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SLAC Publication: SLAC-PUB-16202
SLAC Release Date: January 26, 2015
Type Ia Supernovae Yielding Distances with 3-4% Precision
Kelly, Patrick.
The luminosities of Type Ia supernovae (SN), the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars, vary systematically with their intrinsic color and light-curve decline rate. These relationships have been used to calibrate their luminosities to within ~0.14-0.20 mag from broadband optical light curves, yielding individual distances accurate to ~7-10%. Here we identify a subset of SN Ia that erupt in environments having high ultraviolet surface brightness and star-formation surface density. When we... Show Full Abstract
The luminosities of Type Ia supernovae (SN), the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars, vary systematically with their intrinsic color and light-curve decline rate. These relationships have been used to calibrate their luminosities to within ~0.14-0.20 mag from broadband optical light curves, yielding individual distances accurate to ~7-10%. Here we identify a subset of SN Ia that erupt in environments having high ultraviolet surface brightness and star-formation surface density. When we apply a steep model extinction law, these SN can be calibrated to within ~0.065-0.075 mag, corresponding to ~3-4% in distance -- the best yet with SN Ia by a substantial margin. The small scatter suggests that variations in only one or two progenitor properties account for their light-curve-width/color/luminosity relation. Show Partial Abstract
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  • Interest Categories: Gravitation and Cosmology