arXiv subjects

Ed Elson

Publications and source records attributed to Ed Elson.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Investigating the H i mass-size relation using the Simba cosmological simulations

Observational studies have established a remarkably tight power-law relationship between the H I masses and sizes of late-type galaxies, known as the H I mass-size relation. This relation has been shown to persist across various models of a galaxy's H I surface density profile. Using the Simba cosmological simulations, we investigate the robustness of this relation under different feedback prescriptions, including cases where specific feedback mechanisms are absent. While the global properties of galaxies are significantly affected by changes in feedback, the H I mass-size relation remains intact. Moreover, its parameters consistently align with the best available empirical measurements. We analyze the H I mass distributions of galaxies and demonstrate that, regardless of the feedback scenario, galaxies within a given H I mass bin exhibit outer H I radial profiles well approximated by an exponential function. Furthermore, the exponential decline rate remains remarkably similar across different physical prescriptions. We attribute the persistence of the H I mass-size relation to this inherent self-similarity in the H I mass distributions.

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arXiv2025

MeerKAT-derived HI kinematics and the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation in the X-ray luminous cluster Abell 3408

Significant advances in observational capabilities are continuously transforming our understanding of the dense environment of galaxy clusters and its impact on individual galaxies. Discerning between intrinsic and externally-induced properties of galaxies, including their gas kinematics, is a key diagnostic in the field of galaxy evolution. In this work, we present MeerKAT HI spectral line observations of the redshift z $\sim$ 0.042 galaxy cluster Abell 3408. A total of 64 galaxies are detected in HI in this X-ray-luminous galaxy cluster (L$_{X}$ $\sim$ 3 $\times$ 10$^{43}$ ergs s$^{-1}$). We model the HI morphology and gas kinematics of the individual galaxies, using a semi-automated pipeline based on CANNUBI and pyBBarolo. The pipeline was developed and tested as part of this study. Of the 64 galaxies detected in the cluster, we successfully modelled 16, while the remaining galaxies exhibit disturbed HI morphologies, insufficient angular or velocity resolution. We combine the galaxies with converged kinematic fits with 67 field galaxies from the MeerKAT spectral line survey early science data ($\langle$z$\rangle$ = 0.0435) to produce a measurement of the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation (bTFr) that encompasses a broader range of environment and provides a useful comparison. We find a slope ($\alpha$ = 3.66$^{+0.32}_{-0.28}$) for this relation, which is consistent with that found from the MIGHTEE bTFr derived from the same definition. Interestingly, HI detections of the Abell 3408 galaxy cluster galaxies are seen to extend the bTFr of the MIGHTEE sample, both in mass and velocity, despite their cluster environment.

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arXiv2025

Semi-empirical constraints on the HI mass function of star-forming galaxies and $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ at $z\sim 0.37$ from interferometric surveys

The HI mass function is a crucial tool to understand the evolution of the HI content in galaxies over cosmic times. We aim to derive semi-empirical constraints at $z\sim 0.37$ by combining literature results on the $M_\star$ function from optical surveys with recent findings on the $M_{\rm HI}-M_\star$ scaling relation derived via spectral stacking analysis applied to 21-cm line interferometric data from the MIGHTEE and CHILES surveys, conducted with the MeerKAT and VLA radio telescopes, respectively. We draw synthetic $M_\star$ samples directly from the publicly-available results underlying the analysis of the COSMOS2020 galaxy photometric sample. Afterwards, we convert $M_\star$ into $M_{\rm HI}$ using analytical fitting functions to the data points from HI stacking. We then fit a Schechter function to the median HIMF from all the samples via MCMC. We finally derive the posterior distribution for $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ by integrating the models for the HIMF built from the posteriors samples of the Schechter parameters. We find a deviation of the HIMF at $z\sim 0.37$ from the results at $z\sim 0$ from the ALFALFA survey and at $z\sim 1$ from uGMRT data. Our results for $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ are in broad agreement with other literature results, and follow the overall trend on $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ as a function of redshift. The derived value $\Omega_{\rm HI}=\left(7.02^{+0.59}_{-0.52}\right)\times10^{-4}$ at $z\sim 0.37$ from the combined analysis deviates at $\sim 2.9\sigma$ from the ALFALFA result at $z\sim 0$. Our findings about the HIMF and $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ differ from previous literature results at $z\sim0$ and $z\sim1$, although we are unable to confirm at this stage whether these differences are due to cosmic evolution consistent with a smooth transition of the HI content of galaxies over the last 8 Gyr or due to selection biases and systematics.

