We present 432 low-dispersion optical spectra of 32 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that also have well-calibrated light curves. The coverage ranges from 6 epochs to 36 epochs of spectroscopy. Most of the data were obtained with the 1.5m Tillinghast telescope at the F. L. Whipple Observatory with typical wavelength coverage of 3700-7400A and a resolution of ~7A. The earliest spectra are thirteen days before B-band maximum; two-thirds of the SNe were observed before maximum brightness. Coverage for some SNe continues almost to the nebular phase. The consistency of the method of observation and the technique of reduction makes this an ideal data set for studying the spectroscopic diversity of SNe Ia.
We present spectra of twelve Type Ia supernovae obtained in 1999 at the William Herschel Telescope and the Nordic Optical Telescope during a search for Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) at intermediate redshift. The spectra range from z=0.178 to z=0.493, including five high signal-to-noise ratio SN Ia spectra in the still largely unexplored range 0.15 < z < 0.3. Most of the spectra were obtained before or around restframe B-band maximum light. None of them shows the peculiar spectral features found in low-redshift over- or under-luminous SN Ia. Expansion velocities of characteristic spectral absorption features such as SiII at 6355 angs., SII at 5640 angs. and CaII at 3945 angs. are found consistent with their low-z SN Ia counterparts.
Aims: We present a quantitative study of a new data set of high redshift Type Ia supernovae spectra, observed at the Gemini telescopes during the first 34 months of the Supernova Legacy Survey. During this time 123 supernovae candidates were observed, of which 87 have been identified as SNe Ia at a median redshift of z=0.720. Spectra from the entire second year of the survey and part of the third year (59 total SNe candidates with 46 confirmed SNe Ia) are published here for the first time. The spectroscopic measurements made on this data set are used determine if these distant SNe comprise a population similar to those observed locally. Methods: Rest-frame equivalent width and ejection velocity measurements are made on four spectroscopic features. Corresponding measurements are presented for a set of 167 spectra from 24 low-z SNe Ia from the literature. Results: We show that there exists a sample at high redshift with properties similar to nearby SNe. No significant difference was found between the distributions of measurements at low and high redsift for three of the features. The fourth feature displays a possible difference that should be investigated further. Correlations between Type Ia SNe properties and host galaxy morphology were also found to be similar at low and high z, and within each host galaxy class we see no evidence for redshift-evolution in SN properties. A new correlation between SNe Ia peak magnitude and the equivalent width of SiII absorption is presented. We demonstrate that this correlation reduces the scatter in SNe Ia luminosity distances in a manner consistent with the lightcurve shape-luminosity corrections that are used for Type Ia SNe cosmology. Conclusions: We show that this new sample of SNLS SNe Ia has spectroscopic properties similar to nearby objects. (Abridged)
This is the first release of optical spectroscopic data of low-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) by the Carnegie Supernova Project including 604 previously unpublished spectra of 93 SNe Ia. The observations cover a range of phases from 12 days before to over 150 days after the time of B-band maximum light. With the addition of 228 near-maximum spectra from the literature we study the diversity among SNe Ia in a quantitative manner. For that purpose, spectroscopic parameters are employed such as expansion velocities from spectral line blueshifts, and pseudo-equivalent widths (pW). The values of those parameters at maximum light are obtained for 78 objects, thus providing a characterization of SNe Ia that may help to improve our understanding of the properties of the exploding systems and the thermonuclear flame propagation. Two objects, namely SNe 2005M and 2006is, stand out from the sample by showing peculiar Si II and S II velocities but otherwise standard velocities for the rest of the ions. We further study the correlations between spectroscopic and photometric parameters such as light-curve decline rate and color. In agreement with previous studies, we find that the pW of Si II absorption features are very good indicators of light-curve decline rate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that parameters such as pW2(SiII4130) and pW6(SiII5972) provide precise calibrations of the peak B-band luminosity with dispersions of ~0.15 mag. In the search for a secondary parameter in the calibration of peak luminosity for SNe Ia, we find a ~2--3-sigma correlation between B-band Hubble residuals and the velocity at maximum light of S II and Si II lines.
We report the discovery of optical emission from the non-radiative shocked ejecta of three young Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs): SNR 0519-69.0, SNR 0509-67.5, and N103B. Deep integral field spectroscopic observations reveal broad and spatially resolved [Fe XIV] 5303{AA} emission. The width of the broad line reveals, for the first time, the reverse shock speeds. For two of the remnants we can constrain the underlying supernova explosions with evolutionary models. SNR 0519-69.0 is well explained by a standard near-Chandrasekhar mass explosion, whereas for SNR 0509-67.5 our analysis suggests an energetic sub-Chandrasekhar mass explosion. With [S XII], [Fe IX], and [Fe XV] also detected, we can uniquely visualize different layers of the explosion. We refer to this new analysis technique as supernova remnant tomography.
While O is often seen in spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as both unburned fuel and a product of C burning, C is only occasionally seen at the earliest times, and it represents the most direct way of investigating primordial white dwarf material and its relation to SN Ia explosion scenarios and mechanisms. In this paper, we search for C absorption features in 188 optical spectra of 144 low-redshift (z < 0.1) SNe Ia with ages <3.6 d after maximum brightness. These data were obtained as part of the Berkeley SN Ia Program (BSNIP; Silverman et al. 2012) and represent the largest set of SNe Ia in which C has ever been searched. We find that ~11 per cent of the SNe studied show definite C absorption features while ~25 per cent show some evidence for C II in their spectra. Also, if one obtains a spectrum at t < -5 d, then there is a better than 30 per cent chance of detecting a distinct absorption feature from C II. SNe Ia that show C are found to resemble those without C in many respects, but objects with C tend to have bluer optical colours than those without C. The typical expansion velocity of the C II {lambda}6580 feature is measured to be 12,000-13,000 km/s, and the ratio of the C II {lambda}6580 to Si II {lambda}6355 velocities is remarkably constant with time and among different objects with a median value of ~1.05. While the pseudo-equivalent widths (pEWs) of the C II {lambda}6580 and C II {lambda}7234 features are found mostly to decrease with time, we see evidence of a significant increase in pEW between ~12 and 11 d before maximum brightness, which is actually predicted by some theoretical models. The range of pEWs measured from the BSNIP data implies a range of C mass in SN Ia ejecta of about (2-30) * 10^-3 M_Sun.