Revisiting the Mass Step: Environmental Dependence of Type Ia Supernovae in Low-Metallicity Host Galaxies

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Gonzalez, Estefania Padilla, Bhavin, A. Joshi, Strolger, Louis G., Khatri, Bhoomika, Rest, Fae, Rest, Armin, Rose, Benjamin, Angulo, Rodrigo, Coulter, David, Derkacy, James M., Fox, Ori, Pierel, Justin D. R., Shukawa, Koji, Shahbandeh, Melissa, Siebert, Matthew, Larison, Conor, Griggio, Massimo
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Gonzalez, Estefania Padilla
Bhavin, A. Joshi
Strolger, Louis G.
Khatri, Bhoomika
Rest, Fae
Rest, Armin
Rose, Benjamin
Angulo, Rodrigo
Coulter, David
Derkacy, James M.
Fox, Ori
Pierel, Justin D. R.
Shukawa, Koji
Shahbandeh, Melissa
Siebert, Matthew
Larison, Conor
Griggio, Massimo
author_facet Gonzalez, Estefania Padilla
Bhavin, A. Joshi
Strolger, Louis G.
Khatri, Bhoomika
Rest, Fae
Rest, Armin
Rose, Benjamin
Angulo, Rodrigo
Coulter, David
Derkacy, James M.
Fox, Ori
Pierel, Justin D. R.
Shukawa, Koji
Shahbandeh, Melissa
Siebert, Matthew
Larison, Conor
Griggio, Massimo
contents Despite the tremendous impact of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) on the field of cosmology, their underlying physics are still poorly understood. Studies have found an intriguing correlation between standardized Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) luminosities and host galaxy masses, commonly referred to as the "mass step". SNe Ia in massive galaxies appear systematically brighter than in lower-mass, star-forming hosts after standardization. However, previous analyses use host galaxy mass estimates derived largely from optical data alone and assume parametric forms for host star formation histories (SFHs), both of which are known to misestimate galaxy stellar masses. In this work, we re-examine the mass-step relation with a sample of SN Ia host galaxies complete in broadband optical (3000 Angstrom to 1 micron) and near-infrared (up to 1.8 micron) data, and in some cases including mid-infrared observations (up to 4.5 micron), using Prospector to derive nonparametric SFHs. We find that while the masses for these galaxies have indeed been underestimated, the overall trend in SN Ia luminosity versus host mass remains largely unchanged. We also uncover an environmental metallicity-dependent trend, in which low-metallicity galaxies (Z < -1 Zsol) may drive much of the observed SN Ia luminosity-mass correlation, suggesting that the chemical composition of the SN environment plays a central role in shaping the standardized brightness of SNe Ia.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_20834
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revisiting the Mass Step: Environmental Dependence of Type Ia Supernovae in Low-Metallicity Host Galaxies
Gonzalez, Estefania Padilla
Bhavin, A. Joshi
Strolger, Louis G.
Khatri, Bhoomika
Rest, Fae
Rest, Armin
Rose, Benjamin
Angulo, Rodrigo
Coulter, David
Derkacy, James M.
Fox, Ori
Pierel, Justin D. R.
Shukawa, Koji
Shahbandeh, Melissa
Siebert, Matthew
Larison, Conor
Griggio, Massimo
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Despite the tremendous impact of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) on the field of cosmology, their underlying physics are still poorly understood. Studies have found an intriguing correlation between standardized Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) luminosities and host galaxy masses, commonly referred to as the "mass step". SNe Ia in massive galaxies appear systematically brighter than in lower-mass, star-forming hosts after standardization. However, previous analyses use host galaxy mass estimates derived largely from optical data alone and assume parametric forms for host star formation histories (SFHs), both of which are known to misestimate galaxy stellar masses. In this work, we re-examine the mass-step relation with a sample of SN Ia host galaxies complete in broadband optical (3000 Angstrom to 1 micron) and near-infrared (up to 1.8 micron) data, and in some cases including mid-infrared observations (up to 4.5 micron), using Prospector to derive nonparametric SFHs. We find that while the masses for these galaxies have indeed been underestimated, the overall trend in SN Ia luminosity versus host mass remains largely unchanged. We also uncover an environmental metallicity-dependent trend, in which low-metallicity galaxies (Z < -1 Zsol) may drive much of the observed SN Ia luminosity-mass correlation, suggesting that the chemical composition of the SN environment plays a central role in shaping the standardized brightness of SNe Ia.
title Revisiting the Mass Step: Environmental Dependence of Type Ia Supernovae in Low-Metallicity Host Galaxies
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20834