Type II Supernovae as Probes of Cosmology

TL;DR

Type II supernovae offer a promising alternative to traditional methods for constraining cosmological parameters and understanding dark energy, with potential advantages in systematic uncertainties and cosmic evolution insights.

Contribution

This paper highlights the potential of Type II supernovae as complementary cosmological probes, emphasizing their advantages over Type Ia supernovae and upcoming observational capabilities.

Findings

Type II SNe can constrain dark energy parameters.

They can determine the Hubble constant to 5%.

Their rate increases with look-back time, aiding distant observations.

Abstract

- Constraining the cosmological parameters and understanding Dark Energy have tremendous implications for the nature of the Universe and its physical laws. - The pervasive limit of systematic uncertainties reached by cosmography based on Cepheids and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) warrants a search for complementary approaches. - Type II SNe have been shown to offer such a path. Their distances can be well constrained by luminosity-based or geometric methods. Competing, complementary, and concerted efforts are underway, to explore and exploit those objects that are extremely well matched to next generation facilities. Spectroscopic follow-up will be enabled by space- based and 20-40 meter class telescopes. - Some systematic uncertainties of Type II SNe, such as reddening by dust and metallicity effects, are bound to be different from those of SNe Ia. Their stellar progenitors are known, promising better leverage on cosmic evolution. In addition, their rate - which closely tracks the ongoing star formation rate - is expected to rise significantly with look- back time, ensuring an adequate supply of distant examples. - These data will competitively constrain the dark energy equation of state, allow the determination of the Hubble constant to 5%, and promote our understanding of the processes involved in the last dramatic phases of massive stellar evolution.