ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4391-6137
Current Organisations
American Museum of Natural History
,
University of Portsmouth
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 22-01-2018
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 24-02-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-10-2022
Abstract: Cosmological analyses with type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) often assume a single empirical relation between colour and luminosity (β) and do not account for varying host-galaxy dust properties. However, from studies of dust in large s les of galaxies, it is known that dust attenuation can vary significantly. Here, we take advantage of state-of-the-art modelling of galaxy properties to characterize dust parameters (dust attenuation AV, and a parameter describing the dust law slope RV) for 1100 Dark Energy Survey (DES) SN host galaxies. Utilizing optical and infrared data of the hosts alone, we find three key aspects of host dust that impact SN cosmology: (1) there exists a large range (∼1–6) of host RV (2) high-stellar mass hosts have RV on average ∼0.7 lower than that of low-mass hosts (3) for a subs le of 81 spectroscopically classified SNe there is a significant (& σ) correlation between the Hubble diagram residuals of red SNe Ia and the host RV that when corrected for reduces scatter by $\\sim 13{{\\ \\rm per\\ cent}}$ and the significance of the ‘mass step’ to ∼1σ. These represent independent confirmations of recent predictions based on dust that attempted to explain the puzzling ‘mass step’ and intrinsic scatter (σint) in SN Ia analyses.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-01-2023
Abstract: We present the luminosity functions and host galaxy properties of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) core-collapse supernova (CCSN) s le, consisting of 69 Type II and 50 Type Ibc spectroscopically and photometrically confirmed supernovae over a redshift range 0.045 & z & 0.25. We fit the observed DES griz CCSN light curves and K-correct to produce rest-frame R-band light curves. We compare the s le with lower redshift CCSN s les from Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS). Comparing luminosity functions, the DES and ZTF s les of SNe II are brighter than that of LOSS with significances of 3.0σ and 2.5σ, respectively. While this difference could be caused by redshift evolution in the luminosity function, simpler explanations such as differing levels of host extinction remain a possibility. We find that the host galaxies of SNe II in DES are on average bluer than in ZTF, despite having consistent stellar mass distributions. We consider a number of possibilities to explain this – including galaxy evolution with redshift, selection biases in either the DES or ZTF s les, and systematic differences due to the different photometric bands available – but find that none can easily reconcile the differences in host colour between the two s les and thus its cause remains uncertain.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-06-2022
Abstract: Cosmological analyses of s les of photometrically identified type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) depend on understanding the effects of ‘contamination’ from core-collapse and peculiar SN Ia events. We employ a rigorous analysis using the photometric classifier SuperNNova on state-of-the-art simulations of SN s les to determine cosmological biases due to such ‘non-Ia’ contamination in the Dark Energy Survey (DES) 5-yr SN s le. Depending on the non-Ia SN models used in the SuperNNova training and testing s les, contamination ranges from 0.8 to 3.5 per cent, with a classification efficiency of 97.7–99.5 per cent. Using the Bayesian Estimation Applied to Multiple Species (BEAMS) framework and its extension BBC (‘BEAMS with Bias Correction’), we produce a redshift-binned Hubble diagram marginalized over contamination and corrected for selection effects, and use it to constrain the dark energy equation-of-state, w. Assuming a flat universe with Gaussian ΩM prior of 0.311 ± 0.010, we show that biases on w are & .008 when using SuperNNova, with systematic uncertainties associated with contamination around 10 per cent of the statistical uncertainty on w for the DES-SN s le. An alternative approach of discarding contaminants using outlier rejection techniques (e.g. Chauvenet’s criterion) in place of SuperNNova leads to biases on w that are larger but still modest (0.015–0.03). Finally, we measure biases due to contamination on w0 and wa (assuming a flat universe), and find these to be & .009 in w0 and & .108 in wa, 5 to 10 times smaller than the statistical uncertainties for the DES-SN s le.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 14-10-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-03-2023
Abstract: We present an in-depth study of the late-time near-infrared plateau in Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), which occurs between 70 and 500 d. We double the existing s le of SNe Ia observed during the late-time near-infrared plateau with new observations taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini, New Technology Telescope, the 3.5-m Calar Alto Telescope, and the Nordic Optical Telescope. Our s le consists of 24 nearby SNe Ia at redshift & 0.025. We are able to confirm that no plateau exists in the Ks band for most normal SNe Ia. SNe Ia with broader optical light curves at peak tend to have a higher average brightness on the plateau in J and H, most likely due to a shallower decline in the preceding 100 d. SNe Ia that are more luminous at peak also show a steeper decline during the plateau phase in H. We compare our data to state-of-the-art radiative transfer models of nebular SNe Ia in the near-infrared. We find good agreement with the sub-Mch model that has reduced non-thermal ionization rates, but no physical justification for reducing these rates has yet been proposed. An analysis of the spectral evolution during the plateau demonstrates that the ratio of [Fe ii] to [Fe iii] contribution in a near-infrared filter determines the light curve evolution in said filter. We find that overluminous SNe decline slower during the plateau than expected from the trend seen for normal SNe Ia.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 05-10-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-12-2022
