Engineering topics

Lewis, G. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Lewis, G. F..

14 records

DOE OSTI2024

The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: Light Curves and 5 Yr Data Release

We present griz photometric light curves for the full 5 yr of the Dark Energy Survey Supernova (DES-SN) program, obtained with both forced point-spread function photometry on difference images (DiffImg) performed during survey operations, and scene modelling photometry (SMP) on search images processed after the survey. This release contains 31,636 DiffImg and 19,706 high-quality SMP light curves, the latter of which contain 1635 photometrically classified SNe that pass cosmology quality cuts. This sample spans the largest redshift (z) range ever covered by a single SN survey (0.1 < z < 1.13) and is the largest single sample from a single instrument of SNe ever used for cosmological constraints. We describe in detail the improvements made to obtain the final DES-SN photometry and provide a comparison to what was used in the 3 yr DES-SN spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia SN sample. We also include a comparative analysis of the performance of the SMP photometry with respect to the real-time DiffImg forced photometry and find that SMP photometry is more precise, more accurate, and less sensitive to the host-galaxy surface brightness anomaly. The public release of the light curves and ancillary data can be found at github.com/des-science/DES-SN5YR and doi:10.5281/zenodo.12720777.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Dark Energy Survey: A 2.1% measurement of the angular baryonic acoustic oscillation scale at redshift z eff = 0.85 from the final dataset

Here, we present the angular diameter distance measurement obtained with the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature from galaxy clustering in the completed Dark Energy Survey, consisting of six years (Y6) of observations. We use the Y6 BAO galaxy sample, optimized for BAO science in the redshift range 0.6 < z <1.2, with an effective redshift at z eff = 0.85 and split into six tomographic bins. The sample has nearly 16 million galaxies over 4,273 square degrees. Our consensus measurement constrains the ratio of the angular distance to sound horizon scale to D M ⁡(z eff )/r d = 19.51 ± 0.41 (at 68.3% confidence interval), resulting from comparing the BAO position in our data to that predicted by planck Λ⁢CDM via the BAO shift parameter α =(D M /r d )/(D M /r d ) PLANCK . To achieve this, the BAO shift is measured with three different methods, angular correlation function (ACF), angular power spectrum (APS), and projected correlation function (PCF), obtaining α = 0.952 ± 0.023, 0.962 ± 0.022, and 0.955 ± 0.020, respectively, which we combine to α = 0.957 ± 0.020, including systematic errors. When compared with the Λ⁢CDM model that best fits planck data, this measurement is found to be 4.3% and 2.1⁢σ below the angular BAO scale predicted. To date, it represents the most precise angular BAO measurement at z > 0.75 from any survey and the most precise measurement at any redshift from photometric surveys. The analysis was performed blinded to the BAO position, and it is shown to be robust against analysis choices, data removal, redshift calibrations, and observational systematics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

The dark energy survey supernova program: investigating beyond-ΛCDM

We report constraints on a variety of non-standard cosmological models using the full 5-yr photometrically classified type Ia supernova sample from the Dark Energy Survey (DES-SN5YR). Both Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Suspiciousness calculations find no strong evidence for or against any of the non-standard models we explore. When combined with external probes, the AIC and Suspiciousness agree that 11 of the 15 models are moderately preferred over Flat-|$\Lambda$|CDM suggesting additional flexibility in our cosmological models may be required beyond the cosmological constant. We also provide a detailed discussion of all cosmological assumptions that appear in the DES supernova cosmology analyses, evaluate their impact, and provide guidance on using the DES Hubble diagram to test non-standard models. An approximate cosmological model, used to perform bias corrections to the data holds the biggest potential for harbouring cosmological assumptions. We show that even if the approximate cosmological model is constructed with a matter density shifted by |$\Delta \Omega _{\rm m}\sim 0.2$| from the true matter density of a simulated data set the bias that arises is subdominant to statistical uncertainties. Nevertheless, we present and validate a methodology to reduce this bias.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Concerning colour: The effect of environment on type Ia supernova colour in the dark energy survey

ABSTRACT Recent analyses have found intriguing correlations between the colour (c) of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and the size of their ‘mass-step’, the relationship between SN Ia host galaxy stellar mass (Mstellar) and SN Ia Hubble residual, and suggest that the cause of this relationship is dust. Using 675 photometrically classified SNe Ia from the Dark Energy Survey 5-yr sample, we study the differences in Hubble residual for a variety of global host galaxy and local environmental properties for SN Ia subsamples split by their colour. We find a 3σ difference in the mass-step when comparing blue (c < 0) and red (c > 0) SNe. We observe the lowest r.m.s. scatter (∼0.14 mag) in the Hubble residual for blue SNe in low mass/blue environments, suggesting that this is the most homogeneous sample for cosmological analyses. By fitting for c-dependent relationships between Hubble residuals and Mstellar, approximating existing dust models, we remove the mass-step from the data and find tentative ∼2σ residual steps in rest-frame galaxy U − R colour. This indicates that dust modelling based on Mstellar may not fully explain the remaining dispersion in SN Ia luminosity. Instead, accounting for a c-dependent relationship between Hubble residuals and global U − R, results in ≤1σ residual steps in Mstellar and local U − R, suggesting that U − R provides different information about the environment of SNe Ia compared to Mstellar, and motivating the inclusion of galaxy U − R colour in SN Ia distance bias correction.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Using host galaxy spectroscopy to explore systematics in the standardization of Type Ia supernovae

