Detection and observable behaviours of high redshift superluminous supernovae

Supernovae provide one of the best means of measuring extragalactic distances, a procedure integral to understanding the early Universe and the nature of dark energy. The most distantly observable supernovae are generally of the superluminous variety, but detection of such distant events is challenging and few have been investigated to date. In my thesis I apply a novel detection approach specialised for identification of extremely distant objects to the photometry of the ongoing Dark Energy Survey, culminating in the most distant supernova spectrum ever collected.