JWST Validates HST Distance Measurements: Selection of Supernova Subsample Explains Differences in JWST Estimates of Local H <sub>0</sub>

Abstract We cross-check the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cepheid/Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) distance ladder, which yields the most precise local H 0 , against early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) subsamples (∼1/4 of the HST sample) from SH0ES and CCHP, calibrated only with NGC 4258. We find HST Cepheid distances agree well (∼1 σ ) with all combinations of methods, samples, and telescopes. The comparisons explicitly include the measurement uncertainty of each method in NGC 4258, an oft-neglected but dominant term. Mean differences are ∼0.03 mag, far smaller than the 0.18 mag “Hubble tension.” Combining all measures produces the strongest constraint yet on the linearity of HST Cepheid distances, 0.994 ±0.010, ruling out distance-dependent bias or offset as the source of the tension at ∼7 σ . However, current JWST subsamples produce large sampling differences in H 0 whose size and direction we can directly estimate from the full HST set. We show that Δ H 0 ∼ 2.5 km s −1 Mpc −1 between the CCHP JWST program and the full HST sample is entirely consistent with differences in sample selection. We combine all JWST samples into a new distance-limited set of 16 SNe Ia at D ≤ 25 Mpc. Using JWST Cepheids, JAGB, and tip of the red giant branch, we find 73.4 ± 2.1, 72.2 ± 2.2, and 72.1 ± 2.2 km s −1 Mpc −1 , respectively. Explicitly accounting for common supernovae, the three-method JWST result is H 0 = 72.6 ± 2.0, similar to H 0 = 72.8 expected from HST Cepheids in the same galaxies. The small JWST sample trivially lowers the Hubble tension significance due to small-sample statistics and is not yet competitive with the HST set (42 SNe Ia and 4 anchors), which yields 73.2 ± 0.9. Still, the joint JWST sample provides important cross-checks that the HST data pass.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2024-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8c21
Citations
71
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
23.54

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JWST Validates HST Distance Measurements: Selection of Supernova Subsample Explains Differences in JWST Estimates of Local H 0

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Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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JWST Validates HST Distance Measurements: Selection of Supernova Subsample Explains Differences in JWST Estimates of Local H 0

Anthony Carr, Stefano Casertano, Yukei S. Murakami, D. Scolnic, Adam G. Riess, Saurabh W. Jha, Louise Breuval, Richard I. Anderson, Gagandeep S. Anand, Graeme E. Addison, Lucas M. Macri, A. V. Filippenko, Rachael L. Beaton, Siyang Li, Dillon Brout, T. Wu, C. L. Bennett, Caroline D. Huang, Wenlong Yuan
article en
71 citations

Abstract

Abstract We cross-check the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cepheid/Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) distance ladder, which yields the most precise local H 0 , against early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) subsamples (∼1/4 of the HST sample) from SH0ES and CCHP, calibrated only with NGC 4258. We find HST Cepheid distances agree well (∼1 σ ) with all combinations of methods, samples, and telescopes. The comparisons explicitly include the measurement uncertainty of each method in NGC 4258, an oft-neglected but dominant term. Mean differences are ∼0.03 mag, far smaller than the 0.18 mag “Hubble tension.” Combining all measures produces the strongest constraint yet on the linearity of HST Cepheid distances, 0.994 ±0.010, ruling out distance-dependent bias or offset as the source of the tension at ∼7 σ . However, current JWST subsamples produce large sampling differences in H 0 whose size and direction we can directly estimate from the full HST set. We show that Δ H 0 ∼ 2.5 km s −1 Mpc −1 between the CCHP JWST program and the full HST sample is entirely consistent with differences in sample selection. We combine all JWST samples into a new distance-limited set of 16 SNe Ia at D ≤ 25 Mpc. Using JWST Cepheids, JAGB, and tip of the red giant branch, we find 73.4 ± 2.1, 72.2 ± 2.2, and 72.1 ± 2.2 km s −1 Mpc −1 , respectively. Explicitly accounting for common supernovae, the three-method JWST result is H 0 = 72.6 ± 2.0, similar to H 0 = 72.8 expected from HST Cepheids in the same galaxies. The small JWST sample trivially lowers the Hubble tension significance due to small-sample statistics and is not yet competitive with the HST set (42 SNe Ia and 4 anchors), which yields 73.2 ± 0.9. Still, the joint JWST sample provides important cross-checks that the HST data pass.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 977(1)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), Boston University (US), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), Johns Hopkins University (US), The University of Queensland (AU), Duke University (US), Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KR), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), Community Science and Data Center (US), NSF NOIRLab (US), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH), University of California, Berkeley (US)
U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, Space Telescope Science Institute
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
23.54
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