Still accelerating: type Ia supernova cosmology is robust to host galaxy age evolution

Journal article

Type Ia supernovae are a cornerstone of modern cosmology, providing first evidence for cosmic acceleration and new tests of dark energy. Son et al. (S25) claim a strong redshift evolution in standardized supernova luminosities driven by supernova progenitor age, with dramatic cosmological implications: rapidly evolving dark energy, decelerating expansion, and a tension with CDM. We show that the underpinning evidence required for this conclusion – the supernova progenitor-age dependence, the redshift-dependent age difference, and their combined impact – is either negligible or relies on effects already corrected for in modern supernova analyses. First, the S25 analysis omits the standard host-galaxy stellar mass correction that captures known environmental dependencies that also correlate with stellar age. Applying this correction to the S25 sample, we find no dependence of standardized supernova brightness on host age. Independent data also show no significant difference at low-redshift in standardized brightness between star-forming galaxies and several Gyr older quiescent galaxies of the same stellar mass. Secondly, the S25 scenario predicts strong redshift evolution of the host-mass effect. Data from the Dark Energy Survey supernova survey measure evolution of , consistent with zero and altering the dark-energy equation-of-state measurement (w) by <0.01 if included. Thirdly, we demonstrate that the claimed Gyr progenitor age difference between nearby and distant supernovae is overstated by factors of three to five largely due to a conflation of host galaxy age with supernova progenitor age. We conclude that type Ia supernova cosmology remains robust for current measurements of dark energy.

Authors: Wiseman, P; Popovic, B; Sullivan, M; Riess, AG; Scolnic, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Volume: 549
• Issue: 3
• Article number: stag797
• Publication date: 2026-06-10
• Acceptance date: 2026-04-19
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stag797
• EISSN: 1365-2966
• ISSN: 0035-8711
• Language: English
• Keywords: distance scale; galaxies: evolution; dark energy; transients: supernovae