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Gutiérrez, C. P.

Publications and source records attributed to Gutiérrez, C. P..

The Carnegie Supernova Project I: Spectroscopic analysis of stripped-envelope supernovae

An analysis leveraging 170 optical spectra of 35 stripped-envelope (SE) core-collapse supernovae (SNe) observed by the Carnegie Supernova Project I and published in a companion paper is presented. Mean template spectra were constructed for the SNe IIb, Ib, and Ic subtypes, and parent ions associated with designated spectral features are identified with the aid of the spectral synthesis code SYNAPPS. Our modeled mean spectra suggest the ~6150 Å feature in SNe IIb may have an underlying contribution due to silicon, while the same feature in some SNe Ib may have an underlying contribution due to hydrogen. Standard spectral line diagnostics consisting of pseudo-equivalent widths (pEWs) and blue-shifted Doppler velocity were measured for each of the spectral features. Correlation matrices and rolling mean values of both spectral diagnostics were constructed. A principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to various wavelength ranges of the entire dataset and suggests clear separation among the different SE SN subtypes, which follows from trends previously identified in the literature. In addition, our findings reveal the presence of two SNe IIb subtypes, a select number of SNe Ib displaying signatures of weak, high-velocity hydrogen, and a single SN Ic with evidence of weak helium features. Our PCA results can be leveraged to obtain robust subtyping of SE SNe based on a single spectrum taken during the so-called photospheric phase, separating SNe IIb from SNe Ib with ~80% completion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Transitional events in the spectrophotometric regime between stripped envelope and superluminous supernovae

ABSTRACT The division between stripped-envelope supernovae (SE-SNe) and superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) is not well-defined in either photometric or spectroscopic space. While a sharp luminosity threshold has been suggested, there remains an increasing number of transitional objects that reach this threshold without the spectroscopic signatures common to SLSNe. In this work, we present data and analysis on four SNe transitional between SE-SNe and SLSNe; the He-poor SNe 2019dwa and 2019cri, and the He-rich SNe 2019hge and 2019unb. Each object displays long-lived and variable photometric evolution with luminosities around the SLSN threshold of Mr < −19.8 mag. Spectroscopically however, these objects are similar to SE-SNe, with line velocities lower than either SE-SNe and SLSNe, and thus represent an interesting case of rare transitional events.

Prentice, S. J. (ORCID:0000000304866242)↗

The Dark Energy Survey supernova programme: modelling selection efficiency and observed core-collapse supernova contamination

ABSTRACT The analysis of current and future cosmological surveys of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at high redshift depends on the accurate photometric classification of the SN events detected. Generating realistic simulations of photometric SN surveys constitutes an essential step for training and testing photometric classification algorithms, and for correcting biases introduced by selection effects and contamination arising from core-collapse SNe in the photometric SN Ia samples. We use published SN time-series spectrophotometric templates, rates, luminosity functions, and empirical relationships between SNe and their host galaxies to construct a framework for simulating photometric SN surveys. We present this framework in the context of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) 5-yr photometric SN sample, comparing our simulations of DES with the observed DES transient populations. We demonstrate excellent agreement in many distributions, including Hubble residuals, between our simulations and data. We estimate the core collapse fraction expected in the DES SN sample after selection requirements are applied and before photometric classification. After testing different modelling choices and astrophysical assumptions underlying our simulation, we find that the predicted contamination varies from 7.2 to 11.7 per cent, with an average of 8.8 per cent and an r.m.s. of 1.1 per cent. Our simulations are the first to reproduce the observed photometric SN and host galaxy properties in high-redshift surveys without fine-tuning the input parameters. The simulation methods presented here will be a critical component of the cosmology analysis of the DES photometric SN Ia sample: correcting for biases arising from contamination, and evaluating the associated systematic uncertainty.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Understanding the extreme luminosity of DES14X2fna

