Supernovae in Low-Redshift Galaxy Clusters: The Type Ia Supernova Rate

Supernova (SN) rates are a potentially powerful diagnostic of star formation history (SFH), metal enrichment, and SN physics, particularly in galaxy clusters with their deep, metal-retaining potentials and simple SFH. However, a low-redshift cluster SN rate has never been published. We derive the SN rate in galaxy clusters at 0.06 < z < 0.19, based on Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that were discovered by the Wise Observatory Optical Transient Survey. As described in a separate paper, a sample of 140 rich Abell clusters was monitored, in which six cluster SNe Ia were found and confirmed spectroscopically. Here we determine the SN detection efficiencies of the individual survey images and combine the efficiencies with the known spectral properties of SNe Ia to calculate the effective visibility time of the survey. The cluster stellar luminosities are measured from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database in the griz SDSS bands. Uncertainties are estimated using Monte Carlo simulations in which all input parameters are allowed to vary over their known distributions. We derive SN rates normalized by stellar luminosity, in SNu (supernova units, SNe per century per 10^(10) L_⊙) in five photometric bandpasses, 0.36^(+0.22)_(-0.14) ± 0.02 (B), 0.351^(+0.210)_(-0.139) ± 0.020 (g), 0.288^(+0.172)_(-0.114) ± 0.018 (r), 0.229^(+0.137)_(-0.091) ± 0.014 (i), and 0.186^(+0.111)_(-0.074) ± 0.010 (z), where the quoted errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. The SN rate per stellar mass unit, derived using a color-luminosity-mass relation, is 0.098^(+0.059)_(-0.039) ± 0.009 SNe (100 yr 10^(10) M_⊙)^(-1). The low cluster SN rates we find are similar to, and consistent with, the SN Ia rate in local elliptical galaxies