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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 isΩΛ = 0.713-0.029+0.027(stat) -0.039+0.036(sys), for a flat, ACDM universe. Assuming a constant equation of state parameter, w, the combined constraints from SNe, BAO, and CMB give w = -0.969-0.063+0.059(stat) -0.066+0.063(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. © 2008. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present our survey for optically faint variable objects using multiepoch (8-10 epochs over 2-4 years) i′-band imaging data obtained with Subaru Suprime-Cam over 0.918 deg2 in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Field (SXDF). We found 1040 optically variable objects by image subtraction for all the combinations of images at different epochs. This is the first statistical sample of variable objects at depths achieved with 8-10 m class telescopes or the Hubble Space Telescope. The detection limit for variable components is i′vari ∼ 25.5 mag. These variable objects were classified into variable stars, supernovae (SNe), and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), based on the optical morphologies, magnitudes, colors, and optical-mid-infrared colors of the host objects, spatial offsets of variable components from the host objects, and light curves. Detection completeness was examined by simulating light curves for periodic and irregular variability. We detected optical variability for 36% ± 2% (51% ± 3% for a bright sample with i′ < 24.4 mag) of X-ray sources in the field. Number densities of variable objects as functions of time intervals Δt and variable component magnitudes i′vari are obtained. Number densities of variable stars, SNe, and AGNs are 120, 489, and 579 objects deg-2, respectively. Bimodal distributions of variable stars in the color-magnitude diagrams indicate that the variable star sample consists of bright (V ∼ 22 mag) blue variable stars of the halo population and faint (V ∼ 23.5 mag) red variable stars of the disk population. There are a few candidates of RR Lyrae providing a possible number density of ∼10-2 kpc-3 at a distance of >150 kpc from the Galactic center. © 2008. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present measurements of Ωm and Ω Λ from a blind analysis of 21 high-redshift supemovae using a new technique (CMAGIC) for fitting the multicolor light curves of Type la supernovae, first introduced by Wang and coworkers. CMAGIC takes advantage of the remarkably simple behavior of Type la supernovae on color-magnitude diagrams and has several advantages over current techniques based on maximum magnitudes. Among these are a reduced sensitivity to host galaxy dust extinction, a shallower luminosity-width relation, and the relative simplicity of the fitting procedure. This allows us to provide a cross-check of previous supernova cosmology results, despite the fact that current data sets were not observed in a manner optimized for CMAGIC. We describe the details of our novel blindness procedure, which is designed to prevent experimenter bias. The data are broadly consistent with the picture of an accelerating universe and agree with a flat universe within 1.7 σ, including systematics. We also compare the CMAGIC results directly with those of a maximum magnitude fit to the same supernovae, finding that CMAGIC favors more acceleration at the 1.6 σ level, including systematics and the correlation between the two measurements. A fit for w assuming a flat universe yields a value that is consistent with a cosmological constant within 1.2 σ. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present a method for selecting high-redshift Type la supernovae (SNe la) located via rolling SN searches. The technique, using both color and magnitude information of events from only two to three epochs of multiband real-time photometry, is able to discriminate between SNe la and core-collapse SNe. Furthermore, for SNe la the method accurately predicts the redshift, phase, and light-curve parameterization of these events based only on pre-maximum-light data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique on a simulated survey of SNe la and core-collapse SNe, where the selection method effectively rejects most core-collapse SNe while retaining SNe la. We also apply the selection code to real-time data acquired as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). During the period 2004 May to 2005 January in the SNLS, 440 SN candidates were discovered, of which 70 were confirmed spectroscopically as SNe la and 15 as core-collapse events. For this test data set, the selection technique correctly identifies 100% of the identified SNe II as non-SNe la with only a 1%-2% false rejection rate. The predicted parameterization of the SNe la has a precision of | Δz|/(1 + z spec) < 0.09 in redshift and ±2-3 rest-frame days in phase, providing invaluable information for planning spectroscopic follow-up observations. We also investigate any bias introduced by this selection method on the ability of surveys such as SNLS to measure cosmological parameters (e.g., w and Ω M) and find any effect to be negligible. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present spectra for 14 high-redshift (0.17 < z < 0.83) supernovae, which were discovered by the Supernova Cosmology Project as part of a campaign to measure cosmological parameters. The spectra are used to determine the redshift and classify the supernova type, essential information if the supernova are to be used for cosmological studies. Redshifts were derived either from the spectrum of the host galaxy or from the spectrum of the supernova itself. We present evidence that these supernovae are of Type Ia (SNe Ia) by matching to spectra of nearby supernovae. We find that the dates of the spectra relative to maximum light determined from this fitting process are consistent with the dates determined from the photometric light curves, and, moreover, the spectral time sequences for SNe Ia at low and high redshift are indistinguishable. We also show that the expansion velocities measured from blueshifted Ca H and K are consistent with those measured for low-redshift SNe Ia. From these first-level quantitative comparisons we find no evidence for evolution in SN Ia properties between these low- and high-redshift samples. Thus, even though our samples may not be complete, we conclude that there is a population of SNe Ia at high redshift whose spectral properties match those at low redshift. © 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present a novel technique for fitting restframe I-band light curves on a data set of 42 type la Supernovae (SNe Ia). Using the result of the fit, we construct a Hubble diagram with 26 SNe from the subset at 0.01 < z < 0.1. Adding two SNe at z ∼ 0.5 yields results consistent with a flat Λ-dominated "concordance universe" (ΩM, ΩΛ) = (0.25, 0.75). For one of these, SN 2000fr, new near infrared data are presented. The high redshift supernova NIR data are also used to test for systematic effects in the use of SNe la as distance estimators. A flat, Λ = 0, universe where the faintness of supernovae at z ∼ 0.5 is due to grey dust homogeneously distributed in the intergalactic medium is disfavoured based on the high-z Hubble diagram using this small data-set. However, the uncertainties are large and no firm conclusion may be drawn. We explore the possibility of setting limits on intergalactic dust based on B - I and B - V colour measurements, and conclude that about 20 well measured SNe are needed to give statistically significant results. We also show that the high redshift restframe I-band data points are better fit by light curve templates that show a prominent second peak, suggesting that they are not intrinsically underluminous. © ESO 2005.