We present DES14X2fna, a high-luminosity, fast-declining Type IIb supernova (SN IIb) at redshift z = 0.0453, detected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES). DES14X2fna is an unusual member of its class, with a light curve showing a broad, luminous peak reaching M r ≃ –19.3 mag 20 d after explosion. This object does not show a linear decline tail in the light curve until ≃60 d after explosion, after which it declines very rapidly (4.30 ± 0.10 mag 100 d –1 in the r band). By fitting semi-analytic models to the photometry of DES14X2fna, we find that its light curve cannot be explained by a standard 56 Ni decay model as this is unable to fit the peak and fast tail decline observed. Inclusion of either interaction with surrounding circumstellar material or a rapidly-rotating neutron star (magnetar) significantly increases the quality of the model fit. Furthermore, we also investigate the possibility for an object similar to DES14X2fna to act as a contaminant in photometric samples of SNe Ia for cosmology, finding that a similar simulated object is misclassified by a recurrent neural network (RNN)-based photometric classifier as an SN Ia in ~1.1–2.4 per cent of cases in DES, depending on the probability threshold used for a positive classification.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The first Hubble diagram and cosmological constraints using superluminous supernovae

In this work, we present the first Hubble diagram of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) out to a redshift of two, together with constraints on the matter density, Ω M , and the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w(≡p/ρ). We build a sample of 20 cosmologically useful SLSNe I based on light curve and spectroscopy quality cuts. We confirm the robustness of the peak–decline SLSN I standardization relation with a larger data set and improved fitting techniques than previous works. We then solve the SLSN model based on the above standardization via minimization of the χ2 computed from a covariance matrix that includes statistical and systematic uncertainties. For a spatially flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological model, we find $\Omega _{\rm M}=0.38^{+0.24}_{-0.19}$, with an rms of 0.27 mag for the residuals of the distance moduli. For a w 0 w a CDM cosmological model, the addition of SLSNe I to a ‘baseline’ measurement consisting of Planck temperature together with Type Ia supernovae, results in a small improvement in the constraints of w 0 and wa of 4 per cent. We present simulations of future surveys with 868 and 492 SLSNe I (depending on the configuration used) and show that such a sample can deliver cosmological constraints in a flat ΛCDM model with the same precision (considering only statistical uncertainties) as current surveys that use Type Ia supernovae, while providing a factor of 2–3 improvement in the precision of the constraints on the time variation of dark energy, w 0 and w a . This paper represents the proof of concept for superluminous supernova cosmology, and demonstrates they can provide an independent test of cosmology in the high-redshift (z > 1) universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Skip Nav Destination The effect of environment on Type Ia supernovae in the Dark Energy Survey three-year cosmological sample

Analyses of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have found puzzling correlations between their standardized luminosities and host galaxy properties: SNe Ia in high-mass, passive hosts appear brighter than those in lower mass, star-forming hosts. We examine the host galaxies of SNe Ia in the Dark Energy Survey 3-yr spectroscopically confirmed cosmological sample, obtaining photometry in a series of ‘local’ apertures centred on the SN, and for the global host galaxy. We study the differences in these host galaxy properties, such as stellar mass and rest-frame U − R colours, and their correlations with SN Ia parameters including Hubble residuals. We find all Hubble residual steps to be >3σ in significance, both for splitting at the traditional environmental property sample median and for the step of maximum significance. For stellar mass, we find a maximal local step of 0.098 ± 0.018 mag; ∼0.03 mag greater than the largest global stellar mass step in our sample (0.070 ± 0.017 mag). When splitting at the sample median, differences between local and global U − R steps are small, both ∼0.08 mag, but are more significant than the global stellar mass step (0.057 ± 0.017 mag). We split the data into sub-samples based on SN Ia light-curve parameters: stretch (x_1) and colour (c), finding that redder objects (c > 0) have larger Hubble residual steps, for both stellar mass and U − R, for both local and global measurements, of ∼0.14 mag. Additionally, the bluer (star-forming) local environments host a more homogeneous SN Ia sample, with local U − R rms scatter as low as 0.084 ± 0.017 mag for blue (c < 0) SNe Ia in locally blue U − R environments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