Related papers: The Standard Candle Method for Type II-Plateau Sup…
We study a sample of 11 Type II supernovae (SNe) discovered by the OGLE-IV survey. All objects have well sampled I-band light curves, and at least one spectrum. We find that 2 or 3 of the 11 SNe have a declining light curve, and spectra…
Observation of the expansion history of the Universe allows exploration of the physical properties and energy density of the Universe's various constituents. Standardizable candles such as Type Ia supernovae remain one of the most promising…
We assess the robustness of the two highest rungs of the "cosmic distance ladder" for Type Ia supernovae and the determination of the Hubble-Lema\^itre constant. In this analysis, we hold fixed Rung 1 as the distance to the LMC determined…
The I-band brightness of clump stars has been used recently to determine the distance to the bulge, the LMC and SMC, and to M31. It was assumed to be a standard candle based on the observational fact that it is independent of (V-I)-colour…
Field reddenings are summarized for 68 Cepheids from published studies and updated results presented here. The compilation forms the basis for a comparison with other published reddening scales of Cepheids, including those established from…
The relationship between the integrated H$\beta$ line luminosity and the velocity dispersion of the ionized gas of HII galaxies and giant HII regions represents an exciting standard candle that presently can be used up to redshifts z ~ 4.…
In this paper, we continue to build support for the proposal to use gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as standard candles in constructing the Hubble Diagram at redshifts beyond the current reach of Type Ia supernova observations. We confirm that…
A sample of 35 SNe Ia with good to excellent photometry in B and V, minimum internal absorption, and 1200 < v < \approx 30000 km/s is compiled from the literature. As far as their spectra are known they are all Branch-normal. For 29 of the…
Studies using the GRB brightness as a distance indicator require a measure of brightness with a small intrinsic dispersion (close to a standard candle). There is unfortunately no general agreement on the definition of such a quantity. We…
We present relation of the mean I-band brightness of red clump stars on metallicity. Red clump stars were proposed to be a very attractive standard candle for distance determination. The calibration is based on 284 nearby red giant stars…
Large numbers of supernovae (SNe) have been discovered in recent years, and many more will be found in the near future. Once discovered, further study of a SN and its possible use as an astronomical tool (e.g., as a distance estimator)…
In this paper we present a new method for obtaining the optical wavelength-dependent reddening function of planetary nebulae, using the nebular and stellar continuum. The data used was a spectrum of NGC 6302 obtained with a mean signal to…
We present a comparative study of absolute distances to a sample of very nearby, bright Type Ia supernovae (SNe) derived from high cadence, high signal-to-noise, multi-band photometric data. Our sample consists of four SNe: 2012cg, 2012ht,…
While the sample of optical Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) light curves (LCs) usable for cosmological parameter measurements surpasses 2000, the sample of published, cosmologically viable near-infrared (NIR) SN Ia LCs, which have been shown to…
We present two supernovae (SNe) discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), an HST multi-cycle treasury program. We classify both objects as Type Ia SNe…
Context. Observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) can be used to derive accurate cosmological distances through empirical standardization techniques. Despite this success neither the progenitors of SNe Ia nor the explosion process are…
It is usual, in gamma-ray burst (GRB) studies, to compare the average properties of bright and faint GRBs, with the assumption that brightness classes reflect distance classes. When brightness is intented to reflect the distance to the…
The proposal to use HII galaxies (HIIGx) and giant extragalactic HII regions (GEHR) as standard candles to construct the Hubble diagram at redshifts beyond the current reach of Type Ia supernovae has gained considerable support recently…
Understanding the intrinsic colors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is important to their use as cosmological standard candles. Understanding the effects of reddening and redshift on the observed colors are complicated and dependent on the…
Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) are the best standard candles known today. At high redshift ($z\sim1$) SNe Ia are used to determine the Cosmological Constant Lambda with great success. However the most serious concern is raised by thepossible…