We examine the utility of very high redshift Type Ia supernovae for cosmology and systematic uncertainty control. Next generation space surveys such as the Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) will obtain thousands of supernovae at z > 1.7, beyond the design redshift for which the supernovae will be exquisitely characterized. We find that any z & 2 standard candles’ use for cosmological paramete...

Over the past decade, supernovae have emerged as some of the most powerful tools for measuring extragalactic distances. A well developed physical understanding of type II supernovae allow them to be used to measure distances independent of the extragalactic distance scale. Type Ia supernovae are empirical tools whose precision and intrinsic brightness make them sensitive probes of the cosmologi...

The evidence for positive cosmological constant Λ from Type Ia supernovae is reexamined. Both high redshift supernova teams are found to underestimate the effects of host galaxy extinction. The evidence for an absolute magnitudedecay time relation is much weakened if supernovae not observed before maximum light are excluded. Inclusion of such objects artificially supresses the scatter about the...

We show that the spectrum of the unusual transient SCP06F6 is consistent with emission from a cool, optically thick and carbon-rich atmosphere if the transient is located at a redshift of z ≈ 0.14. The implied extragalactic nature of the transient rules out novae, shell flashes, and V838Mon-like events as cause of the observed brightening. The distance to SCP06F6 implies a peak magnitude of MI ...

Distant supernovae can now be detected routinely. To date 34 supernovae at z > 0.1 have been discovered. Among them are 12 Type Ia supernovae confirmed spectroscopically and suited to measure the cosmic deceleration when appropriately employed as standard candles. However, peak magnitudes have been determined for only two objects so far and a determination of q0 is not yet possible. We describe...

Analysis of type 1a supernovae observations out to a redshift of z=1.6 shows that there is good agreement between the light-curve widths and (1 + z) which is usually interpreted as a strong support for time dilation due to an expanding universe. This paper argues that a strong case can be made for a static universe where the supernovae light-curve-width dependence on redshift is due to selectio...

I use photometry and spectroscopy data for 24 Type II plateau supernovae to examine their observed and physical properties. This dataset shows that these objects encompass a wide range of ∼5 mag in their plateau luminosities, their expansion velocities vary by ×5, and the nickel masses produced in these explosions go from 0.0016 to 0.26 M⊙. From a subset of 16 objects I find that the explosion ...

A simple description of core-collapse supernovae is given. Properties of the neutrino-driven wind, neutrino fluxes and luminosities, reaction rates, and the equilibrium electron fraction in supernova environments are discussed. Neutrino mixing and neutrino interactions that are relevant to core-collapse supernovae are briefly reviewed. The values of electron fraction under several evolution sce...