TESTING COSMOLOGICAL MODELS WITH TYPE Ic SUPER LUMINOUS SUPERNOVAE

The use of type Ic super luminous supernovae (SLSNe Ic) to examine the cosmological expansion introduces a new standard ruler with which to test theoretical models. The sample suitable for this kind of work now includes 11 SLSNe Ic, which have thus far been used solely in tests involving the. cold dark matter (Lambda CDM) model. In this paper, we broaden the base of support for this new, important cosmic probe by using these observations to carry out a one-on-one comparison between the R-h = ct and Lambda CDM cosmologies. We individually optimize the parameters in each cosmological model by minimizing the chi(2) statistic. We also carry out Monte Carlo simulations based on these current SLSNe Ic measurements to estimate how large the sample would have to be in order to rule out either model at a similar to 99.7% confidence level. The currently available sample indicates a likelihood of similar to 70-80% that the R-h = ct universe is the correct cosmology versus similar to 20-30% for the standard model. These results are suggestive, though not yet compelling, given the current limited number of SLSNe Ic. We find that if the real cLosmology is Lambda CDM, a sample of similar to 240 SLSNe Ic would be sufficient to rule out R-h = ct at this level of confidence, while similar to 480 SLSNe Ic would be required to rule out Lambda CDM if the real universe is instead R-h = ct. This difference in required sample size reflects the greater number of free parameters available to fit the data with Lambda CDM. If such SLSNe Ic are commonly detected in the future, they could be a powerful tool for constraining the dark-energy equation of state in Lambda CDM, and differentiating between this model and the R-h = ct universe.