LensWatch. II. Improved Photometry and Time-delay Constraints on the Strongly Lensed Type Ia Supernova 2022qmx (“SN Zwicky”) with Hubble Space Telescope Template Observations

Abstract Strongly lensed supernovae (SNe) are a rare class of transient that can offer tight cosmological constraints that are complementary to methods from other astronomical events. We present a follow-up study of one recently discovered strongly lensed SN, the quadruply imaged type Ia SN 2022qmx (aka “SN Zwicky”), at z = 0.3544. We measure updated, template-subtracted photometry for SN Zwicky and derive improved time delays and magnifications. This is possible because SNe are transient, fading away after reaching their peak brightness. Specifically, we measure point-spread-function photometry for all four images of SN Zwicky in three Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/UVIS passbands (F475W, F625W, and F814W) and one WFC3/IR passband (F160W), with template images taken ∼11 months after the epoch in which the SN images appear. We find consistency to within 2 σ between lens-model-predicted time delays (≲1 day) and measured time delays with HST colors (≲2 days), including the uncertainty from chromatic microlensing that may arise from stars in the lensing galaxy. The standardizable nature of SNe Ia allows us to estimate absolute magnifications for the four images, with images A and C being elevated in magnification compared to lens model predictions by about 6 σ and 3 σ , respectively, confirming previous work. We show that millilensing or differential dust extinction is unable to explain these discrepancies, and we find evidence for the existence of microlensing in images A, C, and potentially D that may contribute to the anomalous magnification.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-02-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada776
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.31

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article

LensWatch. II. Improved Photometry and Time-delay Constraints on the Strongly Lensed Type Ia Supernova 2022qmx (“SN Zwicky”) with Hubble Space Telescope Template Observations

J. Hjorth, Simon Birrer, Christa Gall, Erin E. Hayes et al.
2 citations
The Astrophysical Journal
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
2.31
article

LensWatch. II. Improved Photometry and Time-delay Constraints on the Strongly Lensed Type Ia Supernova 2022qmx (“SN Zwicky”) with Hubble Space Telescope Template Observations

J. Hjorth, Simon Birrer, Christa Gall, Erin E. Hayes, M. Bronikowski, R. Marques-Chaves, Leonidas A. Moustakas, F. Courbin, Saurabh W. Jha, A. Goobar, R. Shirley, Suhail Dhawan, Shude Mao, A. Rest, I. Pérez‐Fournon, John Della Costa, Xiaosheng Huang, Tommaso Treu, Sukanya Chakrabarti, Conor Larison, Nikki Arendse, Louis-Gregory Strolger, Yossef Zenati, Anupreeta More, D. A. Coulter, S. H. Suyu, Kyle A. Dalrymple, Anowar J. Shajib, Max J. B. Newman, F. Poidevin, J. M. Diego, Daniel Gilman, P. A. Mazzali, J. Johansson, Justin D. R. Pierel, Abhishek Agrawal, T. Petrushevska
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract Strongly lensed supernovae (SNe) are a rare class of transient that can offer tight cosmological constraints that are complementary to methods from other astronomical events. We present a follow-up study of one recently discovered strongly lensed SN, the quadruply imaged type Ia SN 2022qmx (aka “SN Zwicky”), at z = 0.3544. We measure updated, template-subtracted photometry for SN Zwicky and derive improved time delays and magnifications. This is possible because SNe are transient, fading away after reaching their peak brightness. Specifically, we measure point-spread-function photometry for all four images of SN Zwicky in three Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/UVIS passbands (F475W, F625W, and F814W) and one WFC3/IR passband (F160W), with template images taken ∼11 months after the epoch in which the SN images appear. We find consistency to within 2 σ between lens-model-predicted time delays (≲1 day) and measured time delays with HST colors (≲2 days), including the uncertainty from chromatic microlensing that may arise from stars in the lensing galaxy. The standardizable nature of SNe Ia allows us to estimate absolute magnifications for the four images, with images A and C being elevated in magnification compared to lens model predictions by about 6 σ and 3 σ , respectively, confirming previous work. We show that millilensing or differential dust extinction is unable to explain these discrepancies, and we find evidence for the existence of microlensing in images A, C, and potentially D that may contribute to the anomalous magnification.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 980(2)
Ruhr University Bochum (DE)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, Villum Fonden, Space Telescope Science Institute, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Gates Cambridge Trust, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
2.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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