We use stacked spectra of the host galaxies of photometrically identified Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) to search for correlations between Hubble diagram residuals and the spectral properties of the host galaxies. Utilizing full spectrum fitting techniques on stacked spectra binned by Hubble residual, we find no evidence for trends between Hubble residuals and properties of the host galaxies that rely on spectral absorption features (<1.3σ), such as stellar population age, metallicity, and mass-to-light ratio. However, we find significant trends between the Hubble residuals and the strengths of [O ii] (4.4σ) and the Balmer emission lines (3σ). These trends are weaker than the well-known trend between Hubble residuals and host galaxy stellar mass (7.2σ) that is derived from broad-band photometry. After light-curve corrections, we see fainter SNe Ia residing in galaxies with larger line strengths. We also find a trend (3σ) between Hubble residual and the Balmer decrement (a measure of reddening by dust) using H β and H γ. The trend, quantified by correlation coefficients, is slightly more significant in the redder SNe Ia, suggesting that the bluer SNe Ia are relatively unaffected by dust in the interstellar medium of the host and that dust contributes to current Hubble diagram scatter impacting the measurement of cosmological parameters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Velocity dispersions of clusters in the Dark Energy Survey Y3 redMaPPer catalogue

ABSTRACT We measure the velocity dispersions of clusters of galaxies selected by the red-sequence Matched-filter Probabilistic Percolation (redMaPPer) algorithm in the first three years of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), allowing us to probe cluster selection and richness estimation, λ, in light of cluster dynamics. Our sample consists of 126 clusters with sufficient spectroscopy for individual velocity dispersion estimates. We examine the correlations between cluster velocity dispersion, richness, X-ray temperature, and luminosity, as well as central galaxy velocity offsets. The velocity dispersion–richness relation exhibits a bimodal distribution. The majority of clusters follow scaling relations between velocity dispersion, richness, and X-ray properties similar to those found for previous samples; however, there is a significant population of clusters with velocity dispersions that are high for their richness. These clusters account for roughly 22 per cent of the λ < 70 systems in our sample, but more than half (55 per cent) of λ < 70 clusters at z > 0.5. A couple of these systems are hot and X-ray bright as expected for massive clusters with richnesses that appear to have been underestimated, but most appear to have high velocity dispersions for their X-ray properties likely due to line-of-sight structure. These results suggest that projection effects contribute significantly to redMaPPer selection, particularly at higher redshifts and lower richnesses. The redMaPPer determined richnesses for the velocity dispersion outliers are consistent with their X-ray properties, but several are X-ray undetected and deeper data are needed to understand their nature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: A 2.7% measurement of baryon acoustic oscillation distance scale at redshift 0.835

We present angular diameter measurements obtained by measuring the position of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in an optimized sample of galaxies from the first three years of Dark Energy Survey data (DES Y3). The sample consists of 7 million galaxies distributed over a footprint of 4100 deg 2 with 0.6 < z photo < 1.1 and a typical redshift uncertainty of 0.03 ( 1 + z ) . The sample selection is the same as in the BAO measurement with the first year of DES data, but the analysis presented here uses three times the area, extends to higher redshift, and makes a number of improvements, including a fully analytical BAO template, the use of covariances from both theory and simulations, and an extensive preunblinding protocol. We used two different statistics; angular correlation function and power spectrum, and validate our pipeline with an ensemble of over 1500 realistic simulations. Both statistics yield compatible results. We combine the likelihoods derived from angular correlations and spherical harmonics to constrain the ratio of comoving angular diameter distance D M at the effective redshift of our sample to the sound horizon scale at the drag epoch. We obtain D M ( z eff = 0.835 ) / r d = 18.92 ± 0.51 , which is consistent with, but smaller than, the Planck prediction assuming flat Λ CDM , at the level of 2.3 σ . The analysis was performed blind and is robust to changes in a number of analysis choices. It represents the most precise BAO distance measurement from imaging data to date, and is competitive with the latest transverse ones from spectroscopic samples at z > 0.75 . When combined with DES 3 x 2 pt + SNIa , they lead to improvements in H 0 and Ω m constraints by ∼ 20 % .

