scholarly journals A Preliminary Calibration of the JAGB Method Using Gaia EDR3

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Abigail J. Lee ◽  
Wendy L. Freedman ◽  
Barry F. Madore ◽  
Kayla A. Owens ◽  
In Sung Jang

Abstract The recently developed J-region asymptotic giant branch (JAGB) method has extraordinary potential as an extragalactic standard candle, capable of calibrating the absolute magnitudes of locally accessible Type Ia supernovae, thereby leading to an independent determination of the Hubble constant. Using Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) parallaxes, we calibrate the zero-point of the JAGB method, based on the mean luminosity of a color-selected subset of carbon-rich AGB stars. We identify Galactic carbon stars from the literature and use their near-infrared photometry and Gaia EDR3 parallaxes to measure their absolute J-band magnitudes. Based on these Milky Way parallaxes we determine the zero-point of the JAGB method to be M J = −6.14 ± 0.05 (stat) ± 0.11 (sys) mag. This Galactic calibration serves as a consistency check on the JAGB zero-point, agreeing well with previously published, independent JAGB calibrations based on geometric, detached eclipsing binary distances to the LMC and SMC. However, the JAGB stars used in this study suffer from the high parallax uncertainties that afflict the bright and red stars in EDR3, so we are not able to attain the higher precision of previous calibrations, and ultimately will rely on future improved DR4 and DR5 releases.

1999 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 68-68
Author(s):  
Koichi Iwamoto ◽  
Ken'Ichi Nomoto

The large luminosity (MV ≈ −19 ∼ −20) and the homogeneity in light curves and spectra of Type Ia supernovae(SNe Ia) have led to their use as distance indicators ultimately to determine the Hubble constant (H0). However, an increasing number of the observed samples from intermediate- and high-z (z ∼ 0.1 − 1) SN Ia survey projects(Hamuy et al. 1996, Perlmutter et al. 1997) have shown that there is a significant dispersion in the maximum brightness (∼ 0.4 mag) and the brighter-slower correlation between the brightness and the postmaximum decline rate, which was first pointed out by Phillips(1993). By taking the correlation into account, Hamuy et al.(1996) gave an estimate of H0 within the error bars half as much as previous ones.


2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A165
Author(s):  
Richard I. Anderson

Assessing the significance and implications of the recently established Hubble tension requires the comprehensive identification, quantification, and mitigation of uncertainties and/or biases affecting H0 measurements. Here, we investigate the previously overlooked distance scale bias resulting from the interplay between redshift and Leavitt laws in an expanding Universe: Redshift-Leavitt bias (RLB). Redshift dilates oscillation periods of pulsating stars residing in supernova-host galaxies relative to periods of identical stars residing in nearby (anchor) galaxies. Multiplying dilated log P with Leavitt Law slopes leads to underestimated absolute magnitudes, overestimated distance moduli, and a systematic error on H0. Emulating the SH0ES distance ladder, we estimate an associated H0 bias of (0.27 ± 0.01)% and obtain a corrected H0 = 73.70 ± 1.40 km s−1 Mpc−1. RLB becomes increasingly relevant as distance ladder calibrations pursue greater numbers of ever more distant galaxies hosting both Cepheids (or Miras) and type-Ia supernovae. The measured periods of oscillating stars can readily be corrected for heliocentric redshift (e.g. of their host galaxies) in order to ensure H0 measurements free of RLB.


2018 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
pp. A72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhail Dhawan ◽  
Saurabh W. Jha ◽  
Bruno Leibundgut

The most precise local measurements of H0 rely on observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) coupled with Cepheid distances to SN Ia host galaxies. Recent results have shown tension comparing H0 to the value inferred from CMB observations assuming ΛCDM, making it important to check for potential systematic uncertainties in either approach. To date, precise local H0 measurements have used SN Ia distances based on optical photometry, with corrections for light curve shape and colour. Here, we analyse SNe Ia as standard candles in the near-infrared (NIR), where luminosity variations in the supernovae and extinction by dust are both reduced relative to the optical. From a combined fit to 9 nearby calibrator SNe with host Cepheid distances from Riess et al. (2016) and 27 SNe in the Hubble flow, we estimate the absolute peak J magnitude MJ = −18.524 ± 0.041 mag and H0 = 72.8 ± 1.6 (statistical) ±2.7 (systematic) km s-1 Mpc-1. The 2.2% statistical uncertainty demonstrates that the NIR provides a compelling avenue to measuring SN Ia distances, and for our sample the intrinsic (unmodeled) peak J magnitude scatter is just ~0.10 mag, even without light curve shape or colour corrections. Our results do not vary significantly with different sample selection criteria, though photometric calibration in the NIR may be a dominant systematic uncertainty. Our findings suggest that tension in the competing H0 distance ladders is likely not a result of supernova systematics that could be expected to vary between optical and NIR wavelengths, like dust extinction. We anticipate further improvements in H0 with a larger calibrator sample of SNe Ia with Cepheid distances, more Hubble flow SNe Ia with NIR light curves, and better use of the full NIR photometric data set beyond simply the peak J-band magnitude.


2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A99 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Gieren ◽  
J. Storm ◽  
P. Konorski ◽  
M. Górski ◽  
B. Pilecki ◽  
...  

