Observational signatures of the weak lensing magnification of supernovae

Abstract

Due to the deflection of light by density fluctuations along the line of sight, weak lensing is an unavoidable systematic uncertainty in the use of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as cosmological distance indicators. We derive the expected weak lensing signatures of SNe Ia by convolving the intrinsic distribution in SN Ia peak luminosity with magnification distributions of point sources. We analyze current SN Ia data, and find marginal evidence for weak lensing effects. The statistics is poor because of the small number of observed SNe Ia. Future observational data will allow unambiguous detection of the weak lensing effect of SNe Ia. The observational signatures of weak lensing of SNe Ia that we have derived provide useful templates with which future data can be compared.