The first Hubble diagram and cosmological constraints using superluminous supernovae. Issue 2 (9th April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Inserra, C; Sullivan, M; Angus, C R; Macaulay, E; Nichol, R C; Smith, M; Frohmaier, C; Gutiérrez, C P; Vicenzi, M; Möller, A; Brout, D; Brown, P J; Davis, T M; D'Andrea, C B; Galbany, L; Kessler, R; Kim, A G; Pan, Y-C; Pursiainen, M; Scolnic, D; Thomas, B P; Wiseman, P; Abbott, T M C; Annis, J; Avila, S; Bertin, E; Brooks, D; Burke, D L; Carnero Rosell, A; Carrasco Kind, M; Carretero, J; Castander, F J; Cawthon, R; Desai, S; Diehl, H T; Eifler, T F; Finley, D A; Flaugher, B; Fosalba, P; Frieman, J; Garcia-Bellido, J; Gaztanaga, E; Gerdes, D W; Giannantonio, T; Gruen, D; Gruendl, R A; Gschwend, J; Gutierrez, G; Hollowood, D L; Honscheid, K; James, D J; Krause, E; Kuehn, K; Kuropatkin, N; Li, T S; Lidman, C; Lima, M; Maia, M A G; Marshall, J L; Martini, P; Menanteau, F; Miquel, R; Plazas Malagón, A A; Romer, A K; Roodman, A; Sako, M; Sanchez, E; Scarpine, V; Schubnell, M; Serrano, S; Sevilla-Noarbe, I; Soares-Santos, M; Sobreira, F; Suchyta, E; Swanson, M E C; Tarle, G; Thomas, D; Tucker, D L; Vikram, V; Walker, A R; Zhang, Y; Asorey, J; Calcino, J; Carollo, D; Glazebrook, K; Hinton, S R; Hoormann, J K; Lewis, G F; Sharp, R; Swann, E; Tucker, B E;
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 504:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 2535
• Page End: 2549
• Publication Date: 2021-04-09
• Subjects: transients: supernovae -- cosmology: dark matter -- cosmology: cosmological parameters; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stab978
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We present the first Hubble diagram of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) out to a redshift of two, together with constraints on the matter density, ΩM, and the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w (≡ p /ρ). We build a sample of 20 cosmologically useful SLSNe I based on light curve and spectroscopy quality cuts. We confirm the robustness of the peak–decline SLSN I standardization relation with a larger data set and improved fitting techniques than previous works. We then solve the SLSN model based on the above standardization via minimization of the χ 2 computed from a covariance matrix that includes statistical and systematic uncertainties. For a spatially flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological model, we find $\Omega _{\rm M}=0.38^{+0.24}_{-0.19}$, with an rms of 0.27 mag for the residuals of the distance moduli. For a w 0 wa CDM cosmological model, the addition of SLSNe I to a 'baseline' measurement consisting of Planck temperature together with Type Ia supernovae, results in a small improvement in the constraints of w 0 and wa of 4 per cent. We present simulations of future surveys with 868 and 492 SLSNe I (depending on the configuration used) and show that such a sample can deliver cosmological constraints in a flat ΛCDM model with the same precision (considering only statistical uncertainties) as current surveys that use Type Ia supernovae, while providing a factor of 2–3 improvement in the precision of the constraints on the time variation of dark energy, w 0 and wa . This paper represents the proof of concept for superluminous supernova cosmology, and demonstrates they can provide an independent test of cosmology in the high-redshift ( z > 1) universe.