HOLISMOKES XIX: SN 2025wny at $z=2$, the first strongly lensed superluminous supernova

TL;DR

SN 2025wny is the first confirmed strongly lensed superluminous supernova at z=2, providing a new system for cosmography and independent Hubble constant measurements through observed time delays.

Contribution

This paper reports the discovery and detailed analysis of SN 2025wny, the first strongly lensed superluminous supernova with confirmed galaxy-scale lensing and measurable time delays.

Findings

Confirmed SN 2025wny as a strongly lensed superluminous supernova at z=2.

Measured redshifts of the supernova and lensing galaxies.

First demonstration of a superluminous SN suitable for cosmography.

Abstract

We present imaging and spectroscopic observations of supernova SN 2025wny, associated with the lens candidate PS1 J0716+3821. Photometric monitoring from the Lulin and Maidanak observatories confirms multiple point-like images, consistent with SN 2025wny being strongly lensed by two foreground galaxies. Optical spectroscopy of the brightest image with the Nordic Optical Telescope and the University of Hawaii 88-inch Telescope allows us to determine the redshift to be z_s = 2.008 +- 0.001, based on narrow absorption lines originating in the interstellar medium of the supernova host galaxy. At this redshift, the spectra of SN 2025wny are consistent with those of superluminous supernovae of Type I. We find a high ejecta temperature and depressed spectral lines compared to other similar objects. We also measure, for the first time, the redshift of the fainter of the two lens galaxies (the "perturber") to be z_p = 0.375 +- 0.001, fully consistent with the DESI spectroscopic redshift of the main deflector at z_d = 0.3754. SN 2025wny thus represents the first confirmed galaxy-scale strongly lensed supernova with time delays likely in the range of days to weeks, as judged from the image separations. This makes SN 2025wny suitable for cosmography, offering a promising new system for independent measurements of the Hubble constant. Following a tradition in the field of strongly-lensed SNe, we give SN 2025wny the nickname SN Winny.