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Trouble beyond H0 and the new cosmic triangles

José Luis Bernal, Licia Verde, Raul Jimenez, Marc Kamionkowski, David Valcin, and Benjamin D. Wandelt
Phys. Rev. D 103, 103533 – Published 26 May 2021

Abstract

The distance ladder using supernovae yields higher values of the Hubble constant H0 than those inferred from measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and galaxy surveys, a discrepancy that has come to be known as the “Hubble tension”. This has motivated the exploration of extensions to the standard cosmological model in which higher values of H0 can be obtained from CMB measurements and galaxy surveys. The trouble, however, goes beyond H0; such modifications affect other quantities, too. In particular, their effects on cosmic times are usually neglected. We explore here the implications that measurements of the age tU of the Universe, such as a recent inference from the age of the oldest globular clusters, can have for potential solutions to the H0 tension. The value of H0 inferred from the CMB and galaxy surveys is related to the sound horizon at CMB decoupling (or at radiation drag), but it is also related to the matter density and to tU. Given this observation, we show how model-independent measurements may support or disfavor proposed new-physics solutions to the Hubble tension. Finally, we argue that cosmological measurements today provide constraints that, within a given cosmological model, represent an overconstrained system, offering a powerful diagnostic tool of consistency. We propose the use of ternary plots to simultaneously visualize independent constraints on key quantities related to H0 like tU, the sound horizon at radiation drag, and the matter density parameter. We envision that this representation will help find a solution to the trouble of and beyond H0.

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  • Received 15 February 2021
  • Accepted 8 April 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.103.103533

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Authors & Affiliations

José Luis Bernal1, Licia Verde2,3, Raul Jimenez2,3, Marc Kamionkowski1, David Valcin2, and Benjamin D. Wandelt4,5,6

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
  • 2ICC, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
  • 3ICREA, Passeig Lluis Companys 23, Barcelona 08010, Spain
  • 4Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98 bis bd Arago, 75014 Paris, France
  • 5Sorbonne Université, Institut Lagrange de Paris (ILP), 98 bis bd Arago, 75014 Paris, France
  • 6Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10010, USA

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Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 10 — 15 May 2021

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