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Cited by 109Cosmology and Gravitation TheoriesStellar, planetary, and galactic studiesGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena

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Comparing Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance Scales: An Independent Reduction of the Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program and the Value of the Hubble Constant

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Anand, Gagandeep S., Tully, R. Brent, Rizzi, Luca, Riess, Adam G., Yuan, Wenlong·2022·The Astrophysical Journal
DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ac68df
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Abstract

Abstract The tip of the red giant branch has been used to measure distances to 500 nearby galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which are available in the Color–Magnitude Diagrams and Tip of the Red Giant Branch (CMDs/TRGB) catalog on the Extragalactic Distance Database (EDD). Our established methods are employed to perform an independent reduction of the targets presented by the Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program (CCHP) in the series of papers culminating in Freedman (2021). Our distinct methodology involves modeling the observed luminosity function of red giant branch and asymptotic giant branch stars, which differs from the edge-detection algorithms employed by the CCHP. We find excellent agreement between distances for 11 hosts with new imaging, all at D < 20 Mpc. However, we are unable to measure the TRGB for four hosts that use archival data designed to measure distances with Cepheids, all at D > 23 Mpc. With two new HST observations taken in the halo of the megamaser host NGC 4258, the first with the same ACS F606W and F814W filters and state of the electronics used for SN Ia hosts, we then calibrate our TRGB distance scale to the geometric megamaser distance. Using our TRGB distances, we find a value of the Hubble Constant of H 0 = 71.5 ± 1.8 km s−1 Mpc−1 when using either the Pantheon or Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) samples of supernovae. In the future, the James Webb Space Telescope will extend measurements of the TRGB to additional hosts of SN Ia and surface-brightness fluctuation measurements for separate paths to H 0.