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arXiv2025

New constraints on the evolution of the MHI-M* scaling relation combining CHILES and MIGHTEE-HI data

The improved sensitivity of interferometric facilities to the 21-cm line of atomic hydrogen (HI) enables studies of its properties in galaxies beyond the local Universe. In this work, we perform a 21 cm line spectral stacking analysis combining the MIGHTEE and CHILES surveys in the COSMOS field to derive a robust HI-stellar mass relation at z=0.36. In particular, by stacking thousands of star-forming galaxies subdivided into stellar mass bins, we optimize the signal-to-noise ratio of targets and derive mean HI masses in the different stellar mass intervals for the investigated galaxy population. We combine spectra from the two surveys, estimate HI masses, and derive the scaling relation log10(MHI) = (0.32 +- 0.04)log10(M*) + (6.65 +- 0.36). Our findings indicate that galaxies at z=0.36 are HI richer than those at z=0, but HI poorer than those at z=1, with a slope consistent across redshift, suggesting that stellar mass does not significantly affect HI exchange mechanisms. We also observe a slower growth rate HI relative to the molecular gas, supporting the idea that the accretion of cold gas is slower than the rate of consumption of molecular gas to form stars. This study contributes to understanding the role of atomic gas in galaxy evolution and sets the stage for future development of the field in the upcoming SKA era.

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arXiv2024

Looking At the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array: the HI Mass Function in the Local Universe

We present measurements of the neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) mass function (HIMF) and cosmic HI density ($\Omega_{\rm HI}$) at $0 \leq z \leq 0.088$ from the Looking at the Distant Universe with MeerKAT Array (LADUMA) survey. Using LADUMA Data Release 1 (DR1), we analyze the HIMF via a new "recovery matrix" (RM) method that we benchmark against a more traditional Modified Maximum Likelihood (MML) method. Our analysis, which implements a forward modeling approach, corrects for survey incompleteness and uses extensive synthetic source injections to ensure robust estimates of the HIMF parameters and their associated uncertainties. This new method tracks the recovery of sources in mass bins different from those in which they were injected and incorporates a Poisson likelihood in the forward modeling process, allowing it to correctly handle uncertainties in bins with few or no detections. The application of our analysis to a high-purity subsample of the LADUMA DR1 spectral line catalog in turn mitigates any possible biases that could result from the inconsistent treatment of synthetic and real sources. For the surveyed redshift range, the recovered Schechter function normalization, low-mass slope, and "knee" mass are $\phi_\ast = 3.56_{-1.92}^{+0.97} \times 10^{-3}$ Mpc$^{-3}$ dex$^{-1}$, $\alpha = -1.18_{-0.19}^{+0.08}$, and $\log(M_\ast/M_\odot) = 10.01_{-0.12}^{+0.31}$, respectively, which together imply a comoving cosmic HI density of $\Omega_{\rm HI}=3.09_{-0.47}^{+0.65}\times 10^{-4}$. Our results show consistency between RM and MML methods and with previous low-redshift studies, giving confidence that the cosmic volume probed by LADUMA, even at low redshifts, is not an outlier in terms of its HI content.