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 s le, we study the differences in Hubble residual for a variety of global host galaxy and local environmental properties for SN Ia subs les 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 s le 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.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 20-10-2022
Abstract: The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) embarked on an ambitious 5 yr survey in 2021 May to explore the nature of dark energy with spectroscopic measurements of 40 million galaxies and quasars. DESI will determine precise redshifts and employ the baryon acoustic oscillation method to measure distances from the nearby universe to beyond redshift z 3.5, and employ redshift space distortions to measure the growth of structure and probe potential modifications to general relativity. We describe the significant instrumentation we developed to conduct the DESI survey. This includes: a wide-field, 3.°2 diameter prime-focus corrector a focal plane system with 5020 fiber positioners on the 0.812 m diameter, aspheric focal surface 10 continuous, high-efficiency fiber cable bundles that connect the focal plane to the spectrographs and 10 identical spectrographs. Each spectrograph employs a pair of dichroics to split the light into three channels that together record the light from 360–980 nm with a spectral resolution that ranges from 2000–5000. We describe the science requirements, their connection to the technical requirements, the management of the project, and interfaces between subsystems. DESI was installed at the 4 m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and has achieved all of its performance goals. Some performance highlights include an rms positioner accuracy of better than 0.″1 and a median signal-to-noise ratio of 7 of the [O ii ] doublet at 8 × 10 −17 erg s −1 cm −2 in 1000 s for galaxies at z = 1.4–1.6. We conclude with additional highlights from the on-sky validation and commissioning, key successes, and lessons learned.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-05-2021
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 s les. 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 s le, 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 s le 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 s le: correcting for biases arising from contamination, and evaluating the associated systematic uncertainty.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2023
Abstract: The Rubin Observatory’s 10-yr Legacy Survey of Space and Time will observe near to 20 billion galaxies. For each galaxy the properties can be inferred. Approximately 105 galaxies observed per year will contain Type Ia supernovae (SNe), allowing SN host-galaxy properties to be calculated on a large scale. Measuring the properties of SN host galaxies serves two main purposes. The first is that there are known correlations between host galaxy type and SN type, which can be used to aid in the classification of SNe. Secondly, Type Ia SNe exhibit correlations between host-galaxy properties and the peak luminosities of the SNe, which has implications for their use as standardizable candles in cosmology. We have used simulations to quantify the improvement in host-galaxy stellar mass (M*) measurements when supplementing photometry from Rubin with spectroscopy from the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST) instrument. We provide results in the form of expected uncertainties in M* for galaxies with 0.1 & z & 0.9 and 18 & rAB & 25. We show that for galaxies mag 22 and brighter, combining Rubin and 4MOST data reduces the uncertainty measurements of galaxy M* by more than a factor of 2 compared with Rubin data alone. This applies for elliptical and Sc-type hosts. We demonstrate that the reduced uncertainties in M* lead to an improvement of 7 per cent in the precision of the ‘mass step’ correction. We expect our improved measurements of host-galaxy properties to aid in the photometric classification of SNe observed by Rubin.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-10-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-01-2019
Abstract: Type Ia supernovae are understood to arise from the thermonuclear explosion of a carbon–oxygen white dwarf, yet the evolutionary mechanisms leading to such events remain unknown. Many proposed channels, including the classical single-degenerate scenario, invoke a hot, luminous evolutionary phase for the progenitor, in which it is a prodigious source of photoionizing emission. Here, we examine the environment of SN 2014J for evidence of a photoionized nebula in pre- and post-explosion [O iii] λ5007 Å and H β images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. From the absence of any extended emission, we exclude a stable nuclear-burning white dwarf at the location of SN 2014J in the last ∼100 000 years, assuming a typical warm interstellar medium (ISM) particle density of 1 cm−3. These limits greatly exceed existing X-ray constraints at temperatures typical of known supersoft sources. Significant extreme-UV/soft X-ray emission prior to explosion remains plausible for lower ISM densities (e.g. $n_{\\rm ISM}\\sim 0.1\\,\\rm {cm}^{-3}$). In this case, however, any putative nebula would be even more extended, allowing deeper follow-up observations to resolve this ambiguity in the near future.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-06-2022
