The tension between the value of the Hubble constant $H_0$ determined from local supernovae data and the one inferred from the cosmic microwave background based on the $Λ$CDM cosmological model may indicate the need for new physics. Here, we show that this `Hubble tension' can be resolved in models involving an effective energy flux from the matter sector into dark energy resulting naturally from a combination of unimodular gravity and an energy diffusion process. The scheme is one where dark energy has the standard equation of state $w=-1$. This proposal provides an alternative phenomenological paradigm accounting for the observations, while offering a general framework to study diffusion effects coming from novel fundamental physical processes.
We revisit D-term inflation with the bounds of the cosmic string tension from gravitational wave observations and consider the possible deviation of the spectral index compared with the $Λ$CDM model in light of prerecombination resolutions of the Hubble tension. D-term inflation requires very small coupling constants under these constraints. We show that natural coupling constants ($g=λ=0.1$) can be achieved in the case of D-term inflation on the brane.
The recent BICEP2 measurement of primordial gravity waves (r = 0.2^{+0.07}_{-0.05}) appears to be in tension with the upper limit from WMAP (r<0.13 at 95% CL) and Planck (r<0.11 at 95% CL). We carefully quantify the level of tension and show that it is very significant (around 0.1% unlikely) when the observed deficit of large-scale temperature power is taken into account. We show that measurements of TE and EE power spectra in the near future will discriminate between the hypotheses that this tension is either a statistical fluke, or a sign of new physics. We also discuss extensions of the sta…
Recent low-redshift observations give value of the present-time Hubble parameter $H_{0}\simeq 74~\rm{km s}^{-1}\rm{Mpc}^{-1}$, roughly 10\% higher than the predicted value $H_{0}=67.4~\rm{km s}^{-1}\rm{Mpc}^{-1}$ from Planck's observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation~(CMB) and the $Λ$CDM model. Phenomenologically, we show that by adding an extra component X with negative density in the Friedmann equation, it can relieve the Hubble tension without changing the Planck's constraint on the matter and dark energy densities. For the extra negative density to be sufficiently small, i…
The Hubble constant ($H_0$) estimated from the local Cepheid-supernova (SN) distance ladder is in 3-$σ$ tension with the value extrapolated from cosmic microwave background (CMB) data assuming the standard cosmological model. Whether this tension represents new physics or systematic effects is the subject of intense debate. Here, we investigate how new, independent $H_0$ estimates can arbitrate this tension, assessing whether the measurements are consistent with being derived from the same model using the posterior predictive distribution (PPD). We show that, with existing data, the inverse di…
New Early Dark Energy (NEDE) is a component of vacuum energy at the electron volt scale, which decays in a first-order phase transition shortly before recombination [arXiv:1910.10739]. The NEDE component has the potential to resolve the tension between recent local measurements of the expansion rate of the Universe using supernovae (SN) data and the expansion rate inferred from the early Universe through measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) when assuming $Λ$CDM. We discuss in depth the two-scalar field model of the NEDE phase transition including the process of bubble percolat…
Resolving the Planck-DESI tension by nonminimally coupled quintessence
Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)（中国科学院理论物理研究所）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)（中国科学院大学）；Institute of Fundamental Physics and Quantum Technology, Ningbo University（宁波大学基础物理与量子技术学院）；School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学杭州高等研究院基础物理与数学科学学院）；Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP)（亚太理论物理中心）
Self-interacting neutrinos that begin to free-stream at close to matter-radiation equality can reduce the physical size of photon sound horizon at last scattering surface. This mechanism can be the reason why standard $Λ$CDM cosmology sees a lower value of the Hubble constant than local measurements from distance ladder. We propose a new realization of self-interacting Dirac neutrinos (SID$ν$) with light-dark-photon mediator for a viable interaction mechanism. Our model is UV completed by a Dirac seesaw with anomaly-free dark $U(1)_X^{}$ gauge group which charges the right-handed neutrinos. Th…
Resolving the Hubble Tension in the Early Dark Energy Framework with JWST and DESI Data
College of Sciences, Northeastern University（东北大学理学院）；Department of Physics, Shanghai University（上海大学物理系）；School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS（中国科学院大学杭州高等研究院基础物理与数学科学学院）；School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学物理科学学院）