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arXiv2024

MIGHTEE-HI: HI galaxy properties in the large scale structure environment at z~0.37 from a stacking experiment

We present the first measurement of HI mass of star-forming galaxies in different large scale structure environments from a blind survey at $z\sim 0.37$. In particular, we carry out a spectral line stacking analysis considering $2875$ spectra of colour-selected star-forming galaxies undetected in HI at $0.23 < z < 0.49$ in the COSMOS field, extracted from the MIGHTEE-HI Early Science datacubes, acquired with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We stack galaxies belonging to different subsamples depending on three different definitions of large scale structure environment: local galaxy overdensity, position inside the host dark matter halo (central, satellite, or isolated), and cosmic web type (field, filament, or knot). We first stack the full star-forming galaxy sample and find a robust HI detection yielding an average galaxy HI mass of $M_{\rm HI}=(8.12\pm 0.75)\times 10^9\, {\rm M}_\odot$ at $\sim 11.8\sigma$. Next, we investigate the different subsamples finding a negligible difference in $M_{\rm HI}$ as a function of the galaxy overdensity. We report an HI excess compared to the full sample in satellite galaxies ($M_{\rm HI}=(11.31\pm1.22)\times 10^9$, at $\sim 10.2 \sigma$) and in filaments ($M_{\rm HI}=(11.62\pm 0.90)\times 10^9$. Conversely, we report non-detections for the central and knot galaxies subsamples, which appear to be HI-deficient. We find the same qualitative results also when stacking in units of HI fraction ($f_{\rm HI}$). We conclude that the HI amount in star-forming galaxies at the studied redshifts correlates with the large scale structure environment.

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arXiv2022

A new technique to isolate kinematically anomalous gas in HI data cubes

HI line observations of nearby galaxies often reveal the presence of extraplanar and/or kinematically anomalous gas that deviates from the general circular flow. In this work, we study the dependence of kinematically anomalous HI gas in galaxies taken from the Simba cosmological simulation on galaxy properties such as HI mass fraction, specific star formation rate, and local environmental density. To identify kinematically anomalous gas, we use a simple yet effective decomposition method to separate it from regularly-rotating gas in the galactic disk; this method is well-suited for application to observational datasets but has been validated here using the simulation. We find that at fixed atomic gas mass fraction, the anomalous gas fraction increases with the specific star formation rate. We also find that the anomalous gas fraction does not have a significant dependence on a galaxy's environment. Our decomposition method has the potential to yield useful insights from future HI surveys.

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arXiv2022

MIGHTEE-HI: Evolution of HI scaling relations of star-forming galaxies at $z<0.5$

We present the first measurements of HI galaxy scaling relations from a blind survey at $z>0.15$. We perform spectral stacking of 9023 spectra of star-forming galaxies undetected in HI at $0.23<z<0.49$, extracted from MIGHTEE-HI Early Science datacubes, acquired with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We stack galaxies in bins of galaxy properties ($M_*$, SFR, and sSFR, with ${\rm sSFR}\equiv M_*/{\rm SFR}$), obtaining $\gtrsim 5\sigma$ detections in most cases, the strongest HI-stacking detections to date in this redshift range. With these detections, we are able to measure scaling relations in the probed redshift interval, finding evidence for a moderate evolution from the median redshift of our sample $z_{\rm med}\sim 0.37$ to $z\sim 0$. In particular, low-$M_*$ galaxies ($\log_{10}(M_*/{\rm M_\odot})\sim 9$) experience a strong HI depletion ($\sim 0.5$ dex in $\log_{10}(M_{\rm HI}/{\rm M}_\odot)$), while massive galaxies ($\log_{10}(M_*/{\rm M_\odot})\sim 11$) keep their HI mass nearly unchanged. When looking at the star formation activity, highly star-forming galaxies evolve significantly in $M_{\rm HI}$ ($f_{\rm HI}$, where $f_{\rm HI}\equiv M_{\rm}/M_*$) at fixed SFR (sSFR), while at the lowest probed SFR (sSFR) the scaling relations show no evolution. These findings suggest a scenario in which low-$M_*$ galaxies have experienced a strong HI depletion during the last $\sim4$ Gyr, while massive galaxies have undergone a significant HI replenishment through some accretion mechanism, possibly minor mergers. Interestingly, our results are in good agreement with the predictions of the SIMBA simulation. We conclude that this work sets novel important observational constraints on galaxy scaling relations.

