Photometric Calibration Uncertainties in Stage IV Supernova Cosmology

Upcoming supernova surveys, such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) and the Vera Rubin Observatory’s LSST, are expected to discover over a million supernovae, vastly increasing current samples. Using Type Ia Supernovae (SN Ia) to constrain cosmological parameters, including the dark energy equation-of-state parameters w₀ and wₐ, requires precise spectro-photometric models. One of the largest systematics in supernova cosmology analysis is the supernova SED model’s accuracy, which depends on survey photometric calibration. My team uses catalog-level simulations of LSST and Roman, incorporating forecasted calibration uncertainties, to assess their impact on model recovery, distance measurements, and inferred cosmology.

Speaker: Kene Anumba (Duke University)

The Roman Lecture Series is a monthly virtual lecture series focused on the scientific capabilities and technology of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, organized by Roman mission partners.