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Figure 1 ( Left ) CMD of NGC 1316, for which we derive a TRGB distance of 19.1 ± 0.9 Mpc. The HST F814W fi eld of view is shown in the inset. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB. Magnitude and color error bars ( calculated at the measured color of the TRGB ) as reported by DOLPHOT are shown on the left in maroon. ( Right ) Same as the left panel, but for the four Cepheid hosts for which we are unable to derive TRGB distances. In black, we use the same photometric cuts for these CMDs as we do for the rest of the sample, and apply the least stringent S / N selections used for any galaxy in this study ( 2 in F555W, and 4 in F814W ) . These CMDs are limited to the regions exterior to the red ellipses shown in the HST F 814 W insets. The values of m TRGB as implied by the distances reported in Freedman et al. ( 2019 ) are shown as red arrows on each diagram. The representative color errors are calculated at an approximate TRGB color of F555W-F814W = 2.0. None of these CMDs show a clear discontinuity corresponding to the TRGB in the expected regions or any others, and are all shallow when compared to the new CCHP data. In gray, we show the same data, but with less stringent quality cuts ( S / N = 2.5 in F814W, weaker cuts on sharpness, and no crowding cuts ) .
Figure 1 ( Left ) CMD of NGC 1316, for which we derive a TRGB distance of 19.1 ± 0.9 Mpc. The HST F814W fi eld of view is shown in the inset. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB. Magnitude and color error bars ( calculated at the measured color of the TRGB ) as reported by DOLPHOT are shown on the left in maroon. ( Right ) Same as the left panel, but for the four Cepheid hosts for which we are unable to derive TRGB distances. In black, we use the same photometric cuts for these CMDs as we do for the rest of the sample, and apply the least stringent S / N selections used for any galaxy in this study ( 2 in F555W, and 4 in F814W ) . These CMDs are limited to the regions exterior to the red ellipses shown in the HST F 814 W insets. The values of m TRGB as implied by the distances reported in Freedman et al. ( 2019 ) are shown as red arrows on each diagram. The representative color errors are calculated at an approximate TRGB color of F555W-F814W = 2.0. None of these CMDs show a clear discontinuity corresponding to the TRGB in the expected regions or any others, and are all shallow when compared to the new CCHP data. In gray, we show the same data, but with less stringent quality cuts ( S / N = 2.5 in F814W, weaker cuts on sharpness, and no crowding cuts ) .CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 2 Left: color -magnitude diagram for NGC 1448, which we fi nd to lie at 18.8 ± 0.8 Mpc. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB. Top right: the observed luminosity function ( solid line ) , our model best- fi t luminosity function ( dashed line ) , and results of a fi rstderivative edge-detection algorithm ( dotted line, shown for visual comparison ) . Bottom right: a cutout of the F814W drizzled reference frame, with stellar detections that pass our quality cuts overplotted as green circles. This region is near the top of the detector ( see Figure A2 for a look at the entire detector ) .
Figure 2 Left: color -magnitude diagram for NGC 1448, which we fi nd to lie at 18.8 ± 0.8 Mpc. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB. Top right: the observed luminosity function ( solid line ) , our model best- fi t luminosity function ( dashed line ) , and results of a fi rstderivative edge-detection algorithm ( dotted line, shown for visual comparison ) . Bottom right: a cutout of the F814W drizzled reference frame, with stellar detections that pass our quality cuts overplotted as green circles. This region is near the top of the detector ( see Figure A2 for a look at the entire detector ) .CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 3 Top: a 30 ′ × 40 ′ SDSS gri color composite of NGC 4258. North is up and east is to the left. The yellow dashed footprint shows the fi eld used for the previous CMDs / TRGB catalog determination of m TRGB. The new fi elds from GO-16198 ( PI A. Riess ) are shown in red. We use the regions of these fi elds exterior to D 25 ( shown in dashed blue ) for our fi nal measurement of m TRGB. Bottom left: CMD for the combined regions of GO-16198 interior to D 25 . All of these stars are excluded from our analysis, due to the possibility of small amounts of dust extinction from within the spiral disk. Bottom middle: CMD for the combined fi elds from GO-16198, excluding regions which fall within R 25. Our fi nal measurement of the TRGB is m TRGB = 25.427 ± 0.025. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB. Bottom right: our model fi t to the luminosity function for our fi nal TRGB determination of NGC 4258. Results of a fi rst-derivative edge-detection algorithm are shown for visual comparison.
Figure 3 Top: a 30 ′ × 40 ′ SDSS gri color composite of NGC 4258. North is up and east is to the left. The yellow dashed footprint shows the fi eld used for the previous CMDs / TRGB catalog determination of m TRGB. The new fi elds from GO-16198 ( PI A. Riess ) are shown in red. We use the regions of these fi elds exterior to D 25 ( shown in dashed blue ) for our fi nal measurement of m TRGB. Bottom left: CMD for the combined regions of GO-16198 interior to D 25 . All of these stars are excluded from our analysis, due to the possibility of small amounts of dust extinction from within the spiral disk. Bottom middle: CMD for the combined fi elds from GO-16198, excluding regions which fall within R 25. Our fi nal measurement of the TRGB is m TRGB = 25.427 ± 0.025. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB. Bottom right: our model fi t to the luminosity function for our fi nal TRGB determination of NGC 4258. Results of a fi rst-derivative edge-detection algorithm are shown for visual comparison.CC-BY · From the PDF