Context. The extragalactic distance scale builds on the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL) relation. Decades of work have not yet convincingly established the sensitivity of the PL relation to metallicity. This currently prevents a determination of the Hubble constant accurate to 1% from the classical Cepheid-SN Ia method. Aims. In this paper we carry out a strictly differential comparison of the absolute PL relations obeyed by classical Cepheids in the Milky Way (MW), LMC, and SMC galaxies. Taking advantage of the substantial metallicity difference among the Cepheid populations in these three galaxies, we want to establish a possible systematic trend of the PL relation absolute zero point as a function of metallicity, and to determine the size of such an effect in the optical and near-infrared photometric bands. Methods. We used a IRSB Baade-Wesselink-type method to determine individual distances to the Cepheids in our samples in the MW, LMC, and SMC. For our analysis, we used a greatly enhanced sample of Cepheids in the SMC (31 stars) compared to the small sample (5 stars) available in our previous work. We used the distances to determine absolute Cepheid PL relations in the optical and near-infrared bands in each of the three galaxies. Results. Our distance analysis of 31 SMC Cepheids with periods of 4–69 days yields tight PL relations in all studied bands, with slopes consistent with the corresponding LMC and MW relations. Adopting the very accurately determined LMC slopes for the optical and near-infrared bands, we determine the zero point offsets between the corresponding absolute PL relations in the three galaxies. Conclusions. We find that in all bands the metal-poor SMC Cepheids are intrinsically fainter than their more metal-rich counterparts in the LMC and MW. In the K band the metallicity effect is −0.23 ± 0.06 mag dex−1, while in the V, (V − I) Wesenheit index it is slightly stronger, −0.34 ± 0.06 mag dex−1. We find suggestive evidence that the metallicity sensitivity of the PL relation might be nonlinear, being small in the range between solar and LMC Cepheid metallicity, and becoming steeper towards the lower-metallicity regime.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S289) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Tammann ◽  
B. Reindl

AbstractAllan Sandage returned to the distance scale and the calibration of the Hubble constant again and again during his active life, experimenting with different distance indicators. In 1952 his proof of the high luminosity of Cepheids confirmed Baade's revision of the distance scale (H0 ~ 250 km s−1 Mpc−1). During the next 25 years, he lowered the value to 75 and 55. Upon the arrival of the Hubble Space Telescope, he observed Cepheids to calibrate the mean luminosity of nearby Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) which, used as standard candles, led to the cosmic value of H0 = 62.3 ± 1.3 ± 5.0 km s−1 Mpc−1. Eventually he turned to the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) as a very powerful distance indicator. A compilation of 176 TRGB distances yielded a mean, very local value of H0 = 62.9 ± 1.6 km s−1 Mpc−1 and shed light on the streaming velocities in the Local Supercluster. Moreover, TRGB distances are now available for six SNe Ia; if their mean luminosity is applied to distant SNe Ia, one obtains H0 = 64.6 ± 1.6 ± 2.0 km s−1 Mpc−1. The weighted mean of the two independent large-scale calibrations yields H0 = 64.1 km s−1 Mpc−1 within 3.6%.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S281) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Robert P. Kirshner

AbstractType Ia supernovae (SN Ia) are explosions of white dwarfs whose distances can be measured to a precision of ~5% using luminosity information that is encoded in the light curve shape. This property has been very successfully exploited to measure the history of cosmic expansion and to infer the presence of dark energy. But to learn the properties of dark energy and determine whether it is different from the cosmological constant demands higher precision and better accuracy than optical light curves alone can provide. The largest systematic uncertainties come from light curve fitters, photometric calibration errors, and from poor knowledge of the scattering properties of dust along the line of sight. Efforts to use SN Ia spectra as luminosity indicators have had some success, but have not produced a big step forward. Fortunately, observations of SN Ia in the near infrared (NIR), from 1 to 2 microns, offer a very promising path to better knowledge of the Hubble constant, improved constraints on dark energy, and, possibly, a route to discriminating the progenitor paths for SN Ia explosions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 3728-3742
Author(s):  
Thomas M Sedgwick ◽  
Chris A Collins ◽  
Ivan K Baldry ◽  
Philip A James

ABSTRACT The discrepancy between estimates of the Hubble constant (H0) measured from local (z ≲  0.1) scales and from scales of the sound horizon is a crucial problem in modern cosmology. Peculiar velocities (vpec) of standard candle distance indicators can systematically affect local H0 measurements. We here use 2MRS galaxies to measure the local galaxy density field, finding a notable z  <  0.05 underdensity in the SGC-6dFGS region of 27  ±  2 per cent. However, no strong evidence for a ‘Local Void’ pertaining to the full 2MRS sky coverage is found. Galaxy densities are used to measure a density parameter, Δϕ+−, which we introduce as a proxy for vpec that quantifies density gradients along a supernova (SN) line of sight. Δϕ+− is found to correlate with local H0 estimates from 88 Pantheon Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia; 0.02  <  z  <  0.05). Density structures on scales of ∼50 Mpc are found to correlate strongest with H0 estimates in both the observational data and in mock data from the MDPL2-Galacticus simulation. Using trends of H0 with Δϕ+−, we can correct for the effects of density structure on local H0 estimates, even in the presence of biased vpec. However, the difference in the inferred H0 estimate with and without the peculiar velocity correction is limited to < 0.1  per cent. We conclude that accounting for environmentally induced peculiar velocities of SN Ia host galaxies does not resolve the tension between local and CMB-derived H0 estimates.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (06) ◽  
pp. 1039-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
NINFA RADICELLA ◽  
MAURO SERENO ◽  
ANGELO TARTAGLIA

The cosmic defect theory has been confronted with four observational constraints: primordial nuclear species abundances emerging from the big bang nucleosynthesis; large scale structure formation in the Universe; cosmic microwave background acoustic scale; luminosity distances of type Ia supernovae. The test has been based on a statistical analysis of the a posteriori probabilities for three parameters of the theory. The result has been quite satisfactory and such that the performance of the theory is not distinguishable from that of the ΛCDM theory. The use of the optimal values of the parameters for the calculation of the Hubble constant and the age of the Universe confirms the compatibility of the cosmic defect approach with observations.


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