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Lensing cosmic fireworks: Constraining the Hubble constant, supernova Ia progenitors, and emissions of tidally disrupted stars near black holes

Objective

LENS-ON-FIRE will target simultaneously three frontiers in cosmology and astrophysics by harnessing strongly lensed flares as cosmic “time machines” and “microscopes” to preview supernovae (SNe) and black holes as never before. Building on my established expertise in strong lensing, this project will accomplish three ambitious goals that will transform the fields:
(1) Establish lensed SNe as a high-precision cosmological probe. Strong lensing of SNe, which show multiple images of the same SN appearing at different times/locations around foreground lens galaxies, provides a direct way to measure the Hubble constant (H0) to 1% uncertainty, crucial for addressing the current Hubble tension and testing physics beyond the standard cosmological model.
(2) Place the best constraints on SN Ia progenitors. By exploiting the time delays between lensed SN images as a cosmic time machine, strongly lensed SNe can now be observed on prime seats. After the first SN appears, the next SN occurrence (of the same SN event) can be observed in detail in its entirety for the first time in history. The unprecedented early-phase spectra of SNe will reveal SN Ia progenitors that have been long-debated.
(3) Pioneer direct measurements of the emission size of tidal disruption events (TDEs) of stars. Strong lensing and microlensing of TDEs near supermassive black holes constrain the emission region size, which is crucial to solve the conundrum of the physical emission mechanism and to infer black hole properties.

The advent of the Rubin Observatory and the ongoing Euclid survey make this project especially timely, ensuring the discovery of the first gold sample of lensed flares to achieve my ambitious goals, enabled by my co-coordination of lensed transients across both surveys. By delivering a 1% H0 measurement, unprecedented early-phase spectra of SNe Ia, and direct TDE‐size constraints, LENS-ON-FIRE will revolutionise cosmology, stellar and black-hole physics via strong lensing.

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(opens in new window) ERC-2025-ADG

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Host institution

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Net EU contribution

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€ 3 046 875,00
Address
Arcisstrasse 21
80333 Muenchen
Germany

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Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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Beneficiaries (1)