Absolute-Magnitude Distributions of Supernovae

Abstract

The absolute-magnitude distributions of seven supernova types are presented. The data used here were primarily taken from the Asiago Supernova Catalogue, but were supplemented with additional data. We accounted for both foreground and host-galaxy extinction. A bootstrap method is used to correct the samples for Malmquist bias. Separately, we generate volume-limited samples, restricted to events within 100 Mpc. We find that the superluminous events (M_B < -21) make up only about 0.1% of all supernovae in the bias-corrected sample. The subluminous events (M_B > -15) make up about 3%. The normal Ia distribution was the brightest with a mean absolute blue magnitude of -19.25. The IIP distribution was the dimmest at -16.75.