Discrepant measurements of the Universe's expansion rate ($H_0$) may signal physics beyond the standard cosmological model. Here I describe two early modified gravity mechanisms that reconcile the value of $H_0$ by increasing the expansion rate in the era of matter-radiation equality. These mechanisms, based on viable Horndeski theories, require significantly less fine-tuned initial conditions than early dark energy with oscillating scalar fields. In Imperfect Dark Energy at Equality (IDEE), the initial energy density dilutes slower than radiation but faster than matter, naturally peaking around the era of equality. The minimal IDEE model, a cubic Galileon, is too constrained by the cosmic microwave background (Planck) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) to relieve the $H_0$ tension. In Enhanced Early Gravity (EEG), the scalar field value modulates the cosmological strength of gravity. The minimal EEG model, an exponentially coupled cubic Galileon, gives a Planck+BAO value $H_0=68.7 \pm 1.5$ (68\% c.l.), reducing the tension with SH0ES from $4.4σ$ to $2.6σ$. Additionally, Galileon contributions to cosmic acceleration may reconcile $H_0$ via Late-Universe Phantom Expansion (LUPE). Combining LUPE, EEG and $Λ$ reduces the tension between Planck, BAO and SH0ES to $2.5σ$. I will also describe additional tests of coupled Galileons based on local gravity tests, primordial element abundances and gravitational waves. While further model building is required to fully resolve the $H_0$ problem and satisfy all available observations, these examples show the wealth of possibilities to solve cosmological tensions beyond Einstein's General Relativity.
The Hubble tension can be significantly eased if there is an early component of dark energy that becomes active around the time of matter-radiation equality. Early dark energy models suffer from a coincidence problem -- the physics of matter-radiation equality and early dark energy are completely disconnected, so some degree of fine-tuning is needed in order for them to occur nearly simultaneously. In this paper we propose a natural explanation for this coincidence. If the early dark energy scalar couples to neutrinos then it receives a large injection of energy around the time that neutrinos …
We show that the gravitational waves measurements have raised the opportunity to measure $H_0$ with dark sirens to within 2$σ$, the accuracy required to resolve the \hubble tension. There are two principal reasons for our results: (1) upgrades to GW LIGO-Virgo transient catalogues GWTC-1 and GWTC-2 enhance their sensitive with only 10\% of contamination fraction, and (2) new dark sirens should help to constrain our dynamical EoS. In conjunction, sensitivity upgrades and a new dark energy model will facilitate an accurate inference of the \hubble constant $H_0$ to better with an $\pm 0.077$ err…
We present a fully relativistic framework to evaluate the impact of stochastic inhomogeneities on the prediction of the Hubble-Lemaître diagram. In this regard, we relate the fluctuations of the luminosity distance-redshift relation in the Cosmic Concordance model to the intrinsic uncertainty associated to the estimation of cosmological parameters from high-redshift surveys (up to z = 4). Within this framework and according to the specific of forthcoming surveys as Euclid Deep Survey and LSST, we show that the cosmic variance associated with the measurement of the Hubble constant will not exce…
We reconsider the effective mass of a scalar field which interact with visible sector via Planck-suppressed coupling in supergravity framework. We focus on the radiation-dominated (RD) era after inflation. In this era, the effective mass is given by thermal average of interaction terms. To make our analysis clear, we rely on Kadanoff-Baym equations to evaluate the thermal average. We find that, in RD era, a scalar field acquires the effective mass of the order of $H$.
We evaluate the effective mass of a scalar field which interacts with visible sector via Planck-suppressed coupling in supergravity framework. We focus on the radiation-dominated (RD) era after inflation and the contribution from a fermionic field in the thermal bath. We find that, in RD era, the fermion kinetic term gives the effective mass of the order of Hubble scale to the scalar field.
We show that the energy density of the superhorizon modes released in a non-Bunch-Davies vacuum can be arbitrarily large during inflation and it decreases like ln(a)/a^4 in the subsequent radiation dominated era. This may constitute a dark radiation component which can sufficiently alter the early cosmological evolution to alleviate the Hubble tension.
