Type Ia supernovae and their host galaxies in next generation cosmology measurements

Several new telescopes and surveys are being planned in order to improve our measurements of the cosmological parameters, and hence better understand Dark Energy. This project will make use of a combination of archival and simulated data to prepare for future, massive surveys aimed at using Type Ia supernovae as distance indicators. The project will focus on how host-galaxy information can be used to improve results in two specific areas (i) improving the use of the 'mass-step' that is used in the cosmological analysis and (ii) reducing contamination in the cosmological sample of Type Ia SNe by improving photometric classification algorithms. The work will be carried out in the context of major new facilities that will come online in the next few years, namely LSST (the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope), ESA's Euclid mission and 4MOST (the 4meter Multi-Object Spectrograph Telescope). The PhD project may also include some initial analysis of the first data from these surveys, depending on how their schedules progress.