Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances to NGC 1316, NGC 1380, NGC 1404, and NGC 4457: A Pilot Study of a Parallel Distance Ladder Using Type Ia Supernovae in Early-type Host Galaxies

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Abstract
Although Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are found in all galaxies types, recent local Hubble constant measurements have disfavored using SNe Ia in early-type/quiescent galaxies, aiming instead for better consistency with SNe Ia in star-forming/late-type host galaxies calibrated by Cepheid distances. Here, we investigate the feasibility of a parallel distance ladder using SNe Ia exclusively in quiescent, massive ( log M * / M ⊙ ≥ 10 ) host galaxies, calibrated by tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) distances. We present TRGB measurements to four galaxies: three measured from the Hubble Space Telescope with the Advanced Camera for Surveys F814W filter and one measured from the JWST NIRCam F090W filter. Combined with literature measurements, we define a TRGB-calibrator sample of five high-mass, early-type galaxies that hosted well-measured SNe Ia: NGC 1316 (SN 2006dd), NGC 1380 (SN 1992A), NGC 1404 (SN 2007on, SN 2011iv), NGC 4457 (SN 2020nvb), and NGC 4636 (SN 2020ue). We jointly standardize these calibrators with a fiducial sample of 124 Hubble-flow SNe Ia from the Zwicky Transient Facility that are matched in host-galaxy and light-curve properties. Results with this homogenized subsample show a Hubble residual scatter under 0.11 mag, lower than usually observed in cosmological samples of the full SN Ia distribution. We obtain a measurement of the Hubble constant, H 0 = 75.3 ± 2.9 km s −1 Mpc −1 , including statistical and estimated systematic uncertainties, and discuss the potential to further improve the precision of this approach. As calibrator and SN samples grow, we advocate that future cosmological applications of SNe Ia use subsamples matched in host-galaxy and SN properties across redshifts.

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