In the context of a ghost free $f(R,\mathcal{G})$ model, we present a non-singular cosmological scenario in which the universe initially contracts through an ekpyrotic phase having a bouncing like behaviour, and following the bounce, it smoothly transits to a matter or radiation like deceleration era which is further smoothly connected to the dark energy era at present epoch. We consider the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) coupling function in such a way that it gets compatible with the event GW170817. Using suitable reconstruction technique, we obtain the non-trivial scalar field potential as well as the G…
We discuss the ability of a dark fluid becoming relevant around the time of matter radiation equality to significantly relieve the tension between local measurements of the Hubble constant and CMB inference, within the $Λ$CDM model. We show that the gravitational impact of acoustic oscillations in the dark fluid balance the effects on the CMB and result in an improved fit to CMB measurements themselves while simultaneously raising the Hubble constant. The required balance favors a model where the fluid is a scalar field that converts its potential to kinetic energy around matter radiation equa…
We investigate the generation of gravitational waves due to the gravitational instability of primordial density perturbations in an early matter-dominated era which could be detectable by experiments such as LIGO and LISA. We use relativistic perturbation theory to give analytic estimates of the tensor perturbations generated at second order by linear density perturbations. We find that large enhancement factors with respect to the naive second-order estimate are possible due to the growth of density perturbations on sub-Hubble scales. However very large enhancement factors coincide with a bre…
In this work we shall present models of $F(R)$ gravity which realize in a unified way the inflationary era along with a post-inflationary early dark energy era, with the late-time dark energy era. We shall use two approach methods in order to realize the unified cosmological eras, firstly we specify a Hubble rate which may describe the three distinct acceleration eras, and then by using well known $F(R)$ gravity reconstruction techniques, we shall find the differential equation which may yield the $F(R)$ gravity that realizes the cosmologies. In our second approach, we shall present in a quali…
$H_0$ constraints from galaxy surveys are sourced by the geometric properties of two standardisable rulers: the sound horizon scale, $r_s$, and the matter-radiation equality scale, $k_{\rm eq}$. While most analyses over the last decade have focused on the first scale, recent work has emphasised that the second can provide an independent source of information about the expansion rate of the universe. Recent approaches to obtain a sound-horizon-independent measurement of $H_0$ from the equality scale have avoided $r_s$-based information by removing the sound-horizon-calibrating prior on the bary…
We revisit the effects of an early matter-dominated era on gravitational waves induced by scalar perturbations. We carefully take into account the evolution of the gravitational potential, the source of these induced gravitational waves, during a gradual transition from an early matter-dominated era to the radiation-dominated era, where the transition timescale is comparable to the Hubble time at that time. Realizations of such a gradual transition include the standard perturbative reheating with a constant decay rate. Contrary to previous works, we find that the presence of an early matter-do…
A dynamical resolution to the cosmological constant fine-tuning problem has been previously put forward, based on a scalar-tensor gravitational theory possessing de Sitter attractor solutions characterized by a small Hubble expansion rate, irrespective of an initially large vacuum energy. We show that a technically natural subregion of the parameter space yields a cosmological evolution through radiation- and matter-dominated eras that is essentially indistinguishable from that predicted by General Relativity. Similarly, the proposed model automatically satisfies the observational constraints …
We numerically determine the cosmological branch of the free function in a nonlocal metric-based modification of gravity which provides a relativistic generalization of Milgrom's Modified Newtonian Dynamics. We are able to reproduce the $Λ$CDM expansion history over virtually all of cosmic history, including the era of radiation domination during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, the era of matter domination during Recombination, and most of the era of vacuum energy domination. The very late period of $0 \leq z < 0.0880$, during which the model deviates from the $Λ$CDM expansion history, is interestin…
This paper is dedicated to assessing modified cosmological settings based on the gravitational Standard-Model Extension (SME). Our analysis rests upon the Hubble tension (HT), which is a discrepancy between the observational determination of the Hubble parameter via data from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and Type Ia supernovae, respectively. While the latter approach is model-independent, the former highly depends on the model used to describe the physics of the early Universe. Motivated by the HT, we take into account two recently introduced cosmological models as test frameworks of …
