English

Union3.1: Self-consistent Measurements of Host Galaxy Properties for 2000 Type Ia Supernovae

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics 2026-01-28 v1

Abstract

The determination of distances using time-series photometry of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) relies on a ~5% empirical correction related to the properties of their host galaxies, e.g., global stellar mass. It is therefore crucial for unbiased cosmology inference that host galaxy properties be self-consistently determined across the full range of redshifts probed, which we undertake in this study for approximately 2000 SNe in the Union3 compilation (now Union3.1). We use aperture-matched, homogeneously-reduced, optical-infrared photometry from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys to derive global galaxy properties using the stellar population synthesis and SED-fitting code Prospector. We find that the host masses of z<0.10z<0.10 SNe in Union3 were, on average, overestimated relative to the rest of the sample, while the opposite was true for z<0.15z<0.15 SNe in Pantheon+. After correction, the two studies' average distance modulus estimated for low-redshift SNe, previously >0.03>0.03 mag discrepant, come into 0.01 mag agreement. We then update the UNITY SN analysis and find that the uncertainties on all standardization parameters shrink to 0.6-0.9x their previous sizes. For flat-Λ\LambdaCDM, we find Ωm=0.3440.025+0.026\Omega_m=0.344^{+0.026}_{-0.025}, a -0.3σ\sigma shift from Union3. We then combine with measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) exactly as done by DESI DR2 and find w0=0.719±0.084w_0=-0.719\pm0.084, wa=0.950.26+0.29w_a=-0.95^{+0.29}_{-0.26}, corresponding to 3.4σ\sigma evidence against a cosmological constant (down from 3.8σ\sigma). We also update the DESI combined probe analysis using our correction to Pantheon+ and the recent DES-SN5YR Dovekie recalibration, finding 3.2σ3.2\sigma (up from 2.8σ\sigma) and 3.4σ\sigma (down from 4.2σ\sigma) evidence against a cosmological constant in the w0waw_0w_a plane, altogether marking a significantly improved consistency across SN analyses.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.19424,
  title  = {Union3.1: Self-consistent Measurements of Host Galaxy Properties for 2000 Type Ia Supernovae},
  author = {Taylor J. Hoyt and David Rubin and Greg Aldering and Saul Perlmutter and Andrei Cuceu and Ravi Gupta},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.19424},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

22 pages and 10 figures (main body); 39 pages and 25 figures (total including Appendices)