The Hubble Constant from Blue Type Ia Supernovae

Abstract: There is a persistent $\sim 5 \sigma$ tension between the value of the Hubble constant, as derived from either the local distance ladder or the cosmic microwave background, signaling either unaccounted for systematics in the measurements or `new physics'. Determining the Hubble constant using Type Ia supernovae requires non-trivial and accurate corrections for dust extinction. To circumvent this obstacle, we here determine the Hubble constant from blue, and hence presumably unextinguished, supernovae, only. For two different compilations of Type Ia supernova data and lightcurve fitting methods we find that the derived Hubble constant is consistently lower by $\sim$ 3 km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ ($\sim 70$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$), and within 1 $\sigma$ of the Cosmic Microwave Background measurement, when using only blue supernovae as opposed to using all supernovae. Although the number of blue calibrating Type Ia supernovae is small, this indicates potential systematic effects in dust corrections in standard supernova cosmology. Upcoming major transient surveys will discover numerous unextinguished SNe~Ia, and thus be able to increase precision of the Hubble constant measured from blue SNe~Ia, heralding a promising path toward resolving the Hubble constant tension.