We present a novel technique for fitting restframe I-band light curves on a data set of 42 type la Supernovae (SNe Ia). Using the result of the fit, we construct a Hubble diagram with 26 SNe from the subset at 0.01 < z < 0.1. Adding two SNe at z ∼ 0.5 yields results consistent with a flat Λ-dominated "concordance universe" (ΩM, ΩΛ) = (0.25, 0.75). For one of these, SN 2000fr, new near infrared data are presented. The high redshift supernova NIR data are also used to test for systematic effects in the use of SNe la as distance estimators. A flat, Λ = 0, universe where the faintness of supernovae at z ∼ 0.5 is due to grey dust homogeneously distributed in the intergalactic medium is disfavoured based on the high-z Hubble diagram using this small data-set. However, the uncertainties are large and no firm conclusion may be drawn. We explore the possibility of setting limits on intergalactic dust based on B - I and B - V colour measurements, and conclude that about 20 well measured SNe are needed to give statistically significant results. We also show that the high redshift restframe I-band data points are better fit by light curve templates that show a prominent second peak, suggesting that they are not intrinsically underluminous. © ESO 2005.

We present VLT FORS1 and FORS2 spectra of 39 candidate high-redshift supernovae that were discovered as part of a cosmological study using type la supernovae (SNe la) over a wide range of redshifts. From the spectra alone, 20 candidates are spectrally classified as SNe Ia with redshifts ranging from z = 0.212 to z = 1.181. Of the remaining 19 candidates, 1 might be a type II supernova and 11 exhibit broad supernova-like spectral features and/or have supernova-like light curves. The candidates were discovered in 8 separate ground-based searches. In those searches in which SNe la at z ∼0.5 were targeted, over 80% of the observed candidates were spectrally classified as SNe Ia. In those searches in which SNe la with z > 1 were targeted, 4 candidates with z > 1 were spectrally classified as SNe la and later followed with ground and space based observatories. We present the spectra of all candidates, including those that could not be spectrally classified as supernova.

We report measurements of ΩM, ΩΛ nd w from 11 supernovae (SNe) at z = 0.36-0.86 with high-quality light curves measured using WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This is an independent set of high-redshift SNe that confirms previous SN evidence for an accelerating universe. The high-quality light curves available from photometry on WFPC2 make it possible for these 11 SNe alone to provide measurements of the cosmological parameters comparable in statistical weight to the previous results. Combined with earlier Supernova Cosmology Project data, the new SNe yield a measurement of the mass density ΩM = 0.25 -0.06+0.07 (statistical) ± 0.04 (identified systematics), or equivalently, a cosmological constant of ± = 0.75 -0.07+0.06 (statistical) ± 0.04 (identified systematics), under the assumptions of a flat universe and that the dark energy equation-of-state parameter has a constant value w = -1. When the SN results are combined with independent flat-universe measurements of ΩM from cosmic microwave background and galaxy redshift distortion data, they provide a measurement of w = -1.05-0.20+0.15 (statistical) ± 0.09 (identified systematic), if w is assumed to be constant in time. In addition to high-precision light-curve measurements, the new data offer greatly improved color measurements of the high-redshift SNe and hence improved host galaxy extinction estimates. These extinction measurements show no anomalous negative E(B-V) at high redshift. The precision of the measurements is such that it is possible to perform a host galaxy extinction correction directly for individual SNe without any assumptions or priors on the parent E(B-V) distribution. Our cosmological fits using full extinction corrections confirm that dark energy is required with P(ΩΛ > 0) > 0.99, a result consistent with previous and current SN analyses that rely on the identification of a low-extinction subset or prior assumptions concerning the intrinsic extinction distribution.