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arXiv2022

Optimizing spectral stacking for 21-cm observations of galaxies: accuracy assessment and symmetrized stacking

We present an assessment of the accuracy of common operations performed in $21$-cm spectral line stacking experiments. To this end, we generate mock interferometric data surveying the 21-cm emission at frequency $1310<\nu<1420$ MHz ($0.005<z<0.084$) and covering an area $\sim 6$ deg$^2$ of the sky, mimicking the observational characteristics of real MeerKAT observations. We find that the primary beam correction accounts for just few per cent ($\sim8\%$ at 0 primary beam power, $\sim 3\%$ at 0.6 primary beam power) deviations from the true $M_{\rm HI}$ signal, and that weighting schemes based on noise properties provide unbiased results. On the contrary, weighting schemes based on distance can account for significant systematic mass differences when applied to a flux-limited sample ($\Delta M_{\rm HI}\sim 40-50\%$ in the studied case). We find no significant difference in the final $\braket{M_{\rm HI}}$ obtained when spectroscopic redshift uncertainties are accounted for in the stacking procedure ($ \Delta z\sim 0.00035$, i.e. $\Delta v \sim 100\,{\rm km\, s}^{-1}$). We also present a novel technique to increase the effective size of the galaxy sample by exploiting the geometric symmetries of galaxy cubelets, potentially enhancing the SNR by a factor $\sim\sqrt{2}$ when analyzing the final stacked spectrum (a factor 4 in a cubelet). This procedure is found to be robustly unbiased, while efficiently increasing the SNR, as expected. We argue that an appropriate framework employing detailed and realistic simulations is required to exploit upcoming datasets from SKA pathfinders in an accurate and reliable manner.

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arXiv2022

LADUMA: Discovery of a luminous OH megamaser at $z > 0.5$

In the local Universe, OH megamasers (OHMs) are detected almost exclusively in infrared-luminous galaxies, with a prevalence that increases with IR luminosity, suggesting that they trace gas-rich galaxy mergers. Given the proximity of the rest frequencies of OH and the hyperfine transition of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI), radio surveys to probe the cosmic evolution of HI in galaxies also offer exciting prospects for exploiting OHMs to probe the cosmic history of gas-rich mergers. Using observations for the Looking At the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array (LADUMA) deep HI survey, we report the first untargeted detection of an OHM at $z > 0.5$, LADUMA J033046.20$-$275518.1 (nicknamed "Nkalakatha"). The host system, WISEA J033046.26$-$275518.3, is an infrared-luminous radio galaxy whose optical redshift $z \approx 0.52$ confirms the MeerKAT emission line detection as OH at a redshift $z_{\rm OH} = 0.5225 \pm 0.0001$ rather than HI at lower redshift. The detected spectral line has 18.4$\sigma$ peak significance, a width of $459 \pm 59\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$, and an integrated luminosity of $(6.31 \pm 0.18\,{\rm [statistical]}\,\pm 0.31\,{\rm [systematic]}) \times 10^3\,L_\odot$, placing it among the most luminous OHMs known. The galaxy's far-infrared luminosity $L_{\rm FIR} = (1.576 \pm 0.013) \times 10^{12}\,L_\odot$ marks it as an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy; its ratio of OH and infrared luminosities is similar to those for lower-redshift OHMs. A comparison between optical and OH redshifts offers a slight indication of an OH outflow. This detection represents the first step towards a systematic exploitation of OHMs as a tracer of galaxy growth at high redshifts.