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DOE OSTI2022

From the Fire: A Deeper Look at the Phoenix Stream

We use 6 yr of data from the Dark Energy Survey to perform a detailed photometric characterization of the Phoenix stellar stream, a 15° long, thin, dynamically cold, low-metallicity stellar system in the Southern Hemisphere. We use natural splines, a nonparametric modeling technique, to simultaneously fit the stream track, width, and linear density. This updated stream model allows us to improve measurements of the heliocentric distance (17.4 ± 0.1 (stat.) ±0.8 (sys.) kpc) and distance gradient (−0.009 ± 0.006 kpc deg$^{−1}$) of Phoenix, which corresponds to a small change of 0.13 ± 0.09 kpc in heliocentric distance along the length of the stream. We measure linear intensity variations on degree scales, as well as deviations in the stream track on ∼2° scales, suggesting that the stream may have been disturbed during its formation and/or evolution. We recover three peaks and one gap in linear intensity along with fluctuations in the stream track. Compared to other thin streams, the Phoenix stream shows more fluctuations and, consequently, the study of Phoenix offers a unique perspective on gravitational perturbations of stellar streams. We discuss possible sources of perturbations to Phoenix, including baryonic structures in the Galaxy and dark matter subhalos.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Rates and delay times of type Ia supernovae in the Dark Energy Survey

We use a sample of 809 photometrically classified Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) along with 40 415 field galaxies to calculate the rate of SNe Ia per galaxy in the redshift range 0.2 < z < 0.6. We recover the known correlation between SN Ia rate and galaxy stellar mass across a broad range of scales 8.5 ≤ log (M*/M ⊙ ) ≤ 11.25. We find that the SN Ia rate increases with stellar mass as a power law with index 0.63 ± 0.02, which is consistent with the previous work. We use an empirical model of stellar mass assembly to estimate the average star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies across the stellar mass range of our measurement. Combining the modelled SFHs with the SN Ia rates to estimate constraints on the SN Ia delay time distribution (DTD), we find that the data are fit well by a power-law DTD with slope index β = –1.13 ± 0.05 and normalization A = 2.11 ± 0.05 × 10 –13 SNe M ⊙ –1 yr –1 , which corresponds to an overall SN Ia production efficiency N Ia /M * = 0.9 $^{+4.0}_{–0.7}$ × 10 –3 SNe M$^{–1}_{⊙}$. Upon splitting the SN sample by properties of the light curves, we find a strong dependence on DTD slope with the SN decline rate, with slower-declining SNe exhibiting a steeper DTD slope. We interpret this as a result of a relationship between intrinsic luminosity and progenitor age, and explore the implications of the result in the context of SN Ia progenitors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

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↗

DOE OSTI2021

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↗

DOE OSTI2021

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↗

DOE OSTI2020

First Cosmology Results using Supernovae Ia from the Dark Energy Survey: Survey Overview, Performance, and Supernova Spectroscopy

We present details on the observing strategy, data-processing techniques, and spectroscopic targeting algorithms for the first three years of operation for the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program (DES-SN). This five-year program using the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the 4 m Blanco telescope in Chile was designed to discover and follow supernovae (SNe) Ia over a wide redshift range (0.05 < z < 1.2) to measure the equation-of-state parameter of dark energy. We describe the SN program in full: strategy, observations, data reduction, spectroscopic follow-up observations, and classification. From three seasons of data, we have discovered 12,015 likely SNe, 308 of which have been spectroscopically confirmed, including 251 SNe Ia over a redshift range of 0.017 < z < 0.85. We determine the effective spectroscopic selection function for our sample and use it to investigate the redshift-dependent bias on the distance moduli of SNe Ia we have classified. The data presented here are used for the first cosmology analysis by DES-SN (“DES-SN3YR”), the results of which are given in Dark Energy Survey Collaboration et al. The 489 spectra that are used to define the DES-SN3YR sample are publicly available at https://des.ncsa.illinois.edu/releases/sn.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

The host galaxies of 106 rapidly evolving transients discovered by the Dark Energy Survey

Rapidly evolving transients (RETs), also termed fast blue optical transients, are a recently discovered group of astrophysical events that display rapid luminosity evolution. RETs typically rise to peak in less than 10 d and fade within 30, a time-scale unlikely to be compatible with the decay of Nickel-56 that drives conventional supernovae (SNe). Their peak luminosity spans a range of -15 < Mg < -22.5, with some events observed at redshifts greater than 1. Their evolution on fast time-scales has hindered high-quality follow-up observations, and thus their origin and explosion/emission mechanism remains unexplained. In this paper, we present the largest sample of RETs to date, comprising 106 objects discovered by the Dark Energy Survey, and perform the most comprehensive analysis of RET host galaxies. Using deep-stacked photometry and emission lines from OzDES spectroscopy, we derive stellar masses and star formation rates (SFRs) for 49 host galaxies, and metallicities ([O/H]) for 37. Here, we find that RETs explode exclusively in star-forming galaxies and are thus likely associated with massive stars. Comparing RET hosts to samples of host galaxies of other explosive transients as well as field galaxies, we find that RETs prefer galaxies with high specific SFRs ($\langle$log(sSFR)$\rangle$ ~ -9.6), indicating a link to young stellar populations, similar to stripped-envelope SNe. RET hosts appear to show a lack of chemical enrichment, their metallicities akin to long-duration gamma-ray bursts and superluminous SN host galaxies ($\langle$12+ log (O/H)$\rangle$ ~ 9.4). There are no clear relationships between mass or SFR of the host galaxies and the peak magnitudes or decline rates of the transients themselves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