Systematic Effects in Type-1a Supernovae Surveys from Host Galaxy Spectra

The physical relation between the properties of Type Ia supernovae and their host galaxies is investigated. Such supernovae are used to constrain the properties of dark energy, making it crucial to understand their physical properties and to check for systematic effects relating to the stellar populations of the progenitor stars from which these supernovae arose. This grant found strong evidence for two distinct populations of supernovae, and correlations between the progenitor stellar populations and the nature of the supernova light curves