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arXiv2019

Synthesizing Observations and Theory to Understand Galactic Magnetic Fields: Progress and Challenges

Constraining dynamo theories of magnetic field origin by observation is indispensable but challenging, in part because the basic quantities measured by observers and predicted by modelers are different. We clarify these differences and sketch out ways to bridge the divide. Based on archival and previously unpublished data, we then compile various important properties of galactic magnetic fields for nearby spiral galaxies. We consistently compute strengths of total, ordered, and regular fields, pitch angles of ordered and regular fields, and we summarize the present knowledge on azimuthal modes, field parities, and the properties of non-axisymmetric spiral features called magnetic arms. We review related aspects of dynamo theory, with a focus on mean-field models and their predictions for large-scale magnetic fields in galactic discs and halos. Further, we measure the velocity dispersion of HI gas in arm and inter-arm regions in three galaxies, M 51, M 74, and NGC 6496, since spiral modulation of the root-mean-square turbulent speed has been proposed as a driver of non-axisymmetry in large-scale dynamos. We find no evidence for such a modulation and place upper limits on its strength, helping to narrow down the list of mechanisms to explain magnetic arms. Successes and remaining challenges of dynamo models with respect to explaining observations are briefly summarized, and possible strategies are suggested. With new instruments like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), large data sets of magnetic and non-magnetic properties from thousands of galaxies will become available, to be compared with theory.

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arXiv2018

The Neutral Hydrogen Properties of Galaxies in Gas-rich Groups

We present an analysis of the integrated neutral hydrogen (HI) properties for 27 galaxies within nine low mass, gas-rich, late-type dominated groups which we denote "Choirs". We find that majority of the central Choir galaxies have average HI content: they have a normal gas-mass fraction with respect to isolated galaxies of the same stellar mass. In contrast, we find more satellite galaxies with a lower gas-mass fraction than isolated galaxies of the same stellar mass. A likely reason for the lower gas content in these galaxies is tidal stripping. Both the specific star formation rate and the star formation efficiency of the central group galaxies are similar to galaxies in isolation. The Choir satellite galaxies have similar specific star formation rate as galaxies in isolation, therefore satellites that exhibit a higher star formation efficiency simply owe it to their lower gas-mass fractions. We find that the most HI massive galaxies have the largest HI discs and fall neatly onto the HI size-mass relation, while outliers are galaxies that are experiencing interactions. We find that high specific angular momentum could be a reason for galaxies to retain the large fraction of HI gas in their discs. This shows that for the Choir groups with no evidence of interactions, as well as those with traces of minor mergers, the internal galaxy properties dominate over the effects of residing in a group. The probed galaxy properties strengthen evidence that the Choir groups represent the early stages of group assembly.

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arXiv2017

HI Kinematics and Mass Distribution of Messier 33

A new deep HI survey of the galaxy Messier 33 is presented, based on observations obtained at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. We observe a perturbed outer gas distribution and kinematics in M33, and confirm the disk warping as a significant kinematical twist of the major axis of the velocity field, though no strong tilt is measured, in agreement with previous work. Evidence for a new low brightness HI component with anomalous velocity is reported. It harbours a large velocity scatter, as its kinematics both exceeds and lags the rotation of the disk, and leaks in the forbidden velocity zone of apparent counter-rotation. The observations also reveal wide and multiple peak HI profiles which can be partly explained by crowded orbits in the framework of the warp model. Asymmetric motions are identified in the velocity field, as possible signatures of a lopsided potential and the warp. The mass distribution modeling of the hybrid Halpha-HI rotation curve favours a cuspy dark matter halo with a concentration in disagreement with the LambdaCDM dark halo mass-concentration relationship. The total mass enclosed in 23 kpc is 8 10^10 Msol, of which 11% are stars and gas. At the virial radius of the cuspy halo, the resulting total mass is 5 10^11 Msol, but with a baryonic mass fraction of 2% only. This strongly suggests a more realistic radius encompassing the total mass of M33 well smaller than the virial radius of the halo, maybe comparable to the size of the HI disk.

