Detecting Z > 2 Type Iin Supernovae

Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn) dominate the brightest supernova events in observed FUV flux (∼1200 − 2000Å). We show that multi-band, multi-epoch optical surveys complete to mr = 27 can detect the FUV emission of ∼25 z > 2 SNe IIn deg yr rest-frame (∼10 SNe IIn deg yr observed-frame) to 4σ using a technique monitoring color-selected galaxies. Moreover, the strength and evolution of the bright emission lines observed in low-redshift SNe IIn imply that the Lyα emission features in ∼70% of z > 2 SNe IIn are above 8m-class telescope spectroscopic thresholds for ∼2 yr rest-frame. As a result, existing facilities have the capability to both photometrically detect and spectroscopically confirm z > 2 SNe IIn and pave the way for efficient searches by future 8m-class survey and 30m-class telescopes. The method presented here uses the sensitivities and widefield capabilities of current optical instruments and exploits (1) the efficiency of z > 2 galaxy color-selection techniques, (2) the intrinsic brightness distribution (〈MB〉 = −19.0 ± 0.9) and blue profile of SNe IIn continua, (3) the presence of extremely bright, long-lived emission features, and (4) the potential to detect blueshifted SNe Ly-α emission shortward of host galaxy Ly-α features. Subject headings: supernovae: high redshift — supernovae: Type IIn — supernovae: surveys — galaxies: high redshift Gary McCue Postdoctoral Fellow Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Science de l’Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS.