Measurements of Ω and Λ from 42 High‐Redshift Supernovae

We report measurements of the mass density, Omega_M, andcosmological-constant energy density, Omega_Lambda, of the universe based onthe analysis of 42 Type Ia supernovae discovered by the Supernova CosmologyProject. The magnitude-redshift data for these SNe, at redshifts between 0.18and 0.83, are fit jointly with a set of SNe from the Calan/Tololo SupernovaSurvey, at redshifts below 0.1, to yield values for the cosmologicalparameters. All SN peak magnitudes are standardized using a SN Ia lightcurvewidth-luminosity relation. The measurement yields a joint probabilitydistribution of the cosmological parameters that is approximated by therelation 0.8 Omega_M - 0.6 Omega_Lambda ~= -0.2 +/- 0.1 in the region ofinterest (Omega_M <~ 1.5). For a flat (Omega_M + Omega_Lambda = 1) cosmology wefind Omega_M = 0.28{+0.09,-0.08} (1 sigma statistical) {+0.05,-0.04}(identified systematics). The data are strongly inconsistent with a Lambda = 0flat cosmology, the simplest inflationary universe model. An open, Lambda = 0cosmology also does not fit the data well: the data indicate that thecosmological constant is non-zero and positive, with a confidence of P(Lambda >0) = 99%, including the identified systematic uncertainties. The best-fit ageof the universe relative to the Hubble time is t_0 = 14.9{+1.4,-1.1} (0.63/h)Gyr for a flat cosmology. The size of our sample allows us to perform a varietyof statistical tests to check for possible systematic errors and biases. Wefind no significant differences in either the host reddening distribution orMalmquist bias between the low-redshift Calan/Tololo sample and ourhigh-redshift sample. The conclusions are robust whether or not awidth-luminosity relation is used to standardize the SN peak magnitudes.