We present supernova rate measurements at redshift 0.1-1.0 from the Stockholm VIMOS Supernova Survey (SVISS). The sample contains 16 supernovae in total. The discovered supernovae have been classified as core collapse or type Ia supernovae (9 and 7, respectively) based on their light curves, colour evolution and host galaxy photometric redshift. at z = 0.62. All of these rate estimates have been corrected for host galaxy extinction, using a method that includes supernovae missed in infrared bright galaxies at high redshift. We use Monte Carlo simulations to make a thorough study of the systematic effects from assumptions made when calculating the rates and find that the most important errors come from misclassification, the assumed mix of faint and bright supernova types and uncertainties in the extinction correction. We compare our rates to other observations and to the predicted rates for core collapse and type Ia supernovae based on the star formation history and different models of the delay time distribution. Overall, our measurements, when taking the effects of extinction into account, agree quite well with the predictions and earlier results. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the role of systematic effects, and dust extinction in particular, when trying to estimate the rates of supernovae at moderate to high redshift.

Aims. We investigate the physical properties and structure of the outer rings of SN 1987A to understand their formation and evolution. Methods. We used low resolution spectroscopy from VLT/FORS1 and high resolution spectra from VLT/UVES to estimate the physical conditions in the outer rings, using nebular analysis for emission lines such as [ . We also measured the velocity at two positions of the outer rings to test a geometrical model for the rings. Additionally, we used data from the HST science archives to check the evolution of the outer rings of SN 1987A for a period that covers almost 11 years. Results. We measured the flux in four different regions, two for each outer ring. We chose regions away from the two bright neighbouring stars and as far as possible from the inner ring and created light curves for the emission lines of [O III], Hα, and [N II]. The light curves display a declining behaviour, which is consistent with the initial supernova-flash powering of the outer rings. The electron density of the emitting gas in the outer rings, as estimated by nebular analysis from the [O II] and [S II] lines, is < ∼ 3 × 10 3 cm −3 , has not changed over the last ∼15 years, and the [N II] temperature remains also fairly constant at ∼1.2 × 10 4 K. We find no obvious difference in density and temperature for the two outer rings. The highest density, as estimated from the decay of Hα, could be ∼5 × 10 3 cm −3 however, and because the decay is somewhat faster in the southern outer ring than it is in the northern, the highest density in the outer rings may be found in the southern outer ring. For an assumed distance of 50 kpc to the supernova, the distance between the supernova and the closest parts of the outer rings could be as short as ∼1.7 × 10 18 cm. Interaction between the supernova ejecta and the outer rings could therefore start in less than ∼20 years. We do not expect the outer rings to show the same optical display as the equatorial ring when this happens. Instead soft X-rays should provide a better way of observing the ejecta -outer rings interaction.

Supernova surveys can be used to study a variety of subjects such as: (i) cosmology through type Ia supernovae (SNe), (ii) starformation rates through core-collapse SNe, and (iii) supernova properties and their connection to host galaxy characteristics. The Stockholm VIMOS Supernova Survey (SVISS) is a multi-band imaging survey aiming to detect supernovae at redshift ∼0.5 and derive thermonuclear and core-collapse supernova rates at high redshift. In this paper we present the supernovae discovered in the survey along with light curves and a photometric classification into thermonuclear and core-collapse types. To detect the supernovae in the VLT/VIMOS multi-epoch images, we used difference imaging and a combination of automatic and manual source detection to minimise the number of spurious detections. Photometry for the found variable sources was obtained and careful simulations were made to estimate correct errors. The light curves were typed using a Bayesian probability method and Monte Carlo simulations were used to study misclassification. We detected 16 supernovae, nine of which had a core-collapse origin and seven had a thermonuclear origin. The estimated misclassification errors are quite small, in the order of 5%, but vary with both redshift and type. The mean redshift of the supernovae is 0.58. Additionally, we found a variable source with a very extended light curve that could possibly be a pair instability supernova.

Observations show that the interstellar medium (ISM) contains sub-structure on scales less than 1 pc, detected in the form of spatial and temporal variations in column densities or optical depth. Despite the number of detections, the nature and ubiquity of the smallscale structure in the ISM is not yet fully understood. We use UV absorption data mainly from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and partly from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) of six Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) stars (Sk -67 • 111, LH 54-425, Sk -67 • 107, Sk -67 • 106, Sk -67 • 104, and Sk -67 • 101) that are all located within 5 of each other, and analyse the physical properties of the Galactic disc gas in front of the LMC on sub-pc scales. We analyse absorption lines of a number of ions within the UV spectral range. Most importantly, interstellar molecular hydrogen, neutral oxygen, and fine-structure levels of neutral carbon have been used in order to study changes in the density and the physical properties of the Galactic disc gas over small angular scales. At an assumed distance of 1 kpc, the 5 separation between Sk -67 • 111 and Sk -67 • 101 implies a linear extent of 1.5 pc.We report on column densities of H 2 , C i, N i, O i, Al ii, Si ii, P ii, S iii, Ar i, and Fe ii in our six lines of sight, as well as C i*, C i**, Mg ii, Si iv, S ii, Mn ii, and Ni ii for four of them. While most species do not show any significant variation in their column densities, we find an enhancement of almost 2 dex for H 2 from Sk -67 • 111 to Sk -67 • 101, accompanied by only a small variation in the O i column density. Based on the formation-dissociation equilibrium, we trace these variations to the actual density variations in the molecular gas. On the smallest spatial scale of <0.08 pc, between Sk -67 • 107 and LH 54-425, we find a gas density variation of a factor of 1.8. The line of sight towards LH 54-425 does not follow the relatively smooth change seen from Sk -67 • 101 to Sk -67 • 111, suggesting that sub-structure might exist on a smaller spatial scale than the linear extent of our sight-lines. The results show that we sample a mix of both neutral and ionised gas in our six lines of sight. Towards Sk -67 • 101 to Sk -67 • 107, we derive the temperature T exc 70 K for the inner self-shielded part of the gas based on the rotational excitation levels of H 2 , and an average density of n H 60 cm −3 , typical of that for CNM. The gas towards LH 54-425 and Sk -67 • 111 shows different properties, and T exc 200 K. Our observations suggest that the detected H 2 in these six lines of sight (with the extent of <1.5 pc) is not necessarily physically connected, but that we are sampling molecular cloudlets with pathlengths <0.1−1.8 pc and possibly different densities.