Many of the fundamental physical constants in Physics, as a discipline, are measured to exquisite levels of precision. The fundamental constants that define Cosmology, however, are largely determined via a handful of independent techniques that are applied to even fewer datasets. The history of the measurement of the Hubble Constant (H0), which serves to anchor the expansion history of the Universe to its current value, is an exemplar of the difficulties of cosmological measurement; indeed, as we approach the centennial of its first measurement, the quest for H0 still consumes a great number o…
The recent NANOGrav finding of a common-spectrum process has invited interpretations as possible evidence of a primordial stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) stronger than predicted by standard inflation+LCDM. Such an SGWB would contribute an extra radiation component to the background Universe which may affect its expansion history. As such, it may help alleviate the current Hubble tension, a novel connection between gravitational waves and cosmology. We demonstrate this by considering a cosmological model, the "standard inflation + stiff amplification" scenario, with two componen…
If a fraction of the dark matter is unstable and decays into dark radiation at around the time of matter-radiation equality, it could impact the expansion history of the universe in a way that helps to ameliorate the long-standing tension between the locally measured value of the Hubble constant and the value inferred from measurements of the cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations (assuming standard $Λ$CDM cosmology). If this component of decaying dark matter is cold, however, it will modify the evolution of the gravitational potentials, leading to inconsistencies with th…
In this paper we demonstrate that with vacuum $F(G)$ gravity it is possible to describe the unification of late and early-time acceleration eras with the radiation and matter domination era. The Hubble rate of the unified evolution contains two mild singularities, so called Type IV singularities, and the evolution itself has some appealing features, such as the existence of a deceleration-acceleration transition at late times. We also address quantitatively a fundamental question related to modified gravity models description of cosmological evolution: Is it possible for all modified gravity d…
Recently, a low-$z$ measurement of the Hubble constant, $H_0 = 73.04 \pm 1.04 {\rm ~km/s/Mpc}$, was reported by the SH0ES Team. The long-standing Hubble tension, i.e. the difference between the Hubble constant from the local measurements and that inferred from the cosmic microwave background data based on the $Λ$CDM model, was further strengthened. There are many cosmological models modifying the cosmology after and around the recombination era to alleviate this tension. In fact, some of the models alter the small-scale fluctuation amplitude relative to larger scales, and thus require a signif…
We present some cosmological models which unify the late and early-time acceleration eras with the radiation and the matter domination era, and we realize the cosmological models by using the theoretical framework of $F(R)$ gravity. Particularly, the first model unifies the late and early-time acceleration with the matter domination era, and the second model unifies all the evolution eras of our Universe. The two models are described in the same way at early and late times, and only the intermediate stages of the evolution have some differences. Each cosmological model contains two Type IV sin…
We use the 3+1 formalism of numerical relativity to investigate the robustness of Starobinsky and Higgs inflation to inhomogeneous initial conditions, in the form of either field gradient or kinetic energy density. Sub-Hubble and Hubble-sized fluctuations generically lead to inflation after an oscillatory phase between gradient and kinetic energies. Hubble-sized inhomogeneities also produce contracting regions that may end up forming primordial black holes, subsequently diluted by inflation. We analyse the dynamics of the preinflation era and the generation of vector and tensor fluctuations. O…
Early dark energy (EDE) offers a particularly interesting theoretical approach to the Hubble tension, albeit one that introduces its own set of challenges, including a new `why then' problem related to the EDE injection time at matter-radiation equality, and a mild worsening of the large-scale structure (LSS) tension. Both these challenges center on the properties of dark matter, which becomes the dominant component of the Universe at EDE injection and is also responsible for seeding LSS. Motivated by this, we present the potential of couplings between EDE and dark matter to address these chal…
The Hubble parameter inferred from cosmic microwave background observations is consistently lower than that from local measurements, which could hint towards new physics. Solutions to the Hubble tension typically require a sizable amount of extra radiation $ΔN^{}_{\rm eff}$ during recombination. However, the amount of $ΔN^{}_{\rm eff}$ in the early Universe is unavoidably constrained by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), which causes problems for such solutions. We present a possibility to evade this problem by introducing neutrino self-interactions via a simple Majoron-like coupling. The scalar …
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…
