Analyzing Type Ia supernovae near-infrared light curves with principal component analysis

¹ Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain
² Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
³ School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
⁴ Instituto de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (ICEN), Universidad Arturo Prat, Chile
⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
⁶ Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai’i, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu HI 96822, USA
⁷ Planetary Science Institute, 1700 E Fort Lowell Rd., Ste 106, Tucson AZ 85719, USA
⁸ Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojensbergweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
⁹ Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena CA 91101, USA
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306, USA
¹¹ Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
¹² George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
¹³ Center for Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics, Independent University, Bangladesh Dhaka 1245, Bangladesh
¹⁴ American Public University System, Charles Town, WV 25414, USA

^⋆ Corresponding author: t.e.muller-bravo@tcd.ie

Received: 8 April 2025
Accepted: 8 August 2025

Abstract

Thermonuclear explosions of C/O white dwarf stars in binary systems known as Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) remain poorly understood. The complexity of their progenitor systems, explosion physics, and intrinsic diversity poses challenges in understanding these phenomena as astrophysical objects, as well as their standardization and use as cosmological probes. Near-infrared (NIR) observations offer a promising avenue for studying the physics of SNe Ia and for reducing systematic uncertainties in distance estimations, as they exhibit lower dust extinction and smaller dispersion in peak luminosity than optical bands. In this work, we applied a principal component analysis (PCA) to a sample of SNe Ia with well-sampled NIR (YJH-band) light curves to identify the dominant components of their variability and constrain physical underlying properties. The theoretical models are used for the physical interpretation of the PCA components, where we found that the ⁵⁶Ni mass best describes the dominant variability. Other factors, such as mixing and metallicity, were found to contribute significantly as well. However, some differences are seen among the components of the NIR bands, which could be attributed to differences in the explosion aspects they each trace. Additionally, we compared the PCA components to various light curve parameters, identifying strong correlations between the first component in J and H bands (second component in Y) and peak brightness in both the NIR and optical bands, particularly in the Y band. When applying a PCA to NIR color curves, we found interesting correlations with the host-galaxy mass, where SNe Ia with redder NIR colors are predominantly found in less massive (potentially more metal-poor) galaxies. We also investigated the potential for improved standardization in the Y band by incorporating PCA coefficients as correction parameters, leading to a reduction in the scatter of the intrinsic luminosity of SNe Ia. As new NIR observations become available, our findings can be further tested, ultimately refining our understanding of SNe Ia physics and enhancing their reliability as cosmological distance indicators.