skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: A BayeSN distance ladder: H 0 from a consistent modelling of Type Ia supernovae from the optical to the near-infrared
ABSTRACT The local distance ladder estimate of the Hubble constant (H0) is important in cosmology, given the recent tension with the early universe inference. We estimate H0 from the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) distance ladder, inferring SN Ia distances with the hierarchical Bayesian SED model, BayeSN. This method has a notable advantage of being able to continuously model the optical and near-infrared (NIR) SN Ia light curves simultaneously. We use two independent distance indicators, Cepheids or the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB), to calibrate a Hubble-flow sample of 67 SNe Ia with optical and NIR data. We estimate H0 = 74.82 ± 0.97 (stat) $$\pm \, 0.84$$ (sys) km $${\rm s}^{-1}\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$$ when using the calibration with Cepheid distances to 37 host galaxies of 41 SNe Ia, and 70.92 ± 1.14 (stat) $$\pm \, 1.49$$ (sys) km $${\rm s}^{-1}\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$$ when using the calibration with TRGB distances to 15 host galaxies of 18 SNe Ia. For both methods, we find a low intrinsic scatter σint ≲ 0.1 mag. We test various selection criteria and do not find significant shifts in the estimate of H0. Simultaneous modelling of the optical and NIR yields up to ∼15  per cent reduction in H0 uncertainty compared to the equivalent optical-only cases. With improvements expected in other rungs of the distance ladder, leveraging joint optical-NIR SN Ia data can be critical to reducing the H0 error budget.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2239364
PAR ID:
10530498
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Oxford Academic
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume:
524
Issue:
1
ISSN:
0035-8711
Page Range / eLocation ID:
235 to 244
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, The Astrophysical Journal)
    Abstract The current Cepheid-calibrated distance ladder measurement of H 0 is reported to be in tension with the values inferred from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), assuming standard cosmology. However, some tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) estimates report H 0 in better agreement with the CMB. Hence, it is critical to reduce systematic uncertainties in local measurements to understand the Hubble tension. In this paper, we propose a uniform distance ladder between the second and third rungs, combining Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) with a TRGB calibration of their absolute luminosity. A large, volume-limited sample of both calibrator and Hubble flow SNe Ia from the same survey minimizes two of the largest sources of systematics: host-galaxy bias and nonuniform photometric calibration. We present results from a pilot study using the existing TRGB distance to the host galaxy of ZTF SN Ia SN 2021rhu (aka ZTF21abiuvdk) in NGC7814. Combining the ZTF calibrator with a volume-limited sample from the first data release of ZTF Hubble flow SNe Ia, we infer H 0 = 76.94 ± 6.4 km s −1 Mpc −1 , an 8.3% measurement. The error budget is dominated by the single object calibrating the SN Ia luminosity in this pilot study. However, the ZTF sample includes already five other SNe Ia within ∼20 Mpc for which TRGB distances can be obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. Finally, we present the prospects of building this distance ladder out to 80 Mpc with James Webb Space Telescope observations of more than 100 ZTF SNe Ia. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Astronomy & Astrophysics)
    null (Ed.)
    We present a new calibration of the peak absolute magnitude of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) based on the surface brightness fluctuations (SBF) method, aimed at measuring the value of the Hubble constant. We build a sample of calibrating anchors consisting of 24 SNe hosted in galaxies that have SBF distance measurements. Applying a hierarchical Bayesian approach, we calibrate the SN Ia peak luminosity and extend the Hubble diagram into the Hubble flow by using a sample of 96 SNe Ia in the redshift range 0.02 <  z  < 0.075, which was extracted from the Combined Pantheon Sample. We estimate a value of H 0  = 70.50 ± 2.37 (stat.) ± 3.38 (sys.) km s −1 Mpc −1 (i.e., 3.4% stat., 4.8% sys.), which is in agreement with the value obtained using the tip of the red giant branch calibration. It is also consistent, within errors, with the value obtained from SNe Ia calibrated with Cepheids or the value inferred from the analysis of the cosmic microwave background. We find that the SNe Ia distance moduli calibrated with SBF are on average larger by 0.07 mag than those calibrated with Cepheids. Our results point to possible differences among SNe in different types of galaxies, which could originate from different local environments and/or progenitor properties of SNe Ia. Sampling different host galaxy types, SBF offers a complementary approach to using Cepheids, which is important in addressing possible systematics. As the SBF method has the ability to reach larger distances than Cepheids, the impending entry of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and JWST into operation will increase the number of SNe Ia hosted in galaxies where SBF distances can be measured, making SBF measurements attractive for improving the calibration of SNe Ia, as well as in the estimation of H 0 . 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, The Astrophysical Journal)
