Several thousand core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) of different flavors have been discovered so far. However, identifying their progenitors has remained an outstanding open question in astrophysics. Studies of SN host galaxies have proven to be powerful in providing constraints on the progenitor populations. In this paper, we present all CCSNe detected between 2009 and 2017 by the Palomar Transient Factory. This sample includes 888 SNe of 12 distinct classes out to redshift z approximate to 1. We present the photometric properties of their host galaxies from the far-ultraviolet to the mid-infrared and model the host-galaxy spectral energy distributions to derive physical properties. The galaxy mass function of Type Ic, Ib, IIb, II, and IIn SNe ranges from 10(5) to 10(11.5) M (circle dot), probing the entire mass range of star-forming galaxies down to the least-massive star-forming galaxies known. Moreover, the galaxy mass distributions are consistent with models of star-formation-weighted mass functions. Regular CCSNe are hence direct tracers of star formation. Small but notable differences exist between some of the SN classes. Type Ib/c SNe prefer galaxies with slightly higher masses (i.e., higher metallicities) and star formation rates than Type IIb and II SNe. These differences are less pronounced than previously thought. H-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and SNe Ic-BL are scarce in galaxies above 10(10) M (circle dot). Their progenitors require environments with metallicities of < 0.4 and < 1 solar, respectively. In addition, the hosts of H-poor SLSNe are dominated by a younger stellar population than all other classes of CCSNe. Our findings corroborate the notion that low metallicity and young age play an important role in the formation of SLSN progenitors.

The evolution of a Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) is governed by the interaction between the SN ejecta and a hydrogen-rich circumstellar medium. The SNe IIn thus allow us to probe the late-time mass-loss history of their progenitor stars. We present a sample of SNe IIn from the untargeted, magnitude-limited surveys of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and its successor, the intermediate PTF (iPTF). To date, statistics on SN IIn optical light-curve properties have generally been based on small (≲ 10 SNe) samples from targeted SN surveys. The SNe IIn found and followed by the PTF/iPTF were used to select a sample of 42 events with useful constraints on the rise times as well as with available post-peak photometry. The sample SNe were discovered in 2009-2016 and have at least one low-resolution classification spectrum, as well as photometry from the P48 and P60 telescopes at Palomar Observatory. We study the light-curve properties of these SNe IIn using spline fits (for the peak and the declining portion) and template matching (for the rising portion). We study the peak-magnitude distribution, rise times, decline rates, colour evolution, host galaxies, and K-corrections of the SNe in our sample. We find that the typical rise times are divided into fast and slow risers at 20±6 d and 50±11 d, respectively. The decline rates are possibly divided into two clusters (with slopes 0.013 ± 0.006 mag d^-1 and 0.040±0.010 mag d^-1), but this division has weak statistical significance. We find no significant correlation between the peak luminosity of SNe IIn and their rise times, but the more luminous SNe IIn are generally found to be more long-lasting. Slowly rising SNe IIn are generally found to decline slowly. The SNe in our sample were hosted by galaxies of absolute magnitude -22 ≲ M_g ≲ -13 mag. The K-corrections at light-curve peak of the SNe IIn in our sample are found to be within 0.2 mag for the observer's frame r-band, for SNe at redshifts z < 0.25. By applying K-corrections and also including ostensibly "superluminous" SNe IIn, we find that the peak magnitudes are M_peak^r = -19.18±1.32 mag. We conclude that the occurrence of conspicuous light-curve bumps in SNe IIn, such as in iPTF13z, are limited to 1.4+14.6−1.0 % of the SNe IIn. We also investigate a possible sub-type of SNe IIn with a fast rise to a ≳ 50 d plateau followed by a slow, linear decline.

Colors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the first few days after explosion provide a potential discriminant between different models. In this paper, we present g - r colors of 65 SNe Ia discovered within 5 days from first light by the Zwicky Transient Facility in 2018, a sample that is about three times larger than that in the literature. We find that g - r colors are intrinsically rather homogeneous at early phases, with about half of the dispersion attributable to photometric uncertainties (0.18 mag). Colors are nearly constant starting from 6 days after first light (g-r similar to -0.15 mag), while the time evolution at earlier epochs is characterized by a continuous range of slopes, from events rapidly transitioning from redder to bluer colors (slope of similar to-0.25 mag day(-1)) to events with a flatter evolution. The continuum in the slope distribution is in good agreement both with models requiring some amount of Ni-56 mixed in the outermost regions of the ejecta and with double-detonation models having thin helium layers (M-He = 0.01 M-circle dot) and varying carbon-oxygen core masses. At the same time, six events show evidence for a distinctive red bump signature predicted by double-detonation models with larger helium masses. We finally identify a significant correlation between the early-timeg - rslopes and supernova brightness, with brighter events associated to flatter color evolution (p-value = 0.006). The distribution of slopes, however, is consistent with being drawn from a single population, with no evidence for two components as claimed in the literature based on B - V colors.