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arXiv2013

Choirs, HI Galaxy Groups: Catalogue and Detection of Star-forming Dwarf Group Members

H{\alpha} observations centred on galaxies selected from the HI Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS, Barnes et al. 2001) typically show one and sometimes two star-forming galaxies within the approximately 15-arcminute beam of the Parkes 64-m HI detections. In our Survey of Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies (SINGG, Meurer et al. 2006) we found fifteen cases of HIPASS sources containing four or more emission line galaxies (ELGs). We name these fields Choir groups. In the most extreme case we found a field with at least nine ELGs. In this paper we present a catalogue of Choir group members in the context of the wider SINGG sample. The dwarf galaxies in the Choir groups would not be individually detectable in HIPASS at the observed distances if they were isolated, but are detected in SINGG narrow-band imaging due to their membership of groups with sufficiently large total HI mass. The ELGs in these groups are similar to the wider SINGG sample in terms of size, H{\alpha} equivalent width, and surface brightness. Eight of these groups have two large spiral galaxies with several dwarf galaxies and may be thought of as morphological analogues of the Local Group. However, on average our groups are not significantly HI-deficient, suggesting that they are at an early stage of assembly, and more like the M81 group. The Choir groups are very compact at typically only 190 kpc in projected distance between the two brightest members. They are very similar to SINGG fields in terms of star formation efficiency (the ratio of star formation rate to HI mass; SFE), showing an increasing trend in SFE with stellar mass.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

First-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Results: Hubble Diagram and Cosmological Parameters

We present measurements of the Hubble diagram for 103 Type Ia supernovae (SNe) with redshifts 0.04 < z < 0.42, discovered during the first season (Fall 2005) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. These data fill in the redshift "desert" between low- and high-redshift SN Ia surveys. We combine the SDSS-II measurements with new distance estimates for published SN data from the ESSENCE survey, the Supernova Legacy Survey, the Hubble Space Telescope, and a compilation of nearby SN Ia measurements. Combining the SN Hubble diagram with measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the SDSS Luminous Red Galaxy sample and with CMB temperature anisotropy measurements from WMAP, we estimate the cosmological parameters w and Omega_M, assuming a spatially flat cosmological model (FwCDM) with constant dark energy equation of state parameter, w. For the FwCDM model and the combined sample of 288 SNe Ia, we find w = -0.76 +- 0.07(stat) +- 0.11(syst), Omega_M = 0.306 +- 0.019(stat) +- 0.023(syst) using MLCS2k2 and w = -0.96 +- 0.06(stat) +- 0.12(syst), Omega_M = 0.265 +- 0.016(stat) +- 0.025(syst) using the SALT-II fitter. We trace the discrepancy between these results to a difference in the rest-frame UV model combined with a different luminosity correction from color variations; these differences mostly affect the distance estimates for the SNLS and HST supernovae. We present detailed discussions of systematic errors for both light-curve methods and find that they both show data-model discrepancies in rest-frame $U$-band. For the SALT-II approach, we also see strong evidence for redshift-dependence of the color-luminosity parameter (beta). Restricting the analysis to the 136 SNe Ia in the Nearby+SDSS-II samples, we find much better agreement between the two analysis methods but with larger uncertainties.

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arXiv2008

First-Year Spectroscopy for the SDSS-II Supernova Survey

This paper presents spectroscopy of supernovae discovered in the first season of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey. This program searches for and measures multi-band light curves of supernovae in the redshift range z = 0.05 - 0.4, complementing existing surveys at lower and higher redshifts. Our goal is to better characterize the supernova population, with a particular focus on SNe Ia, improving their utility as cosmological distance indicators and as probes of dark energy. Our supernova spectroscopy program features rapid-response observations using telescopes of a range of apertures, and provides confirmation of the supernova and host-galaxy types as well as precise redshifts. We describe here the target identification and prioritization, data reduction, redshift measurement, and classification of 129 SNe Ia, 16 spectroscopically probable SNe Ia, 7 SNe Ib/c, and 11 SNe II from the first season. We also describe our efforts to measure and remove the substantial host galaxy contamination existing in the majority of our SN spectra.

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