2025 Project Description

Flickering Standard Candles: Weak Lensing of Supernovae from DES

Supervisors

Ryuichiro Hada
Find out more about supervisors on ASIAA website

Task Description and Goals

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) serve as crucial "standard candles" in modern cosmology, enabling precise measurements of cosmic distances. However, their observed brightness can be affected by gravitational lensing from the intervening mass distribution along the line of sight. The Dark Energy Survey (DES) has built a rich sample of SNe Ia with over 1,500 objects having spectroscopic redshifts, providing an unprecedented opportunity to study these lensing effects. In this project, we will compare the probability density function (or/and the angular correlation function) of SNe Ia magnification with their theoretical models and constrain cosmological parameters using DES data. This analysis will not only improve our understanding of systematic uncertainties in SNe Ia cosmology but also provide an independent probe of the large-scale structure of the Universe.

In this project, the student will: (1) work with state-of-the-art supernova data from DES and learn to handle real astronomical data, (2) understand theoretical models of the large-scale structure and gravitational lensing, and their cosmological implications, (3) gain practical experience in modern cosmology and statistical analysis techniques.

Required Background

• Basic knowledge of physics and mathematics.
• Basic knowledge and skills in computer programming are preferred.