An increase in the number of studied Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) has demonstrated that this class of explosions has a greater diversity in its observables than was previously assumed. The reasons (e.g. the explosion mechanism, progenitor system) for such a diversity remain unknown. Here, we analyse a sample of r-band light curves of SNe Ia, focusing on their behaviour similar to 2-4 weeks after maximum light, i.e. the second maximum. We characterize the second maximum by its timing (t(r2)) and the integrated flux ((F) over bar (r2)). We find that t(r2) correlates with the 'colour-stretch' parameter s(BV), which can be used as a proxy for Ni-56 mass, and (F) over bar (r2) correlates with the transparency time-scale, t(0). Using (F) over bar (r2) for a sample of 199 SNe from the Palomar Transient Factory and intermediate Palomar Transient Factory, we evaluate a distribution on t(0) for a sample of SNe Ia found in an 'untargeted' survey. Comparing this distribution to the predictions of t(0) ranges from models we find that the largest overlap in t(0) values between models and observations is for the sub-Chandrasekhar double detonation models. We also compare our relations between t(0) and (F) over bar (r2) with that from the 1D explosion models of Goldstein & Kasen and confirm that (F) over bar (r2) can be used as a diagnostic of the total ejecta mass.

Type Ia Supernovae (SNe) have been used to discover the accelerated expansion of the universe but many open questions remain unanswered. These include the stellar progenitor, extinction and possible systematic trends in the supernova brightness for different host galaxy environments or cosmic time. In this thesis we attempt to address these open questions by looking at a large homogeneous sample of nearby SNe from the Palomar Transient Factory (2009-2012) and the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (2013-2017) for which we have 265 well-observed light-curves in the R-band and 2981 spectra from a total of 2060 SNe.

In Paper I we study the global properties of the R-band light-curves, such as rise-time, stretch and intrinsic brightness at different SN phases, to examine if there are multiple populations in any of the parameters suggesting different progenitor channels. We do not find evidence supporting this. We characterize the second maximum in the R-band in Paper II and find a correlation between the time from light-curve maximum, and the "colour-stretch" parameter, a proxy for ⁵⁶Ni mass. We also found that the integrated flux under the second maximum, correlates with the transparency timescale, a proxy for total ejecta mass. Using these two relations we find that sub-Chandrasekhar double detonation models can account for the biggest fraction of the PTF/iPTF SNe light-curves properties. In Paper III we present the spectroscopic sample of PTF/iPTF and using automatic machine learning tools to explore spectral features and possible connection to photometric and host galaxy properties.

Paper IV focuses on a small sample of SNe, with multi-wavelength light-curves, to address one of the most important systematic uncertainties in supernova cosmology: extinction by dust in the line-of-sights. We found a diversity in the reddening laws as characterised by the total-to-selective extinction, R_V. Finally, Paper V looks at a strongly lensed SNIa at z=1.4  to see if there is evolution of its spectral and photometric properties over cosmic time. Both Paper IV and Paper V use the code developed for Paper III to analyse spectra.

We present the best 265 sampled R-band light curves of spectroscopically identified Type Ia supernovae (SNe) from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF; 2009-2012) survey and the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF; 2013-2017). A model-independent light-curve template is built from our data-set with the purpose to investigate average properties and diversity in our sample. We searched for multiple populations in the light-curve properties using machine learning tools. We also utilized the long history of our light curves, up to 4000 days, to exclude any significant pre- or post- supernova flares. From the shapes of light curves we found the average rise time in the R band to be 16.8&#x2212;0.6+0.5'>16.8 +0.5 −0.6  16.8−0.6+0.5 days. Although PTF/iPTF were single-band surveys, by modelling the residuals of the SNe in the Hubble–Lemaître diagram, we estimate the average colour excess of our sample to be 〈E(B − V)〉 ≈ 0.05(2) mag and thus the mean corrected peak brightness to be M_R = −19.02 ± 0.02 +5log&#x2061;(H0[kms&#x2212;1Mpc&#x2212;1]/70)'>+5log(H 0 [kms −1 Mpc −1 ]/70) +5log⁡(H0[kms−1Mpc−1]/70) mag with only weak dependennce on light–curve shape. The intrinsic scatter is found to be σ_R = 0.186 ± 0.033 mag for the redshift range 0.05 < z < 0.1, without colour corrections of individual SNe. Our analysis shows that Malmquist bias becomes very significant at z = 0.13. A similar limitation is expected for the ongoing Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey using the same telescope, but new camera expressly designed for ZTF.

