Type: Talk
Session: Simulated LSST data: Data Preview 0 (and more)
Author: Vincenzo Petrecca

Abstract: Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) are among the most important cosmological probes. However, the exact nature of their progenitor and the details of the explosion mechanism are not yet clear. There is general consensus that SN Ia results from a thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen White Dwarf (WD) in a binary system with two main progenitor channels: a WD accreting mass from a non-degenerate star (single degenerate scenario) or two WDs spiraling together and eventually merging (double degenerate scenario). Direct observation and analysis of SN Ia explosion do not provide unambiguous evidence for either progenitor system (nor are able to exclude one). The measure of the SN Ia rate provides an alternative approach of constraining the progenitors, since it is the product of the progenitor Delay Time Distribution (DTD) and the Star Formation History of the host galaxy. The DTD is the time interval between the formation of the binary system and the SN Ia explosion, and different progenitor channels have different DTD. This approach has always been hampered by large statistical uncertainties on the rate measurements, but the LSST is expected to dramatically increase the size of the sample, thus lowering them. I will present results from simulations showing the impact of other sources of uncertainty affecting the rate (e.g. photometric redshift, host-galaxy association, classification, cadence) and discuss possible solutions to mitigate their impact.