The E-mode (EE) CMB power spectra measured by Planck, ACTPol, and SPTpol constrain the Hubble constant to be $70.0\pm2.7$, $72.4^{+3.9}_{-4.8}$, and $73.1^{+3.3}_{-3.9}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ within the standard $Λ$CDM model (posterior mean and central 68% interval bounds). These values are higher than the constraints from the Planck temperature (TT) power spectrum, and consistent with the Cepheid-supernova distance ladder measurement $H_0=73.2\pm1.3$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. If this preference for a higher value was strengthened in a joint analysis it could provide an intriguing hint at the r…
Self-interaction among the neutrinos in the early Universe has been proposed as a solution to the Hubble tension, a discrepancy between the measured values of the Hubble constant from CMB and low-redshift data. However, flavor-universal neutrino self-interaction is highly constrained by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and other laboratory experiments such as, tau and K-meson decay, double-neutrino beta decay etc. We study the cosmology when only one or two neutrino states are self-interacting. Such flavor-specific interactions are less constrained by the laboratory experiments. Lastly, we address the…
Within the framework of Unimodular Gravity, we consider non-gravitational interactions between dark matter and dark energy. Particularly, we describe such interactions in the dark sector by considering diffusion models that couple the cold dark matter fluid with the dark energy component, where the latter has the form of a variable cosmological "constant". For the first time, we solve the cosmological evolution of these models from the radiation dominated era to the present day. We show how the diffusion processes take place by analyzing the cosmological evolution of the energy density paramet…
Horava gravity has been proposed as a renormalizable, higher-derivative, Lorentz-violating quantum gravity model without ghost problems. A Horava gravity based dark energy (HDE) model for dynamical dark energy has been also proposed earlier by identifying all the extra (gravitational) contributions from the Lorentz-violating terms as an effective energy-momentum tensor in Einstein equation. We consider a complete CMB, BAO, and SNe Ia data test of the HDE model by considering general perturbations over the background perfect HDE fluid. Except from BAO, we obtain the preference of non-flat unive…
An only early or only late time alteration to $Λ$CDM has been inadequate at resolving both the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions simultaneously; however, a combination of early and late time alterations to $Λ$CDM can provide a solution to both tensions. As an illustration, we examine a combined Early Dark Energy - Decaying Dark Matter model. While early dark energy has the ability to resolve the $H_0$ tension, it leads to a discrepancy in $S_8$ measurements. We show that the addition of decaying dark matter helps resolve the $S_8$ discrepancy that would otherwise be enhanced in an early dark energy mod…
We explore the complementarity between terrestrial neutrino oscillation experiments and astrophysical/cosmological measurements in probing the existence of sterile neutrinos. We find that upcoming accelerator neutrino experiments will not improve on constraints by the time they are operational, but that reactor experiments can already probe parameter space beyond the reach of Planck. We emphasize the tension between cosmological experiments and reactor antineutrino experiments and enumerate several possibilities for resolving this tension.
Taking advantage of Gaussian process (GP), we obtain an improved estimate of the Hubble constant, $H_0=70.41\pm1.58$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, using Hubble parameter [$H(z)$] from cosmic chronometers (CCH) and expansion rate function [$E(z)$], extracted from type Ia supernovae, data. We also use CCH data, including the ones with full covariance matrix, and $E(z)$ data to obtain a determination of $H_0=72.34_{-1.92}^{+1.90}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, which implies that the involvement of full covariance matrix results in higher values and uncertainties of $H_0$. These results are higher than those …
There is a strong discrepancy between the value of the Hubble parameter $H_0^P$ obtained from large scale observations such as the Planck mission, and the small scale value $H_0^R$, obtained from low redshift supernovae (SNe). The value of the absolute magnitude $M^{Hom}$ used as prior in analyzing observational data is obtained from low-redshift SNe, assuming a homogeneous Universe, but the distance of the anchors used to calibrate the SNe to obtain $M$ would be affected by a local inhomogeneity, making it inconsistent to test the Copernican principle using $M^{Hom}$, since $M$ estimation its…
We propose a one-parameter extension to $Λ$CDM, expected to strongly affect cosmological tensions. An effective dark radiation component in the early universe redshifts away as hot dark matter, then quintessence, tracking the dominant equation-of-state parameter and leaving a falsifiable torsion field in the current epoch. This picture results from a new Poincaré gauge theory (PGT), one of the most promising among the latest batch of 58 PGTs found to be both power-counting renormalisable and free from ghosts and tachyons. We systematically categorise the cosmologies of 33 of these PGTs, as spe…
