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Implementing a High-Redshift Supernova Program with Roman’s WFS RISE Sample
Program ID 19021
Science Category Stellar Physics
Program Type Analysis
Category Medium
Principal Investigator Ori Fox
PI Institution Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI
Co-Investigators
  • Anya Nugent (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
  • Christa DeCoursey (University of Arizona)
  • Koji Shukawa (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Sebastian Gomez (University of Texas, Austin)
  • Takashi Moriya (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)
  • Seppo Mattila (Tuorla Observatory, University of Turku)
  • Christian Vassallo (Tuorla Observatory, University of Turku)
  • Matthew Siebert (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
  • Ashish Mahabal (California Institute of Technology)
  • Rodrigo Angulo (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Eiichi Egami (University of Arizona)
  • Jacob Jencson (California Institute of Technology / IPAC)
  • Maggie Li (California Institute of Technology)
  • Robert Quimby (San Diego State University)
  • Massimo Griggio (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
  • Tea Temim (Princeton University)
  • Estefania Padilla Gonzalez (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Mansi Kasliwal (California Institute of Technology)
  • Lin Yan (California Institute of Technology)
  • Schuyler Van Dyk (California Institute of Technology / IPAC)
  • Benjamin Rusholme (California Institute of Technology / IPAC)
  • Armin Rest (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
  • David Coulter (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Justin Pierel (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Yuhan Yao (University of California, Berkeley)
  • Robert Stein (University of Maryland, College Park)
  • Lou Strolger (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
  • Melissa Shahbandeh (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
  • Conor Larison (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
  • James DerKacy (Space Telescope Science Institute / STScI)
Abstract Supernova (SN) and transient astronomy in the early Universe (z~1-7) remains one of the last largely uncharted frontiers of time-domain astrophysics. Recent JWST studies have shown that this horizon promises transformative science, not only extending low-z research, but probing an era where differences in stellar populations and cosmology impact the development of the Universe. A well-sampled, wide-field (>several deg^2) survey down to ~28th mag can generate a sample size of high-z SNe necessary to probe key astrophysical processes, including the first stars and galaxies, the Epoch of Reionization, and chemical enrichment. Yet existing studies of SNe at these redshifts remain largely elusive, even by powerful telescopes given the small field-of-view of JWST and shallower depth and limited wavelength coverage of Rubin. Roman’s combination of these properties, however, allow for it to uniquely build a statistically meaningful sample of SN light-curves at z>1 from the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey’s (HLTDS) Wide and Deep tiers, particularly using the deep stacks anticipated by the RISE WFS program. Here we propose to execute a non-cosmological high-z SN science program, with a specific focus on measuring SN rates and tracing star formation histories out to z=3, modeling Type II SN progenitor and explosion physics out to z=3, and characterizing extreme superluminous and pair-instability SNe out to z=6. With the HLTDS Pilot, Extended, and beginning of the Core components beginning in Years 1-2, it is necessary to start this work now to (1) build the required infrastructure, (2) publish initial results, and (3) identify and prioritize the highest redshift transients with their correspondingly broad light-curves (>2 years) to ensure the necessary long-term monitoring and follow-up throughout the entire Roman mission. Ultimately, this program will be the first high-z transient survey of its kind, inaugurating a new era of time-domain exploration in the early Universe.