The pursuit of the Hubble Constant using Type II Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper reviews how Type II supernovae can serve as independent distance indicators to measure the Hubble constant, offering a potential solution to the Hubble tension by addressing systematic uncertainties.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of SNe II as extragalactic distance indicators and discusses their application in measuring H0 and resolving the Hubble tension.

Findings

SNe II can be calibrated for distance measurement despite their luminosity variability.

Recent measurements using SNe II contribute to the H0 estimates, aiding in tension resolution.

Theoretical and empirical calibration methods improve the reliability of SNe II as standard candles.

Abstract

The use of multiple independent methods with their own systematic uncertainties is crucial for resolving the ongoing tension between local and distant measurements of the Hubble constant ($H_{0}$). While type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have historically been the most widely used distance indicators, recent studies have shown that type II supernovae (SNe II) can provide independent measurements of extragalactic distances with different systematic uncertainties. Unlike SNe Ia, the progenitors of SNe II are well understood, arising from the explosion of red supergiants in late-type galaxies via core-collapse. While SNe II do not exhibit the same level of uniformity in peak luminosity as SNe Ia, their differences can be calibrated using theoretical or empirical methods. Overall, this chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the use of SNe II as extragalactic distance indicators, with a particular focus on their application to measuring $H_0$ and addressing the Hubble tension. We describe the underlying theory of each method, discuss the challenges associated with them, including uncertainties in the calibration of the supernova absolute magnitude, and present a comprehensive list of the most updated Hubble constant measurements.