2020ApJ...899...67F

We apply the near-infrared J-region asymptotic giant branch (JAGB) method, recently introduced by Madore & Freedman, to measure the distances to 14 nearby galaxies out to 4 Mpc. We use the geometric detached eclipsing binary (DEB) distances to the LMC and SMC as independent zero-point calibrators. We find excellent agreement with previously published distances based on the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB): the JAGB distance determinations (including the LMC and SMC) agree in the mean to within Δ(JAGB-TRGB)=+0.025±0.013 mag, just over 1%, where the TRGB I-band zero-point is M_I = -4.05 mag. With further development and testing, the JAGB method has the potential to provide an independent calibration of Type Ia supernovae, especially with the James Webb Space Telescope. The JAGB stars (with M_J = -6.20 mag) can be detected farther than the fainter TRGB stars, allowing greater numbers of calibrating galaxies for the determination of H₀. Along with the TRGB and Cepheids, JAGB stars are amenable to theoretical understanding and further refined empirical calibration. A preliminary test shows little dependence, if any, of the JAGB magnitude on metallicity of the parent galaxy. These early results suggest that the JAGB method has considerable promise for providing high-precision distances to galaxies in the local universe that are independent of distances derived from the Leavitt Law and/or the TRGB method, and it has numerous and demonstrable advantages over the possible use of Mira variables.