Euclid: Searching for pair-instability supernovae with the Deep Survey^⋆

¹ National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
² School of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
³ School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
⁴ Astronomical Institute, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
⁵ Division for the Establishment of Frontier Sciences, Organization for Advanced Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
⁶ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Via dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
⁸ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁹ International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Piazzale della Republica 2, 65122 Pescara, Italy
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK
¹¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Vesilinnantie 5, 20014 Turku, Finland
¹² Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
¹³ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
¹⁴ Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
¹⁵ ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
¹⁶ Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
¹⁷ INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁸ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese, TO, Italy
¹⁹ INFN-Sezione di Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Roma, Italy
²⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli studi di Genova, and INFN-Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
²¹ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
²² Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
²³ INFN-Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
²⁴ INAF-IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
²⁵ Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
²⁶ Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
²⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
²⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²⁹ Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris Cedex 16, France
³⁰ Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France
³¹ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
³² Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
³³ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
³⁴ Univ Lyon, Univ Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
³⁵ Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
³⁶ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
³⁷ Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
³⁸ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
³⁹ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. dÉcogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁴⁰ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
⁴¹ Department of Physics, Oxford University, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
⁴² INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁴³ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁴⁴ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁴⁵ Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio (OAS), Via Gobetti 93/3, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁴⁶ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
⁴⁷ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁴⁸ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstrasse 1, 81679 München, Germany
⁴⁹ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
⁵⁰ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
⁵¹ von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, SchloßPlatz 8, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany
⁵² Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁵³ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁵⁴ Department of Physics and Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁵⁵ NOVA Optical Infrared Instrumentation Group at ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁵⁶ Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁵⁷ INFN-Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁵⁸ Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road DH1 3LE, UK
⁵⁹ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁶⁰ University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
⁶¹ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁶² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
⁶³ Institute of Space Science, Bucharest 077125, Romania
⁶⁴ IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, Via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
⁶⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Universitá di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁶⁶ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁶⁷ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
⁶⁸ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
⁶⁹ Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
⁷⁰ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
⁷¹ Junia, EPA Department, 59000 Lille, France
⁷² California institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Received: 19 April 2022
Accepted: 24 August 2022

Abstract

Pair-instability supernovae are theorized supernovae that have not yet been observationally confirmed. They are predicted to exist in low-metallicity environments. Because overall metallicity becomes lower at higher redshifts, deep near-infrared transient surveys probing high-redshift supernovae are suitable to discover pair-instability supernovae. The Euclid satellite, which is planned launch in 2023, has a near-infrared wide-field instrument that is suitable for a high-redshift supernova survey. The Euclid Deep Survey is planned to make regular observations of three Euclid Deep Fields (40 deg² in total) spanning Euclid’s six-year primary mission period. While the observations of the Euclid Deep Fields are not frequent, we show that the predicted long duration of pair-instability supernovae would allow us to search for high-redshift pair-instability supernovae with the Euclid Deep Survey. Based on the current observational plan of the Euclid mission, we conduct survey simulations in order to estimate the expected numbers of pair-instability supernova discoveries. We find that up to several hundred pair-instability supernovae at z ≲ 3.5 can be discovered within the Euclid Deep Survey. We also show that pair-instability supernova candidates can be efficiently identified by their duration and color, which can be determined with the current Euclid Deep Survey plan. We conclude that the Euclid mission can lead to the first confirmation of pair-instability supernovae if their event rates are as high as those predicted by recent theoretical studies. We also update the expected numbers of superluminous supernova discoveries in the Euclid Deep Survey based on the latest observational plan.