Measuring the Hubble constant with a sample of kilonovae
Michael W Coughlin1,2, Sarah Antier3, Tim Dietrich4,5
1School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. cough052@umn.edu.
Nature Communications
|August 19, 2020
Summary
Kilonovae from neutron star mergers offer a new way to measure the Hubble constant (H0). By analyzing kilonova light curves from short gamma-ray bursts, scientists achieved a more precise H0 measurement than using gravitational waves alone.
Area of Science:
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Cosmology
Background:
- Compact binary coalescences involving at least one neutron star produce kilonovae.
- Kilonovae are potential standard sirens for measuring the Hubble constant (H0).
- Detection methods include gravitational-wave (GW) follow-up, short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) observations, and optical surveys.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure the Hubble constant (H0) using kilonova light curves associated with sGRBs.
- To compare the precision of this method with GW-only measurements.
Main Methods:
- Utilized light curve data from four sGRBs, assuming they originated from kilonovae.
- Combined sGRB kilonova data with the gravitational-wave event GW170817.
- Incorporated systematic uncertainties equal to statistical uncertainties in model analysis.
Main Results:
- Achieved H0 measurements consistent with local and inverse-distance ladder results using two different kilonova models.
- The precision of the H0 measurement was approximately 2-3 times greater than that obtained using GW170817 alone.
Conclusions:
- Kilonovae from sGRBs provide a powerful tool for constraining the Hubble constant.
- This method offers a more precise measurement of H0 compared to GW-only standard siren techniques.
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