SN H0pe: The First Measurement of H 0 from a Multiply Imaged Type Ia Supernova, Discovered by JWST

Abstract

The first James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near InfraRed Camera imaging in the field of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0 ( z = 0.35) uncovered a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) at z = 1.78, called “SN H0pe.” Three different images of this one SN were detected as a result of strong gravitational lensing, each one traversing a different path in spacetime, thereby inducing a relative delay in the arrival of each image. Follow-up JWST observations of all three SN images enabled photometric and rare spectroscopic measurements of the two relative time delays. Following strict blinding protocols which oversaw a live unblinding and regulated postunblinding changes, these two measured time delays were compared to the predictions of seven independently constructed cluster lens models to measure a value for the Hubble constant, H 0  =  71.8 + 9.2 − 8.1 km s −1 Mpc −1 . The range of admissible H 0 values predicted across the lens models limits further precision, reflecting the well-known degeneracies between lens model constraints and time delays. It has long been theorized that a way forward is to leverage a standard candle, but this has not been realized until now. For the first time, the lens models are evaluated by their agreement with the SN absolute magnifications, breaking degeneracies and producing our best estimate, H 0  =  75.7 − 5.5 + 8.1 km s −1 Mpc −1 . This is the first precise measurement of H 0 from a multiply imaged SN Ia and only the second from any multiply imaged SN.