2005/10/09 by C. C. Hayward, J. A. Irwin, J. N. Bregman · 18 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Baryon #Brightness #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Luminosity #Sky #Stars #Supernova #Surface brightness #Universe #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/497565
published in The Astrophysical Journal 635(2), 827-831 (IOP Publishing) · 17 pages, 4 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journal
arxiv created 2005/10/09 · openalex publication_date 2005/12/15 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We have searched for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the local ( d ≲ 60 Mpc) universe using Northern Sky Variability Survey (NSVS) data collected from the nightly optical surveys of the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) Telescope. It was hoped that SNe Ia would provide a means to find previously unknown low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies or displaced stars that would otherwise be very difficult to detect. The ROTSE data allowed us to survey 19,000 deg 2 at declinations north of 0°, but we did not find a single SN Ia in a period of time covering roughly 1 year. Using known SNe Ia rates in bright galaxies, we set an upper limit on the optical luminosity density, B , of LSBs in the local universe. Using mean LSB baryonic and dynamical mass-to-light ratios, we find 95% upper limits for LSBs of B ≤ 2.53 × 10 8 L B ,☉ Mpc -3 , Ω b ≤ 0.0040, and Ω m ≤ 0.036. We conclude that LSBs and displaced stars are not a major constituent of matter in the local universe.