We propose that stellar-mass binary black holes like GW150914 will become a tool to explore the local Universe within ~100Mpc in the era of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). High calibration accuracy and annual motion of LISA could enable us to localize up to ~60 binaries more accurately than the error volume of ~100Mpc^3 without electromagnetic counterparts under moderately optimistic assumptions. This accuracy will give us a fair chance to determine the host object solely by gravitational waves. By combining the luminosity distance extracted from gravitational waves with the cos…
We study the dynamics of the FLRW flat cosmological models in which the vacuum energy density varies with time, $Λ(t)$. In particular, we investigate the dynamical properties of a generalized vacuum model and we find that under certain conditions the vacuum term in the radiation era varies as $Λ(z) \propto (1+z)^{4}$, while in the matter era we have $Λ(z)\propto (1+z)^{3}$ up to $z\simeq 3$ and $Λ(z)=Λ$ for $z\le 3$. The confirmation of such a behavior would be of paramount importance because it could provide a solution to the cosmic coincidence problem as well as to the fine tuning problem, w…
The discrepancy between early-Universe inferences and direct measurements of the Hubble constant, known as the Hubble tension, recently became a pressing subject in high precision cosmology. As a result, a large variety of theoretical models have been proposed to relieve this tension. In this work we analyze a conformally-coupled modified gravity (CCMG) model of an evolving gravitational constant due to the coupling of a scalar field to the Ricci scalar, which becomes active around matter-radiation equality, as required for solutions to the Hubble tension based on increasing the sound horizon …
In the context of Clifford functional integral formalism, we revisit the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio-type dynamical symmetry breaking model and examine the properties of the dynamically generated composite bosons. Given that the model with 4-fermion interactions is nonrenormalizable in the traditional sense, the aim is to gain insight into the divergent integrals without resorting to explicit regularization. We impose a restriction on the linearly divergent primitive integrals, thus resolving the long-standing issue of momentum routing ambiguity associated with fermion-antifermion condensations. The re…
The measurements of Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies made by the Planck satellite provide extremely tight upper bounds on the total neutrino mass scale ($Σm_ν<0.26 eV$ at $95\%$ C.L.). However, as recently discussed in the literature, Planck data show anomalies that could affect this result. Here we provide new constraints on neutrino masses using the recent and complementary CMB measurements from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope DR4 and the South Polar Telescope SPT-3G experiments. We found that both the ACT-DR4 and SPT-3G data, when combined with WMAP, mildly suggest a neutrino mass w…
We propose a new model of Early Dark Energy (EDE) as a solution to the Hubble tension in cosmology, the apparent discrepancy between local measurements of the Hubble constant $H_0\simeq 74$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ and $H_0\simeq 67$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ inferred from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). In Chain EDE, the Universe undergoes a series of first order phase transitions, starting at a high energy vacuum in a potential, and tunneling down through a chain of every lower energy metastable minima. As in all EDE models, the contribution of the vacuum energy to the total energy density…
One possible interpretation of the holographic principle is the equality of the number of degrees of freedom in a bulk region of space and the number of degrees of freedom on the boundary surface. It is known that such an equality is maintained on equipotential surfaces in any static spacetime in the form of an equipartition law N_{bulk}= N_{sur}. In the cosmological context, the de Sitter universe obeys the same holographic equipartition. I argue that the difference between the surface degrees of freedom and the bulk degrees of freedom in a region of space (which has already emerged) drives t…
We present a novel scenario, in which light ($\sim$ few \rm{eV}) dark fermions (sterile neutrinos) interact with a scalar field like in mass varying neutrino dark energy theories. As the $\rm{eV}$ sterile states naturally become non-relativistic before the Matter Radiation Equality (MRE), we show that the neutrino-scalar fluid develops strong perturbative instability followed by the formation of neutrino-nuggets and the early dark energy behaviour disappears around MRE. The stability of the nugget is achieved when the Fermi pressure balances the attractive scalar force and we numerically find …
We propose a cosmological scenario in which the universe undergoes through a non-singular bounce, and after the bounce, it decelerates having a matter-like dominated evolution during some regime of the deceleration era, and finally at the present epoch it evolves through an accelerating stage. Our aim is to study such evolution in the context of Chern-Simons corrected F(R) gravity theory and confront the model with various observational data. Using the reconstruction technique, and in addition by employing suitable boundary conditions, we determine the form of F(R) for the entire possible rang…
The End of the First Act: Spectral Running, Interacting Dark Radiation, and the Hubble Tension in Light of ACT DR6 Data
Technische Universität München（慕尼黑工业大学）；Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University（北欧理论物理中心，皇家理工学院和斯德哥尔摩大学）；University of Southern Denmark（南丹麦大学）