Technische Universität München（慕尼黑工业大学）；Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University（诺迪塔，皇家理工学院和斯德哥尔摩大学）；University of Southern Denmark（南丹麦大学）
Recent estimations of the Hubble parameter $H_0$ based on gravitational waves (GW) observations can be used to shed some light on the discrepancy between the value of the Hubble parameter $H_0^P$ obtained from large scale observations such as the Planck mission, and the small scale value $H_0^R$, obtained from low redshift supernovae (SNe). In order to investigate the origin of this discrepancy we perform a combined analysis of the luminosity distance of SNe and GW sources, using different methods, finding that the impact of the GW data is very limited, due to the small number of data points, …
We study a step-like transition in the value of the effective Planck mass (or effective gravitational constant) on cosmological scales prior to recombination. We employ CMB, BAO, and SNIa data and find they are sufficient to strongly constrain our implementation of the Effective Field Theory of Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, used to model the transition, to a limited parameter space. The data prefer a $\sim 5\%$ shift in the value of the effective Planck mass ($<10 \%$ at $2 σ$) prior to recombination. This Transitional Planck Mass (TPM) model is free to undergo its transition at any point …
Within the standard LCDM model of cosmology, the recent Planck measurements have shown discrepancies with other observations, e.g., measurements of the current expansion rate H_0, the galaxy shear power spectrum and counts of galaxy clusters. We show that if LCDM is extended by a hot dark matter component, which could be interpreted as a sterile neutrino, the data sets can be combined consistently. A combination of Planck data, WMAP-9 polarisation data, measurements of the BAO scale, the HST measurement of H_0, Planck galaxy cluster counts and galaxy shear data from the CFHTLens survey yields …
Measurement of the distances to nearby galaxies have improved rapidly in recent decades. The ever-present challenge is to reduce systematic effects, especially as greater distances are probed, and the uncertainties become larger. In this paper, we combine several recent calibrations of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) method. These calibrations are internally self-consistent at the 1% level. New Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) data provide an additional consistency check, at a (lower) 5% level of accuracy, a result of the well-documented Gaia angular covariance bias. The updated TRGB ca…
A discrete space-time structure lying at about the Planck scale may become manifest in the form of very small violations of the conservation of the matter energy-momentum tensor. In order to include such kind of violations, forbidden within the General Relativity framework, the theory of unimodular gravity seems as the simplest option to describe the gravitational interaction. In the cosmological context, a direct consequence of such violation of energy conservation might be heuristically viewed a "diffusion process of matter (both dark and ordinary)" into an effective dark energy term in Eins…
It has recently been shown that a subdominant hidden sector of atomic dark matter in the early universe provides a novel avenue towards resolving the Hubble ($H_0$) tension while maintaining good agreement with Cosmic Microwave Background era observables. However, such a mechanism requires a hidden sector whose energy density ratios are the same as in our sector and whose recombination also takes place at redshift $z \approx 1100$, which presents an apparent fine tuning. We introduce a realistic model of this scenario that dynamically enforces these coincidences without fine tuning. In our set…
We present a detailed investigation of a sub-dominant oscillating scalar field ('early dark energy', EDE) in the context of resolving the Hubble tension. Consistent with earlier work, but without relying on fluid approximations, we find that a scalar field frozen due to Hubble friction until ${\rm log}_{10}(z_c)\sim3.5$, reaching $ρ_{\rm EDE}(z_c)/ρ_{\rm tot}\sim10$%, and diluting faster than matter afterwards can bring cosmic microwave background (CMB), baryonic acoustic oscillations, supernovae luminosity distances, and the late-time estimate of the Hubble constant from the SH0ES collaborati…
Motivated by the tensions in the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the structure growth $σ_8$ between $Planck$ results and other low redshift measurements, we discuss some cosmological effects of a dark sector model in which dark matter (DM) interacts with fermionic dark radiation (DR) through a light gauge boson (dark photon). Such kind of models are very generic in particle physics with a dark sector with dark gauge symmetries. The effective number of neutrinos is increased by $δN_{eff} \sim 0.5$ due to light dark photon and fermionic DR, thereby resolving the conflicts in $H_0$. The elastic scatter…
