Subaru FOCAS spectroscopic observations of high-redshift supernovae

Tomoki Morokuma*, Kouichi Tokita, Christopher Lidman, Mamoru Doi, Naoki Yasuda, Greg Aldering, Rahman Amanullah, Kyle Barbary, Kyle Dawson, Vitaliy Fadeyev, Hannah K. Fakhouri, Gerson Goldhaber, Ariel Goobar, Takashi Hattori, Junji Hayano, Isobel M. Hook, D. Andrew Howell, Hisanori Furusawa, Yutaka Ihara, Nobunari KashikawaRob A. Knop, Kohki Konishi, Joshua Meyers, Takeshi Oda, Reynald Pain, Saul Perlmutter, David Rubin, Anthony L. Spadafora, Nao Suzuki, Naohiro Takanashi, Tomonori Totani, Hiroyuki Utsunomiya, Lifan Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present spectra of high-redshift supernovae (SNe) that were taken with the Subaru low-resolution optical spectrograph, FOCAS. These SNe were found in SN surveys with Suprime-Cam on Subaru, the CFH 12k camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope. These SN surveys specifically targeted z > 1 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). From the spectra of 39 candidates, we obtained redshifts for 32 candidates and spectroscopically identified 7 active candidates as probable SNe Ia, including one at z = 1.35, which is the most distant SN Ia to be spectroscopically confirmed with a ground-based telescope. An additional 4 candidates were identified as likely SNe Ia from the spectrophotometric properties of their host galaxies. Seven candidates are not SNe Ia, either being SNe of another type or active galactic nuclei. When SNe Ia were observed within one week of the maximum light, we found that we could spectroscopically identify most of them up to z = 1.1. Beyond this redshift, very few candidates were spectroscopically identified as SNe Ia. The current generation of super red-sensitive, fringe-free CCDs will push this redshift limit higher.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-37
Number of pages19
JournalPublications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Volume62
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

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