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Neal Jackson
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I review the current state of determinations of the Hubble constant, which gives the length scale of the Universe by relating the expansion velocity of objects to their distance. There are two broad categories of measurements. The first uses individual astrophysical objects which have some property that allows their intrinsic luminosity or size to be determined, or allows the determination of their distance by geometric means. The second category comprises the use of all-sky cosmic microwave background, or correlations between large samples of galaxies, to determine information about the geometry of the Universe and hence the Hubble constant, typically in a combination with other cosmological parameters. Many, but not all, object-based measurements give $H_0$ values of around 72-74km/s/Mpc , with typical errors of 2-3km/s/Mpc. This is in mild discrepancy with CMB-based measurements, in particular those from the Planck satellite, which give values of 67-68km/s/Mpc and typical errors of 1-2km/s/Mpc. The size of the remaining systematics indicate that accuracy rather than precision is the remaining problem in a good determination of the Hubble constant. Whether a discrepancy exists, and whether new physics is needed to resolve it, depends on details of the systematics of the object-based methods, and also on the assumptions about other cosmological parameters and which datasets are combined in the case of the all-sky methods.
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The determination of the Hubble constant has been a central goal in observational astrophysics for nearly 100 years. Extraordinary progress has occurred in recent years on two fronts: the cosmic distance ladder measurements at low redshift and cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements at high redshift. The CMB is used to predict the current expansion rate through a best-fit cosmological model. Complementary progress has been made with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements at relatively low redshifts. While BAO data do not independently determine a Hubble constant, they are important for constraints on possible solutions and checks on cosmic consistency. A precise determination of the Hubble constant is of great value, but it is more important to compare the high and low redshift measurements to test our cosmological model. Significant tension would suggest either uncertainties not accounted for in the experimental estimates, or the discovery of new physics beyond the standard model of cosmology. In this paper we examine in detail the tension between the CMB, BAO, and cosmic distance ladder data sets. We find that these measurements are consistent within reasonable statistical expectations, and we combine them to determine a best-fit Hubble constant of 69.6+/-0.7 km/s/Mpc. This value is based upon WMAP9+SPT+ACT+6dFGS+BOSS/DR11+H_0/Riess; we explore alternate data combinations in the text. The combined data constrain the Hubble constant to 1%, with no compelling evidence for new physics.
Dark energy is inferred from a Hubble expansion which is slower at epochs which are earlier than ours. But evidence reviewed here shows $H_0$ for nearby galaxies is actually less than currently adopted and would instead require {it deceleration} to reach the current value. Distances of Cepheid variables in galaxies in the Local Supercluster have been measured by the Hubble Space Telescope and it is argued here that they require a low value of $H_0$ along with redshifts which are at least partly intrinsic. The intrinsic component is hypothesized to be a result of the particle masses increasing with time. The same considerations apply to Dark Matter. But with particle masses growing with time, the condensation from plasmoid to proto galaxy not only does away with the need for unseen ``dark matter but also explains the intrinsic (non-velocity) redshifts of younger matter.
Since the expansion of the universe was first established by Edwin Hubble and Georges Lemaitre about a century ago, the Hubble constant H0 which measures its rate has been of great interest to astronomers. Besides being interesting in its own right, few properties of the universe can be deduced without it. In the last decade a significant gap has emerged between different methods of measuring it, some anchored in the nearby universe, others at cosmological distances. The SH0ES team has found $H_0 = 73.2 pm 1.3$ km sec$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ locally, whereas the value found for the early universe by the Planck Collaboration is $H_0 = 67.4 pm 0.5$ km sec$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ from measurements of the cosmic microwave background. Is this gap a sign that the well-established $Lambda$CDM cosmological model is somehow incomplete? Or are there unknown systematics? And more practically, how should humble astronomers pick between competing claims if they need to assume a value for a certain purpose? In this article, we review results and what changes to the cosmological model could be needed to accommodate them all. For astronomers in a hurry, we provide a buyers guide to the results, and make recommendations.
We investigate a recently proposed method for measuring the Hubble constant from gravitational wave detections of binary black hole coalescences without electromagnetic counterparts. In the absence of a direct redshift measurement, the missing information on the left-hand side of the Hubble-Lema^itre law is provided by the statistical knowledge on the redshift distribution of sources. We assume that source distribution in redshift depends on just one unknown hyper-parameter, modeling our ignorance of the astrophysical binary black hole distribution. With tens of thousands of these black sirens -- a realistic figure for the third generation detectors Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer -- an observational constraint on the value of the Hubble parameter at percent level can be obtained. This method has the advantage of not relying on electromagnetic counterparts, which accompany a very small fraction of gravitational wave detections, nor on often unavailable or incomplete galaxy catalogs.
We measured infrared surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distances to an isotropically-distributed sample of 16 distant galaxies with redshifts reaching 10,000 km/s using the near-IR camera and multi-object spectrometer (NICMOS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The excellent spatial resolution, very low background, and brightness of the IR fluctuations yielded the most distant SBF measurements to date. Twelve nearby galaxies were also observed and used to calibrate the F160W (1.6 micron) SBF distance scale. Of these, three have Cepheid variable star distances measured with HST and eleven have optical I-band SBF distance measurements. A distance modulus of 18.5 mag to the Large Magellanic Cloud was adopted for this calibration. We present the F160W SBF Hubble diagram and find a Hubble constant Ho=76 +/- 1.3 (1-sigma statistical) +/- 6 (systematic) km/s/Mpc. This result is insensitive to the velocity model used to correct for local bulk motions. Restricting the fit to the six most distant galaxies yields the smallest value of Ho=72 +/- 2.3 km/s/Mpc consistent with the data. This 6% decrease in the Hubble constant is consistent with the hypothesis that the Local Group inhabits an under-dense region of the universe, but is also consistent with the best-fit value of Ho=76 km/s/Mpc at the 1.5-sigma level.
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