Cosmological Results from the RAISIN Survey: Using Type Ia Supernovae in the Near Infrared as a Novel Path to Measure the Dark Energy Equation of State
Kirshner, R. P.; Smith, M.; Nichol, R. C.; Galbany, L.; Rest, A.; Foley, R. J.; Nugent, P. E.; Frieman, J.; Sako, M.; Wood-Vasey, W. M.; Chornock, R.; Phillips, M. M.; Brout, D.; Riess, A. G.; Jones, D. O.; Challis, P. M.; Marion, G. H.; Hsiao, E.; Pan, Y. -C.; Burns, C.; Siebert, M. R.; Scolnic, D. M.; Avelino, A.; Freedman, W. L.; Wiseman, P.; Mandel, K. S.; Thorp, S.; Friedman, A.; Kelsey, L.
United States, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Spain, Chile, France
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-z HST data with 42 SNe Ia at z < 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-2.5σ significance 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 measure H 0 = 75.9 ± 2.2 km s-1 Mpc-1 from stars with geometric distance calibration in the hosts of eight SNe Ia observed in the NIR versus H 0 = 71.2 ± 3.8 km s-1 Mpc-1 using 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 in w could 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-z samples, new light-curve models, calibration improvements, and eventually by building high-z samples from the Roman Space Telescope.