Key information about the progenitor system and the explosion mechanism of Type la supernovae (SNe Ia) can be obtained from early observations, within a few days from explosion. iPTF16abc was discovered as a young SN la with excellent early time data. Here, we present photometry and spectroscopy of the SN in the nebular phase. A comparison of the early time data with a sample of SNe la shows distinct features, differing from normal SNe la at early phases but similar to normal SNe Ia at a few weeks after maximum light (i.e. the transitional phase) and well into the nebular phase. The transparency time-scales (t(0)) for this sample of SNe Ia range between similar to 25 and 41 d indicating a diversity in the ejecta masses. t(0) also weakly correlates with the peak bolometric luminosity, consistent with the interpretation that SNe with higher ejecta masses would produce more Ni-56. Comparing the to and the maximum luminosity, L-max distribution of a sample of SNe Ia to predictions from a wide range of explosion models we find an indication that the sub-Chandrasekhar mass models span the range of observed values. However, the bright end of the distribution can be better explained by Chandrasekhar mass delayed detonation models, hinting at multiple progenitor channels to explain the observed bolometric properties of SNe Ia. iPTF16abc appears to be consistent with the predictions from the M-ch models.

We report the discovery of a multiply imaged, gravitationally lensed type Ia supernova, iPTF16geu (SN 2016geu), at redshift z = 0.409. This phenomenon was identified because the light from the stellar explosion was magnified more than 50 times by the curvature of space around matter in an intervening galaxy. We used high-spatial-resolution observations to resolve four images of the lensed supernova, approximately 0.3 arc seconds from the center of the foreground galaxy. The observations probe a physical scale of ~1 kiloparsec, smaller than is typical in other studies of extragalactic gravitational lensing. The large magnification and symmetric image configuration imply close alignment between the lines of sight to the supernova and to the lens. The relative magnifications of the four images provide evidence for substructures in the lensing galaxy.

Context. The light from distant supernovae (SNe) can be magnified through gravitational lensing when a foreground galaxy is located along the line of sight. This line-up allows for detailed studies of SNe at high redshift that otherwise would not be possible. Spectroscopic observations of lensed high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are of particular interest since they can be used to test for evolution of their intrinsic properties. The use of SNe Ia for probing the cosmic expansion history has proven to be an extremely powerful method for measuring cosmological parameters. However, if systematic redshift-dependent properties are found, their usefulness for future surveys could be challenged. Aims. We investigate whether the spectroscopic properties of the strongly lensed and very distant SN Ia PS1-10afx at z = 1.4, deviates from the well-studied populations of normal SNe Ia at nearby or intermediate distance. Methods. We created median spectra from nearby and intermediate-redshift spectroscopically normal SNe Ia from the literature at -5 and + 1 days from light-curve maximum. We then compared these median spectra to those of PS1-10afx. Results. We do not find signs of spectral evolution in PS1-10afx. The observed deviation between PS1-10afx and the median templates are within what is found for SNe at low and intermediate redshift. There is a noticeable broad feature centred at lambda similar to 3500 angstrom which is present only to a lesser extent in individual low-and intermediate-redshift SN Ia spectra. From a comparison with a recently developed explosion model, we find this feature to be dominated by iron peak elements, in particular, singly ionized cobalt and chromium.

In this article, we compare optical light curves of two SN2002es-like Type Ia supernovae (SNe), iPTF14atg and iPTF14dpk, from the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory. Although the two light curves resemble each other around and after maximum, they show distinct early-phase rise behavior in the r-band. On the one hand, iPTF14atg revealed a slow and steady rise that lasted for 22 days with a mean rise rate of 0.2-0.3 mag day(-1), before it reached the R-band peak (- 18.05 mag). On the other hand, iPTF14dpk rose rapidly to - 17 mag within a day of discovery with a rise rate > 1.8 mag day(-1), and then rose slowly to its peak (- 18.19 mag) with a rise rate similar to iPTF14atg. The apparent total rise time of iPTF14dpk is therefore only 16 days. We show that emission from iPTF14atg before - 17 days with respect to its maximum can be entirely attributed to radiation produced by collision between the SN and its companion star. Such emission is absent from iPTF14dpk probably because of an unfavored viewing angle, provided that SN2002es-like events arise from the same progenitor channel. We further show that an SN2002es-like SN may experience a dark phase after the explosion but before its radioactively powered light curve becomes visible. This dark phase may be lit by radiation from supernova-companion interaction.