SN 2022riv in RX J2129: Discovery, Spectroscopic Classification, and Microlensing of a Strongly Lensed Type Ia Supernova from JWST and HST Observations

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and spectroscopic classification of a strongly lensed Type Ia supernova, SN 2022riv, using JWST and HST data, and analyzes microlensing effects on its magnification.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of a Type Ia supernova strongly lensed by a galaxy cluster with JWST and HST, including microlensing impact on magnification estimates.

Findings

Measured magnification of 5.35±1.01 for the supernova image.

Detected microlensing modulation of 20-50% in the magnification.

Cluster lens models predict magnifications consistent with observations after microlensing correction.

Abstract

The multiply imaged SN 2022riv was discovered through a search of galaxy cluster fields as part of a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) SNAP program to find highly magnified stars. The supernova (SN) was detected in the last-to-arrive image of a galaxy at redshift $z=1.522$ strongly lensed by the foreground galaxy cluster RX J2129.7+0005. Follow up James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRSpec G140M and PRISM spectroscopy yields a Type Ia SN classification. Using the SALT3-NIR light-curve fitter, we obtain a cosmology-independent measurement of the magnification of $5.35\pm1.01$ for the last-to-arrive image of the SN, with multiple SALT SN spectral time-series models yielding consistent constraints. The last-to-arrive image of SN 2022riv we detect appeared adjacent to the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) at a location with an exceptionally high stellar mass density ($\sim 1-2$ dex higher than that of SN Refsdal), where microlensing is expected to introduce a 20-50% modulation of the magnification. Analyzing six independent lens models of the cluster, we find that four predict the magnification with much greater precision ($p < 0.05$) than would be expected by random chance, given the large effect anticipated from microlensing. Five models yield magnifications of roughly $4-7$ (within $1\sigma$) prior to accounting for microlensing, whereas HoliGRALE favors a significantly higher value of $15.39 \pm 0.85$. After incorporating nominal microlensing, the HoliGRALE prediction is within $1\sigma$ tension with our measurement. A companion paper (Dalrymple et al.) will present constraints on the relative time delay of the image that arrived earlier.