SN_Refsdal

SN Refsdal

SN Refsdal

Supernova that has been lensed

SN Refsdal is the first detected multiply-lensed supernova, visible within the field of the galaxy cluster MACS J1149+2223. It was named after Norwegian astrophysicist Sjur Refsdal, who, in 1964, first proposed using time-delayed images from a lensed supernova to study the expansion of the universe.[1][2][3] The observations were made using the Hubble Space Telescope.[4]

Quick Facts Event type, Date ...

Einstein cross

The host galaxy of SN Refsdal is at a redshift of 1.49, corresponding to a comoving distance of 14.4 billion light-years and a lookback time of 9.34 billion years.[5] The multiple images are arranged around the elliptical galaxy at z = 0.54 in a cross-shaped pattern, also known as an "Einstein cross".[1]

Reappearance

The image to the left shows a part of the deep field observation of the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223 from the Frontier Fields programme. The circle indicates the predicted position of the newest appearance of the supernova. To the lower right the Einstein cross event from late 2014 is visible. The image on the top right shows observations by Hubble from October 2015, taken at the beginning of the observation programme to detect the newest appearance of the supernova. The image on the lower right shows the discovery of the supernova on 11 December 2015, as predicted by several different models.

After the discovery of the supernova, astronomers predicted that they would be able to see it again in about one year, after the four images had faded away. This is because the initially observed four-image pattern was only one component of the lensing display. The supernova may also have appeared as a single image some 40–50 years ago elsewhere in the cluster field.[1]

The supernova reappeared at the predicted position between mid-November 2015 and December 11, 2015[6] (with the exact date being uncertain by approximately one month which is the interval between two consecutive Hubble observations),[7] in excellent agreement with the blind model predictions made before the reappearance was observed.[8][9][10] The time delay between the original quadruplet observed in 2014 and the latest appearance of the supernova in 2015 was used to infer the value of the Hubble constant. This is the first time this technique, originally suggested by Refsdal, has been applied to supernovae.[11]

Using measurements from SN Refsdal and galaxy cluster lens models, astronomers find that the Hubble constant has value H0 = 66.6+4.1
−3.3 km s−1 Mpc−1.[12]

See also

  • Einstein Cross, the gravitationally lensed quasar that gave rise to the term "Einstein cross"

References

  1. [1]
    Kelly, P. L.; Rodney, S. A.; Treu, T.; Foley, R. J.; Brammer, G.; Schmidt, K. B.; Zitrin, A.; Sonnenfeld, A.; Strolger, L. -G.; Graur, O.; Filippenko, A. V.; Jha, S. W.; Riess, A. G.; Bradac, M.; Weiner, B. J.; Scolnic, D.; Malkan, M. A.; von Der Linden, A.; Trenti, M.; Hjorth, J.; Gavazzi, R.; Fontana, A.; Merten, J. C.; McCully, C.; Jones, T.; Postman, M.; Dressler, A.; Patel, B.; Cenko, S. B.; et al. (2015). "Multiple images of a highly magnified supernova formed by an early-type cluster galaxy lens". Science. 347 (6226): 1123–1126. arXiv:1411.6009. Bibcode:2015Sci...347.1123K. doi:10.1126/science.aaa3350. PMID 25745167. S2CID 206633888.
  2. [2]
    Overbye, Dennis (March 5, 2015). "Astronomers Observe Supernova and Find They're Watching Reruns". New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  3. [3]
    Amina Khan (5 March 2015). "Don't believe the light: Supernova in 'Einstein Cross' is a cosmic trick". Los Angeles Times.
  4. [4]
    Sharon, K.; Johnson, T. L. (2015). "Revised Lens Model for the Multiply Imaged Lensed Supernova, "Sn Refsdal" in Macs J1149+2223". The Astrophysical Journal. 800 (2): L26. arXiv:1411.6933. Bibcode:2015ApJ...800L..26S. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/800/2/L26. S2CID 118735742.
  5. [5]
    "Cosmological redshift z=1.49". Wolfram Alpha. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Caught in the act - Hubble captures first-ever predicted exploding star". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2015-12-19.
  7. [7]
    "Detection of a SN near the center of the galaxy cluster field MACS1149 consistent with predictions of a new image of Supernova Refsdal". Patrick Kelly. The Astronomer's Telegram. 13 Dec 2015.
  8. [8]
    Oguri, Masamune (2015). "Predicted Properties of Multiple Images of the Strongly Lensed Supernova SN Refsdal". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 449 (1): L86–L89. arXiv:1411.6443. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.449L..86O. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slv025. S2CID 118389176.
  9. [9]
    Diego, J.M; Broadhurst, T.; Chen, C.; Lim, J.; Zitrin, A.; Chan, B.; Coe7, D.; Ford, H. C.; Lam, D.; Zheng, W. (2016). "A Free-Form Prediction for the Reappearance of Supernova Refsdal in the Hubble Frontier Fields Cluster MACSJ1149.5+2223". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 456 (1): 356–365. arXiv:1504.05953. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.456..356D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv2638. S2CID 32212490.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. [10]
    Treu, T; et al. (2016). "Refsdal meets Popper: comparing predictions of the re-appearance of the multiply imaged supernova behind MACS1149.5+2223". The Astrophysical Journal. 817 (1): 60. arXiv:1510.05750. Bibcode:2016ApJ...817...60T. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/817/1/60. S2CID 36631665.
  11. [11]
    Vega-Ferrero, J.; Diego, J.M; Miranda, V.; Bernstein, G. (2018). "The Hubble Constant from SN Refsdal". Astrophysical Journal Letters. 853 (1): 31–36. arXiv:1712.05800. Bibcode:2018ApJ...853...31O. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aaa95f. S2CID 55840221.
  12. [12]
    Kelly, P. L.; et al. (2023). "Constraints on the Hubble constant from Supernova Refsdal's reappearance". Science. 380 (6649): eabh1322. arXiv:2305.06367v1. Bibcode:2023Sci...380.1322K. doi:10.1126/science.abh1322. PMID 37167351. S2CID 258615332.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to SN Refsdal.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article SN_Refsdal, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.