Image 4
CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 5 Probability density functions ( assuming Gaussian distributions ) for the Hubble Constant as determined by Planck ( Planck Collaboration et al. 2020 ) , Cepheid variables ( Riess et al. 2021 ) , the CCHP via TRGB ( Freedman 2021 ) , and our results from the TRGB. For the results from Cepheids, we plot both the main result from SH0ES, as well as one that uses only NGC 4258 as a zero-point calibrator. Ultimately we see that results from the TRGB fall in between of those from Planck and the Cepheids.
Figure 5 Probability density functions ( assuming Gaussian distributions ) for the Hubble Constant as determined by Planck ( Planck Collaboration et al. 2020 ) , Cepheid variables ( Riess et al. 2021 ) , the CCHP via TRGB ( Freedman 2021 ) , and our results from the TRGB. For the results from Cepheids, we plot both the main result from SH0ES, as well as one that uses only NGC 4258 as a zero-point calibrator. Ultimately we see that results from the TRGB fall in between of those from Planck and the Cepheids.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure A1. Digitzed Sky Survey images for each of the CCHP targeted galaxies, with the HST / ACS footprints of the observations from GO-13691 and GO-15642 overlaid in blue. Each DSS image is 30 × 30 arcminutes in size.
Figure A1. Digitzed Sky Survey images for each of the CCHP targeted galaxies, with the HST / ACS footprints of the observations from GO-13691 and GO-15642 overlaid in blue. Each DSS image is 30 × 30 arcminutes in size.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure A2. Plots of stars that pass our DOLPHOT quality cuts for each of the CCHP targeted galaxies. For four galaxies ( NGC 1404, NGC 1448, NGC 4424, and NGC 5643 ) , we trimmed away a portion of the stellar fi eld to exclude regions with extreme levels of crowding or visible star formation.
Figure A2. Plots of stars that pass our DOLPHOT quality cuts for each of the CCHP targeted galaxies. For four galaxies ( NGC 1404, NGC 1448, NGC 4424, and NGC 5643 ) , we trimmed away a portion of the stellar fi eld to exclude regions with extreme levels of crowding or visible star formation.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure A3. Color -magnitude diagrams showing our reduction of the data obtained by the CCHP ( GO-13691 and GO-15642 ) . For NGC 1404, NGC 1448, NGC 4425, and NGC 5643, these color -magnitude diagrams are spatially selected to exclude regions of extreme crowding or visible star formation ( see Figure 7 ) . Our determinations of the TRGB are shown with red lines and labeled in the top left of each diagram. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB.
Figure A3. Color -magnitude diagrams showing our reduction of the data obtained by the CCHP ( GO-13691 and GO-15642 ) . For NGC 1404, NGC 1448, NGC 4425, and NGC 5643, these color -magnitude diagrams are spatially selected to exclude regions of extreme crowding or visible star formation ( see Figure 7 ) . Our determinations of the TRGB are shown with red lines and labeled in the top left of each diagram. The gap in the broken red line shows the color range used for our determination of the TRGB.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure A4. Observed luminosity functions, best- fi t luminosity functions, and edge-detection results ( shown only for visual comparison ) corresponding to the color -magnitude diagrams shown in Figure 8. Note that while some of our best- fi t results correspond to clean edge detections in our data ( e.g., M101 ) , other CMDs have edge-detection responses which are much noisier in our data ( e.g., NGC 4424 ) .
Figure A4. Observed luminosity functions, best- fi t luminosity functions, and edge-detection results ( shown only for visual comparison ) corresponding to the color -magnitude diagrams shown in Figure 8. Note that while some of our best- fi t results correspond to clean edge detections in our data ( e.g., M101 ) , other CMDs have edge-detection responses which are much noisier in our data ( e.g., NGC 4424 ) .CC-BY · From the PDF

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Metadata

Authors
Anand, G. S., Tully, R. B., Rizzi, L., Riess, A. G., & Yuan, W.
Affiliations
  • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
  • W.M. Keck Observatory (US)
  • Space Telescope Science Institute (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Anand, Gagandeep S.
ORCID
Venue
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Published
2022-06-01
Volume
932
Issue
1
Pages
15
ISSN
  • 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
  • 1538-4357
DOI
10.3847/1538-4357/ac68df
OpenAlex
W3187894162
Cited by
109
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 18
FWCI
9.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • The Astrophysical Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
HST (SNAP-15922)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Keywords
tip of the red giant branch, Hubble constant, asymptotic giant branch stars, Type Ia supernovae, Pantheon sample, Carnegie Supernova Project, surface brightness fluctuations, Hubble Space Telescope imaging

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