Implications for galaxy evolution from cosmic evolution of the supernova rate density

We report on a comprehensive statistical analysis of observational data of the cosmic evolution of the supernova (SN) rate density, to derive constraints on cosmic star-formation history and the nature of a type Ia supernova (SN Ia) progenitor. We use all available information concerning the magnitude, SN type, and redshift information of both type Ia and core-collapse (CC) SNe in GOODS and SDF, as well as SN Ia rate densities reported in the literature. We also add 157 SN candidates in the past Subaru/Suprime-Cam data that are newly reported here, to increase the statistics. We find that the current data set of the SN rate density evolution already gives a meaningful constraint on the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) at z less than or similar to 1, though strong constraints cannot be derived for the delay time distribution (DTD) of SNe Ia. We derive a constraint of alpha similar to 3-4 [the evolutionary index of SFR density proportional to (1 + z)(alpha) at z less than or similar to 1] with evidence for a significant evolution of the mean extinction of CC SNe [E (B - V) similar to 0.5 at z similar to 0.5 compared with similar to 0.2 at z = 0], which does not change significantly within a reasonable range of various DTD models. This result is consistent with the systematic trend of a estimates based on galactic SFR indicators at different wavelengths (ultraviolet, Ha, and infrared), indicating that there is a strong evolution in the mean extinction of star-forming regions in galaxies at relatively low redshift range of z less than or similar to 0.5. These results are obtained by a method that is completely independent of galaxy surveys and, especially, there is no detection limit about the host galaxy luminosity in our analysis, giving a strong constraint on the star-formation activity in high-z dwarf galaxies or intergalactic space.