On the impact of the supernova subsamples in reducing the Hubble tension

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Main Authors: Martins, Gonçalo, González-Gaitán, Santiago, Duarte, João, Mourão, Ana M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Martins, Gonçalo
González-Gaitán, Santiago
Duarte, João
Mourão, Ana M.
author_facet Martins, Gonçalo
González-Gaitán, Santiago
Duarte, João
Mourão, Ana M.
contents The persistent 4-6$σ$ difference between early- and late-time Hubble constant ($H_{0}$) measurements, known as the "Hubble tension", is a major problem in modern cosmology. We study how differences in colour ($c$), stretch ($x_{1}$), and host galaxy properties-stellar mass ($M$) and specific star formation rate (sSFR)-between calibration and Hubble Flow (HF) Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) samples used by SH0ES affect SN luminosity standardization and $H_{0}$ estimates. We generate subsamples from both, estimating $H_{0}$, $M_{B}$, $α$, $β$, $Δ_{host}$, and $σ_{int}$. We use Kolmogorov-Smirnov to assess the consistency between subsamples and reveal how parameter estimates change as sample matching improves. The calibration sample is not fully representative of the HF sample, especially in $M$ and sSFR. Improving sample consistency leads to changes in $H_{0}$, $M_{B}$ and $σ_{int}$, though overall values remain broadly stable. Better-matched subsamples tend to yield a mass step consistent with zero within 1$σ$. By disentangling SN subpopulations, we find persistent differences in $H_{0}$ ($\sim$2-3$σ$) and $M_{B}$ ($\sim2σ$) between low- and high-stretch SNe: $H_{0} = 75.27 \pm 1.18$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ for low-stretch and $H_{0} = 71.25 \pm 1.59$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ for high-stretch, resulting in Hubble tensions of 6.07$σ$ and 2.52$σ$. These differences suggest SNe Ia subpopulations with varying dust and intrinsic colour not captured by a single $β$, impacting cosmology. Estimating a single $H_{0}$ for both subpopulations yields $H_{0} = 73.78 \pm 2.17$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, with a much larger uncertainty that lowers the Hubble tension from $5.87σ$ to $\sim2.86σ$. Our results suggest that the mass step may arise from an over-correction of more than one SN subpopulation associated to different environments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_14332
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the impact of the supernova subsamples in reducing the Hubble tension
Martins, Gonçalo
González-Gaitán, Santiago
Duarte, João
Mourão, Ana M.
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
The persistent 4-6$σ$ difference between early- and late-time Hubble constant ($H_{0}$) measurements, known as the "Hubble tension", is a major problem in modern cosmology. We study how differences in colour ($c$), stretch ($x_{1}$), and host galaxy properties-stellar mass ($M$) and specific star formation rate (sSFR)-between calibration and Hubble Flow (HF) Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) samples used by SH0ES affect SN luminosity standardization and $H_{0}$ estimates. We generate subsamples from both, estimating $H_{0}$, $M_{B}$, $α$, $β$, $Δ_{host}$, and $σ_{int}$. We use Kolmogorov-Smirnov to assess the consistency between subsamples and reveal how parameter estimates change as sample matching improves. The calibration sample is not fully representative of the HF sample, especially in $M$ and sSFR. Improving sample consistency leads to changes in $H_{0}$, $M_{B}$ and $σ_{int}$, though overall values remain broadly stable. Better-matched subsamples tend to yield a mass step consistent with zero within 1$σ$. By disentangling SN subpopulations, we find persistent differences in $H_{0}$ ($\sim$2-3$σ$) and $M_{B}$ ($\sim2σ$) between low- and high-stretch SNe: $H_{0} = 75.27 \pm 1.18$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ for low-stretch and $H_{0} = 71.25 \pm 1.59$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ for high-stretch, resulting in Hubble tensions of 6.07$σ$ and 2.52$σ$. These differences suggest SNe Ia subpopulations with varying dust and intrinsic colour not captured by a single $β$, impacting cosmology. Estimating a single $H_{0}$ for both subpopulations yields $H_{0} = 73.78 \pm 2.17$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, with a much larger uncertainty that lowers the Hubble tension from $5.87σ$ to $\sim2.86σ$. Our results suggest that the mass step may arise from an over-correction of more than one SN subpopulation associated to different environments.
title On the impact of the supernova subsamples in reducing the Hubble tension
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.14332