skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: THE MULTI-EPOCH NEARBY CLUSTER SURVEY: TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA RATE MEASUREMENT IN z {approx} 0.1 CLUSTERS AND THE LATE-TIME DELAY TIME DISTRIBUTION

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
;  [1]; ;  [2]; ; ;  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055, STN CSC, Victoria BC V8W 3P6 (Canada)
  3. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
  4. Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, NL-2333 CA Leiden (Netherlands)
  5. Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 (Canada)
  6. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
  7. Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132 (United States)

We describe the Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey, designed to measure the cluster Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rate in a sample of 57 X-ray selected galaxy clusters, with redshifts of 0.05 < z < 0.15. Utilizing our real-time analysis pipeline, we spectroscopically confirmed twenty-three cluster SNe Ia, four of which were intracluster events. Using our deep Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/MegaCam imaging, we measured total stellar luminosities in each of our galaxy clusters, and we performed detailed supernova (SN) detection efficiency simulations. Bringing these ingredients together, we measure an overall cluster SN Ia rate within R{sub 200} (1 Mpc) of 0.042{sup +0.012}{sub -0.010}{sup +0.010}{sub -0.008} SNuM (0.049{sup +0.016}{sub -0.014}{sup +0.005}{sub -0.004} SNuM) and an SN Ia rate within red-sequence galaxies of 0.041{sup +0.015}{sub -0.015}{sup +0.005}{sub -0.010} SNuM (0.041{sup +0.019}{sub -0.015}{sup +0.005}{sub -0.004} SNuM). The red-sequence SN Ia rate is consistent with published rates in early-type/elliptical galaxies in the 'field'. Using our red-sequence SN Ia rate, and other cluster SN measurements in early-type galaxies up to z {approx} 1, we derive the late-time (>2 Gyr) delay time distribution (DTD) of SN Ia assuming a cluster early-type galaxy star formation epoch of z{sub f} = 3. Assuming a power-law form for the DTD, {Psi}(t){proportional_to}t{sup s} , we find s = -1.62 {+-} 0.54. This result is consistent with predictions for the double degenerate SN Ia progenitor scenario (s {approx} -1) and is also in line with recent calculations for the double detonation explosion mechanism (s {approx} -2). The most recent calculations of the single degenerate scenario DTD predicts an order-of-magnitude drop-off in SN Ia rate {approx}6-7 Gyr after stellar formation, and the observed cluster rates cannot rule this out.

OSTI ID:
22011693
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 746, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English