    Abstract Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are more precise standardizable candles when measured in the near-infrared (NIR) than in the optical. With this motivation, from 2012 to 2017 we embarked on the RAISIN program with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain rest-frame NIR light curves for a cosmologically distant sample of 37 SNe Ia (0.2 ≲z≲ 0.6) discovered by Pan-STARRS and the Dark Energy Survey. By comparing higher-zHST data with 42 SNe Ia atz< 0.1 observed in the NIR by the Carnegie Supernova Project, we construct a Hubble diagram from NIR observations (with only time of maximum light and some selection cuts from optical photometry) to pursue a unique avenue to constrain the dark energy equation-of-state parameter,w. We analyze the dependence of the full set of Hubble residuals on the SN Ia host galaxy mass and find Hubble residual steps of size ∼0.06-0.1 mag with 1.5σ−2.5σsignificance depending on the method and step location used. Combining our NIR sample with cosmic microwave background constraints, we find 1 +w= −0.17 ± 0.12 (statistical + systematic errors). The largest systematic errors are the redshift-dependent SN selection biases and the properties of the NIR mass step. We also use these data to measureH0= 75.9 ± 2.2 km s−1Mpc−1from stars with geometric distance calibration in the hosts of eight SNe Ia observed in the NIR versusH0= 71.2 ± 3.8 km s−1Mpc−1using an inverse distance ladder approach tied to Planck. Using optical data, we find 1 +w= −0.10 ± 0.09, and with optical and NIR data combined, we find 1 +w= −0.06 ± 0.07; these shifts of up to ∼0.11 inwcould point to inconsistency in the optical versus NIR SN models. There will be many opportunities to improve this NIR measurement and better understand systematic uncertainties through larger low-zsamples, new light-curve models, calibration improvements, and eventually by building high-zsamples from the Roman Space Telescope. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, The Astrophysical Journal)
    Abstract The Hubble Tension, a >5σdiscrepancy between direct and indirect measurements of the Hubble constant (H0), has persisted for a decade and motivated intense scrutiny of the paths used to inferH0. Comparing independently derived distances for a set of galaxies with different standard candles, such as the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) and Cepheid variables, can test for systematics in the middle rung of the distance ladder. TheIband is the preferred filter for measuring the TRGB due to constancy with color, a result of low sensitivity to population differences in age and metallicity supported by stellar models. We use James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations with the maser host NGC 4258 as our geometric anchor to measureI-band (F090W versus F090W − F150W) TRGB distances to eight hosts of 10 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) within 28 Mpc: NGC 1448, NGC 1559, NGC 2525, NGC 3370, NGC 3447, NGC 5584, NGC 5643, and NGC 5861. We compare these with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cepheid-based relative distance moduli for the same galaxies and anchor. We find no evidence of a difference between their weighted means, 0.01 ± 0.04 (stat) ± 0.04 (sys) mag. We produce 14 variants of the TRGB analysis, altering the smoothing level and color range used to measure the tips to explore their impact. For some hosts, this changes the identification of the strongest peak, but this causes little change to the sample mean difference, producing a full range of 0.00–0.02 mag, all consistent at 1σwith no difference. The result matches past comparisons ofI-band TRGB and Cepheids when both use HST. SNe and anchor samples observed with JWST are too small to yield a measure ofH0that is competitive with the HST sample of 42 SNe Ia and 4 anchors; however, they already provide a vital systematic cross-check to HST measurements of the distance ladder. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)
    Abstract The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) provides a luminous standard candle for constructing distance ladders to measure the Hubble constant. In practice, its measurements via edge-detection response (EDR) are complicated by the apparent fuzziness of the tip and the multipeak landscape of the EDR. Previously, we optimized an unsupervised algorithm, Comparative Analysis of TRGBs, to minimize the variance among multiple halo fields per host without relying on individualized choices, achieving state-of-the-art ∼<0.05 mag distance measures for optimal data. Here we apply this algorithm to an expanded sample of SN Ia hosts to standardize these to multiple fields in the geometric anchor, NGC 4258. In concert with the Pantheon+ SN Ia sample, this analysis produces a (baseline) result ofH0= 73.22 ± 2.06 km s−1Mpc−1. The largest difference inH0between this and similar studies employing the TRGB derives from corrections for SN survey differences and local flows used in the most recent SN Ia compilations that were absent in earlier studies. The SN-related differences total ∼2.0 km s−1Mpc−1. A smaller share, ∼1.4 km s−1Mpc−1, results from the inhomogeneity of the TRGB calibration across the distance ladder. We employ a grid of 108 variants around the optimal TRGB algorithm and find that the median of the variants is 72.94 ± 1.98 km s−1Mpc−1with an additional uncertainty due to algorithm choices of 0.83 km s−1Mpc−1. None of these TRGB variants result in anH0of less than 71.6 km s−1Mpc−1. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email