We report on work to increase the number of well-measured Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at high redshifts. Light curves, including high signal-to-noise HST data, and spectra of six SNe Ia that were discovered during 2001 are presented. Additionally, for the two SNe with z > 1, we present groundbased J-band photometry from Gemini and the VLT. These are among the most distant SNe Ia for which ground based near-IR observations have been obtained. We add these six SNe Ia together with other data sets that have recently become available in the literature to the Union compilation (Kowalski et al. 2008). We have made a number of refinements to the Union analysis chain, the most important ones being the refitting of all light curves with the SALT2 fitter and an improved handling of systematic errors. We call this new compilation, consisting of 557 supernovae, the Union2 compilation. The flat concordance ΛCDM model remains an excellent fit to the Union2 data with the best fit constant equation of state parameter w = −0.997 +0.050 −0.054 (stat)+0.077 −0.082 (stat + sys together) for a flat universe, or w = −1.035 +0.055 −0.059 (stat)+0.093 −0.097 (stat + sys together) with curvature. We also present improved constraints on w(z). While no significant change in w with redshift is detected, there is still considerable room for evolution in w. The strength of the constraints depend strongly on redshift. In particular, at z 1, the existence and nature of dark energy are only weakly constrained by the data.

Aims. We present an empirical model of type Ia supernovae spectro-photometric evolution with time. Methods. The model is built using a large data set including light-curves and spectra of both nearby and distant supernovae, the latter being observed by the SNLS collaboration. We derive the average spectral sequence of type Ia supernovae and their main variability components including a color variation law. The model allows us to measure distance moduli in the spectral range 2500−8000 Å with calculable uncertainties, including those arising from variability of spectral features.Results. Thanks to the use of high-redshift SNe to model the rest-frame UV spectral energy distribution, we are able to derive improved distance estimates for SNe Ia in the redshift range 0.8 < z < 1.1. The model can also be used to improve spectroscopic identification algorithms, and derive photometric redshifts of distant type Ia supernovae.

We show that Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are formed within both very young and old stellar populations, with observed rates that depend on the stellar mass and mean star formation rates (SFRs) of their host galaxies. Models in which the SN Ia rate depends solely on host galaxy stellar mass are ruled out with >99% confidence. Our analysis is based on 100 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia, plus 24 photometrically classified events, all from the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) and distributed over 0:2 < z < 0:75. We estimate stellar masses and SFRs for the SN Ia host galaxies by fitting their broadband spectral energy distributions with the galaxy spectral synthesis code PÉ GASE.2. We show that the SN Ia rate per unit mass is proportional to the specific SFR of the parent galaxies-more vigorously star-forming galaxies host more SNe Ia per unit stellar mass, broadly equivalent to the trend of increasing SN Ia rate in later type galaxies seen in the local universe. Following earlier suggestions for a simple ''two-component'' model approximating the SN Ia rate, we find bivariate linear dependencies of the SN Ia rate on both the stellar masses and the mean SFRs of the host systems. We find that the SN Ia rate can be well represented as the sum of 5:3 AE 1:1 ; 10 À14 SNe yr À1 M À1 and 3:9 AE 0:7 ; 10 À4 SNe yrÀ1 of star formation. We also demonstrate a dependence of distant SN Ia light-curve shapes on star formation in the host galaxy, similar to trends observed locally. Passive galaxies, with no star formation, preferentially host faster declining/dimmer SNe Ia, while brighter events are found in systems with ongoing star formation.

We present constraints on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w ¼ P/( c 2 ), using 60 SNe Ia from the ESSENCE supernova survey. We derive a set of constraints on the nature of the dark energy assuming a flat universe. By including constraints on ( M , w) from baryon acoustic oscillations, we obtain a value for a static equation-of-state parameter w ¼ À1:05 þ0:13 À0:12 (stat 1 ) AE 0:13 (sys) and M ¼ 0:274 þ0:033 À0:020 (stat 1 ) with a bestfit 2 /dof of 0.96. These results are consistent with those reported by the Supernova Legacy Survey from the first year of a similar program measuring supernova distances and redshifts. We evaluate sources of systematic error that afflict supernova observations and present Monte Carlo simulations that explore these effects. Currently, the largest systematic with the potential to affect our measurements is the treatment of extinction due to dust in the supernova host galaxies. Combining our set of ESSENCE SNe Ia with the first-results Supernova Legacy Survey SNe Ia, we obtain a joint constraint of w ¼ À1:07 þ0:09 À0:09 (stat 1 ) AE 0:13 (sys), M ¼ 0:267 þ0:028 À0:018 (stat 1 ) with a best-fit 2 /dof of 0.91. The current global SN Ia data alone rule out empty ( M ¼ 0), matter-only M ¼ 0:3, and M ¼ 1 universes at >4.5 . The current SN Ia data are fully consistent with a cosmological constant.

International audienceMassive present-day early-type (elliptical and lenticular) galaxies probably gained the bulk of their stellar mass and heavy elements through intense, dust-enshrouded starbursts--that is, increased rates of star formation--in the most massive dark-matter haloes at early epochs. However, it remains unknown how soon after the Big Bang massive starburst progenitors exist. The measured redshift (z) distribution of dusty, massive starbursts has long been suspected to be biased low in z owing to selection effects, as confirmed by recent findings of systems with redshifts as high as ~5 (refs 2-4). Here we report the identification of a massive starburst galaxy at z = 6.34 through a submillimetre colour-selection technique. We unambiguously determined the redshift from a suite of molecular and atomic fine-structure cooling lines. These measurements reveal a hundred billion solar masses of highly excited, chemically evolved interstellar medium in this galaxy, which constitutes at least 40 per cent of the baryonic mass. A 'maximum starburst' converts the gas into stars at a rate more than 2,000 times that of the Milky Way, a rate among the highest observed at any epoch. Despite the overall downturn in cosmic star formation towards the highest redshifts, it seems that environments mature enough to form the most massive, intense starbursts existed at least as early as 880 million years after the Big Ban