxy extinction is unlikely to systematically dim distant SNe Ia in a manner that would produce a spurious cosmological constant. Our analysis is based on new Hubble Space Telescope STIS ‘snapshot’ images and Keck-II echellette spectroscopy at the locations of the SNe, spanning the redshift range 0 < z < 0.8. Selecting from the sample discovered by the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP), we classify the host galaxies of 39 distant SNe using the combination of STIS imaging, Keck spectroscopy and ground-based broad-band photometry. The distant data are analysed in comparison with a low-redshift sample of 25 SNe Ia re-calibrated according to the precepts of the SCP. The scatter observed in the SNe Ia Hubble diagrams correlates closely with host galaxy morphology. We find this scatter is smallest for SNe Ia occurring in early-type hosts and largest for those occurring in late-type galaxies. Moreover, SNe residing in late-type hosts appear ≃ 0.14 ± 0.09 mag fainter in their light-curve-width-corrected luminosity than those in early-type hosts, as expected if a modest amount of dust extinction is a contributing factor. As in previous studies, these results are broadly independent of whether corrections based upon SN light-curve shapes are performed. We also use our high-redshift data set to search for morphological dependences in the SNe light curves, as are sometimes seen in low-redshift samples. No significant trends are found, possibly because the range of light-curve widths is too limited.
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 Ca H and K absorption feature. The first clear sign of Si II lambda6355, 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 1991T - like objects. Furthermore, in the day - 11 spectrum, evidence is found for an absorption feature that could be identified as high velocity C II lambda6580 or Halpha. At the same epoch C III lambda4648.8 at photospheric velocity is probably responsible for the absorption feature at 4500 Angstrom. High-velocity Ca is 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.
H.E.S.S.—the high energy stereoscopic system—is a new system of large atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes for GeV/TeV astronomy. Each of the four telescopes of 107m2 mirror area is equipped with a ...960-pixel photomultiplier-tube camera. This paper describes the methods used to convert the photomultiplier signals into the quantities needed for Cherenkov image analysis. Two independent calibration techniques have been applied in parallel to provide an estimation of uncertainties. Results on the long-term stability of the H.E.S.S. cameras are also presented.
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