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 (A B < 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 lowredshift samples. No significant trends are found, possibly because the range of light-curve widths is too limited.

We present a measurement of the rate of distant Type la supernovae derived using four large subsets of data from the Supernova Cosmology Project. Within this fiducial sample, which surveyed about 12 deg2, 38 supernovae were detected at redshifts 0.25-0.85. In a spatially flat cosmological model consistent with the results obtained by the Supernova Cosmology Project, we derive a rest-frame Type la supernova rate at a mean redshift z ≃ 0.55 of 1.53-0.25-0.31-0.28-0.32 × 10-4 h 3 Mpc-3 yr-1 or 0.58-0.09-0.09-0.10-0.10 h2 SNu (1 SNu = 1 supernova per century per 1010 LB⊙), where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second includes systematic effects. The dependence of the rate on the assumed cosmological parameters is studied and the redshift dependence of the rate per unit comoving volume is contrasted with local estimates in the context of possible cosmic star formation histories and progenitor models.

We report measurements of the mass density, Omega_M, andcosmological-constant energy density, Omega_Lambda, of the universe based onthe analysis of 42 Type Ia supernovae discovered by the Supernova CosmologyProject. The magnitude-redshift data for these SNe, at redshifts between 0.18and 0.83, are fit jointly with a set of SNe from the Calan/Tololo SupernovaSurvey, at redshifts below 0.1, to yield values for the cosmologicalparameters. All SN peak magnitudes are standardized using a SN Ia lightcurvewidth-luminosity relation. The measurement yields a joint probabilitydistribution of the cosmological parameters that is approximated by therelation 0.8 Omega_M - 0.6 Omega_Lambda ~= -0.2 +/- 0.1 in the region ofinterest (Omega_M 0) = 99%, including the identified systematic uncertainties. The best-fit ageof the universe relative to the Hubble time is t_0 = 14.9{+1.4,-1.1} (0.63/h)Gyr for a flat cosmology. The size of our sample allows us to perform a varietyof statistical tests to check for possible systematic errors and biases. Wefind no significant differences in either the host reddening distribution orMalmquist bias between the low-redshift Calan/Tololo sample and ourhigh-redshift sample. The conclusions are robust whether or not awidth-luminosity relation is used to standardize the SN peak magnitudes.

We report measurements of the mass density, Omega_M, andcosmological-constant energy density, Omega_Lambda, of the universe based onthe analysis of 42 Type Ia supernovae discovered by the Supernova CosmologyProject. The magnitude-redshift data for these SNe, at redshifts between 0.18and 0.83, are fit jointly with a set of SNe from the Calan/Tololo SupernovaSurvey, at redshifts below 0.1, to yield values for the cosmologicalparameters. All SN peak magnitudes are standardized using a SN Ia lightcurvewidth-luminosity relation. The measurement yields a joint probabilitydistribution of the cosmological parameters that is approximated by therelation 0.8 Omega_M - 0.6 Omega_Lambda ~= -0.2 +/- 0.1 in the region ofinterest (Omega_M 0) = 99%, including the identified systematic uncertainties. The best-fit ageof the universe relative to the Hubble time is t_0 = 14.9{+1.4,-1.1} (0.63/h)Gyr for a flat cosmology. The size of our sample allows us to perform a varietyof statistical tests to check for possible systematic errors and biases. Wefind no significant differences in either the host reddening distribution orMalmquist bias between the low-redshift Calan/Tololo sample and ourhigh-redshift sample. The conclusions are robust whether or not awidth-luminosity relation is used to standardize the SN peak magnitudes.

The ultimate fate of the Universe, infinite expansion or a big crunch, can be determined by using the redshifts and distances of very distant supernovae to monitor changes in the expansion rate. We can now find large numbers of these distant supernovae, and measure their redshifts and apparent brightnesses; moreover, recent studies of nearby type Ia supernovae have shown how to determine their intrinsic luminosities- and therefore with their apparent brightnesses obtain their distances. The >50 distant supernovae discovered so far provide a record of changes in the expansion rate over the past several billion years. However, it is necessary to extend this expansion history still farther away (hence further back in time) in order to begin to distinguish the causes of he expansion-rate changes-such as the slowing caused by the gravitational attraction of the Universe's mass density, and the possibly counteracting effect of the cosmological constant. Here we report the most distant spectroscopically confirmed supernova. Spectra and photometry from the largest telescopes on the ground and in space show that this ancient supernova is strikingly similar to nearby, recent type Ia supernovae. When combined with previous measurements of nearer supernovae, these new measurements suggest that we may live in a low-mass-density universe.