ST ScI Preprint #1375
We discuss the cosmic history of supernovae on the basis of various assumptions and recent data on the star formation history. We show that supernova rates as a function of redshift can be used to place significant constraints on progenitor models, on the star formation history, and on the importance of dust obscuration. We demonstrate that it is unlikely that the current observational indications for the existence of a cosmological constant are merely an artifact of the dominance of different progenitor classes at different redshift intervals.
1) Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD
21218
2) Permanent address: Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, 48 Pyatnitskaya Street, 10917 Moscow, Russia