HOST GALAXIES OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE FROM THE NEARBY SUPERNOVA FACTORY

Journal Article · Thu Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/770/2/107· OSTI ID:22127088

Childress, M.; Aldering, G.; Aragon, C.; Bailey, S.; Fakhouri, H. K.; Hsiao, E. Y.; Kim, A. G.; Loken, S. ^[1]; Antilogus, P.; Bongard, S.; Canto, A.; Cellier-Holzem, F.; Guy, J. ^[2]; Baltay, C. ^[3]; Buton, C.; Kerschhaggl, M.; Kowalski, M. ^[4]; Chotard, N.; Copin, Y.; Gangler, E. ^[5] ; others, and

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1. Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
2. Laboratoire de Physique Nucleaire et des Hautes Energies, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, Universite Paris Diderot Paris 7, CNRS-IN2P3, 4 place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05 (France)
3. Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06250-8121 (United States)
4. Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn, Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn (Germany)
5. Universite de Lyon, F-69622, Lyon (France)

We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of galaxies hosting Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed by the Nearby Supernova Factory. Combining Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) UV data with optical and near-infrared photometry, we employ stellar population synthesis techniques to measure SN Ia host galaxy stellar masses, star formation rates (SFRs), and reddening due to dust. We reinforce the key role of GALEX UV data in deriving accurate estimates of galaxy SFRs and dust extinction. Optical spectra of SN Ia host galaxies are fitted simultaneously for their stellar continua and emission lines fluxes, from which we derive high-precision redshifts, gas-phase metallicities, and H{alpha}-based SFRs. With these data we show that SN Ia host galaxies present tight agreement with the fiducial galaxy mass-metallicity relation from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) for stellar masses log(M{sub *}/M{sub Sun }) > 8.5 where the relation is well defined. The star formation activity of SN Ia host galaxies is consistent with a sample of comparable SDSS field galaxies, though this comparison is limited by systematic uncertainties in SFR measurements. Our analysis indicates that SN Ia host galaxies are, on average, typical representatives of normal field galaxies.

• OSTI ID: 22127088
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 770, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCURACY
DUSTS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
MASS
PHOTOMETRY
POPULATIONS
RED SHIFT
SKY
SPECTRA
SUPERNOVAE
SYNTHESIS