Abstract: Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) play a crucial role as standardizable candles in measurements of the Hubble constant and dark energy. Increasing evidence points towards multiple possible explosion channels as the origin of normal SNe Ia, with possible systematic effects on the determination of cosmological parameters. We present, for the first time, a comprehensive comparison of publicly available SN Ia model nucleosynthetic data with observations of late-time light curve observations of SN Ia events. These models span a wide range of white dwarf (WD) progenitor masses, metallicities, explosion channels, and numerical methodologies. We focus on the influence of 57Ni and its isobaric decay product 57Co in powering the late-time (t & 1000 d) light curves of SNe Ia. 57Ni and 57Co are neutron-rich relative to the more abundant radioisotope 56Ni, and are consequently a sensitive probe of neutronization at the higher densities of near-Chandrashekhar (near-MCh) progenitor WDs. We demonstrate that observations of one SN Ia event, SN 2015F is only consistent with a sub-Chandrasekhar (sub-MCh) WD progenitor. Observations of four other events (SN 2011fe, SN 2012cg, SN 2014J, and SN2013aa) are consistent with both near-MCh and sub-MCh progenitors. Continued observations of late-time light curves of nearby SNe Ia will provide crucial information on the nature of the SN Ia progenitors.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 02-2023
Abstract: We present JWST near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopic observations of the nearby normal Type Ia supernova (SN) SN 2021aefx in the nebular phase at +255 days past maximum light. Our Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and Mid Infrared Instrument observations, combined with ground-based optical data from the South African Large Telescope, constitute the first complete optical+NIR+MIR nebular SN Ia spectrum covering 0.3–14 μ m. This spectrum unveils the previously unobserved 2.5−5 μ m region, revealing strong nebular iron and stable nickel emission, indicative of high-density burning that can constrain the progenitor mass. The data show a significant improvement in sensitivity and resolution compared to previous Spitzer MIR data. We identify numerous NIR and MIR nebular emission lines from iron-group elements as well as lines from the intermediate-mass element argon. The argon lines extend to higher velocities than the iron-group elements, suggesting stratified ejecta that are a hallmark of delayed-detonation or double-detonation SN Ia models. We present fits to simple geometric line profiles to features beyond 1.2 μ m and find that most lines are consistent with Gaussian or spherical emission distributions, while the [Ar iii ] 8.99 μ m line has a distinctively flat-topped profile indicating a thick spherical shell of emission. Using our line profile fits, we investigate the emissivity structure of SN 2021aefx and measure kinematic properties. Continued observations of SN 2021aefx and other SNe Ia with JWST will be transformative to the study of SN Ia composition, ionization structure, density, and temperature, and will provide important constraints on SN Ia progenitor and explosion models.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-07-2019
Abstract: We present and analyse a new tidal disruption event (TDE), AT2017eqx at redshift z = 0.1089, discovered by Pan-STARRS and ATLAS. The position of the transient is consistent with the nucleus of its host galaxy the spectrum shows a persistent blackbody temperature T ≳ 20 000 K with broad H i and He ii emission and it peaks at a blackbody luminosity of L ≈ 1044 erg s−1. The lines are initially centred at zero velocity, but by 100 d, the H i lines disappear while the He ii develops a blueshift of ≳ 5000 km s−1. Both the early- and late-time morphologies have been seen in other TDEs, but the complete transition between them is unprecedented. The evolution can be explained by combining an extended atmosphere, undergoing slow contraction, with a wind in the polar direction becoming visible at late times. Our observations confirm that a lack of hydrogen a TDE spectrum does not indicate a stripped star, while the proposed model implies that much of the ersity in TDEs may be due to the observer viewing angle. Modelling the light curve suggests AT2017eqx resulted from the complete disruption of a solar-mass star by a black hole of ∼106.3 M⊙. The host is another Balmer-strong absorption galaxy, though fainter and less centrally concentrated than most TDE hosts. Radio limits rule out a relativistic jet, while X-ray limits at 500 d are among the deepest for a TDE at this phase.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 25-05-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 09-07-2021
Abstract: We use a s le of 809 photometrically classified type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) along with 40415 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 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 the data are fit well by a power-law DTD with slope index β = −1.13 ± 0.05 and normalisation A = 2.11 ± 0.05 × 10−13SNeM⊙−1yr−1,, which corresponds to an overall SN Ia production efficiency $N_{\\mathrm{Ia}}/M_* = 0.9 _{-0.7}^{+4.0} \\times 10^{-3} \\mathrm{SNe} \\mathrm{M}_{\\odot }^{-1}$,. Upon splitting the SN s le 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.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-09-2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-10-2023
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 03-04-2020
Location: United States of America
Location: United States of America
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Or Graur.