Concordance Cosmological Model Research Articles

Review of Hubble tension solutions with new SH0ES and SPT-3G data

We present an updated analysis of eleven cosmological models that may help reduce the Hubble tension, which now reaches the 6σ level when considering the latest SH0ES measurement versus recent CMB and BAO data, assuming ΛCDM. Specifically, we look at five classical extensions of ΛCDM (with massive neutrinos, spatial curvature, free-streaming or self-interacting relativistic relics, or dynamical dark energy) and six elaborate models featuring either a time-varying electron mass, early dark energy or some non-trivial interactions in the neutrino sector triggered by a light Majoron. We improve over previous works in several ways. We include the latest data from the South Pole Telescope as well as the most recent measurement of the Hubble rate by the SH0ES collaboration. We treat the summed neutrino mass as a free parameter in most of our models, which reveals interesting degeneracies and constraints. We define additional metrics to assess the potential of a model to reduce or even solve the Hubble tension. We validate an emulator that uses active learning to train itself during each parameter inference run for any arbitrary model. We find that the time-varying electron mass and the Majoron models are now ruled out at more than 3σ. Models with a time-varying electron mass and spatial curvature or with early dark energy reduce the tension to 1.0-2.9σ. Nevertheless, none of the models considered in this work is favored with enough statistical significance to become the next concordance model of Cosmology.

Euclid preparation

Context. The cosmological surveys that are planned for the current decade will provide us with unparalleled observations of the distribution of galaxies on cosmic scales, by means of which we can probe the underlying large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe. This will allow us to test the concordance cosmological model and its extensions. However, precision pushes us to high levels of accuracy in the theoretical modelling of the LSS observables, so that no biases are introduced into the estimation of the cosmological parameters. In particular, effects such as redshift-space distortions (RSD) can become relevant in the computation of harmonic-space power spectra even for the clustering of the photometrically selected galaxies, as has previously been shown in literature. Aims. In this work, we investigate the contribution of linear RSD, as formulated in the Limber approximation by a previous work, in forecast cosmological analyses with the photometric galaxy sample of the Euclid survey. We aim to assess their impact and to quantify the bias on the measurement of cosmological parameters that would be caused if this effect were neglected. Methods. We performed this task by producing mock power spectra for photometric galaxy clustering and weak lensing, as is expected to be obtained from the Euclid survey. We then used a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to obtain the posterior distributions of cosmological parameters from these simulated observations. Results. When the linear RSD is neglected, significant biases are caused when galaxy correlations are used alone and when they are combined with cosmic shear in the so-called 3 × 2 pt approach. These biases can be equivalent to as much as 5σ when an underlying ΛCDM cosmology is assumed. When the cosmological model is extended to include the equation-of-state parameters of dark energy, the extension parameters can be shifted by more than 1σ.

Investigating the Lorentz invariance violation effect using different cosmological backgrounds

Familiar concepts in physics, such as Lorentz symmetry, are expected to be broken at energies approaching the Planck energy scale as predicted by several quantum-gravity theories. However, such very large energies are unreachable by current experiments on Earth. Current and future Cherenkov telescope facilities may have the capability to measure the accumulated deformation from Lorentz symmetry for photons traveling over large distances via energy-dependent time delays. One of the best natural laboratories to test Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) signatures are gamma-ray bursts. The calculation of time delays due to the LIV effect depends on the cosmic expansion history. In most of the previous works calculating time lags due to the LIV effect, the standard ΛCDM (or concordance) cosmological model is assumed. In this paper, we investigate whether the LIV signature is significantly different when assuming alternatives to the ΛCDM cosmological model. Specifically, we consider cosmological models with a non-trivial dark-energy equation of state (EoS) (), such as the standard Chevallier–Polarski–Linder parameterization, the quadratic parameterization of the dark-energy EoS, and the Pade parameterizations. We find that the relative difference in the predicted time lags is small, of the order of at most a few percent, and thus likely smaller than the systematic errors of possible measurements currently or in the near future.

Neural network reconstruction of cosmology using the Pantheon compilation

In this work, we reconstruct the Hubble diagram using various data sets, including correlated ones, in artificial neural networks (ANN). Using ReFANN, that was built for data sets with independent uncertainties, we expand it to include non-Guassian data points, as well as data sets with covariance matrices among others. Furthermore, we compare our results with the existing ones derived from Gaussian processes and we also perform null tests in order to test the validity of the concordance model of cosmology.

Evidence for Suppression of Structure Growth in the Concordance Cosmological Model.

We present evidence for a suppressed growth rate of large-scale structure during the dark-energy-dominated era. Modeling the growth rate of perturbations with the "growth index" γ, we find that current cosmological data strongly prefer a higher growth index than the value γ=0.55 predicted by general relativity in a flat Lambda cold dark matter cosmology. Both the cosmic microwave background data from Planck and the large-scale structure data from weak lensing, galaxy clustering, and cosmic velocities separately favor growth suppression. When combined, they yield γ=0.633_{-0.024}^{+0.025}, excluding γ=0.55 at a statistical significance of 3.7σ. The combination of fσ_{8} and Planck measurements prefers an even higher growth index of γ=0.639_{-0.025}^{+0.024}, corresponding to a 4.2σ tension with the concordance model. In Planck data, the suppressed growth rate offsets the preference for nonzero curvature and fits the data equally well as the latter model. A higher γ leads to a higher matter fluctuation amplitude S_{8} inferred from galaxy clustering and weak lensing measurements, and a lower S_{8} from Planck data, effectively resolving the S_{8} tension.

Can Cuspy Dark-matter-dominated Halos Hold Cored Stellar Mass Distributions?

According to the current concordance cosmological model, dark matter (DM) particles are collisionless and produce self-gravitating structures with a central cusp, which, generally, is not observed. The observed density tends to a central plateau or core, explained within the cosmological model through the gravitational feedback of baryons on DM. This mechanism becomes inefficient when decreasing the galaxy’s stellar mass so that in the low-mass regime (M ⋆ ≪ 106 M ⊙) the energy provided by the baryons is insufficient to modify cusps into cores. Thus, if cores exist in these galaxies they have to reflect departures from the collisionless nature of DM. Measuring the DM mass distribution in these faint galaxies is extremely challenging; however, their stellar mass distribution can be characterized through deep photometry. Here we provide a way of using only the stellar mass distribution to constrain the underlying DM distribution. The so-called Eddington inversion method allows us to discard pairs of stellar distributions and DM potentials requiring (unphysical) negative distribution functions in the phase space. In particular, cored stellar density profiles are incompatible with the Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) potential expected from collisionless DM if the velocity distribution is isotropic and the system spherically symmetric. Through a case-by-case analysis, we are able to relax these assumptions to consider anisotropic velocity distributions and systems that do not have exact cores. In general, stellar distributions with radially biased orbits are difficult to reconcile with NFW-like potentials, and cores in the baryon distribution tend to require cores in the DM distribution.

Relativistic matter bispectrum of cosmic structures on the light cone

Upcoming surveys of cosmic structures will probe scales close to the cosmological horizon, which opens up new opportunities for testing the cosmological concordance model to high accuracy. In particular, constraints on the squeezed bispectrum could rule out the single-field hypothesis during inflation. However, the squeezed bispectrum is also sensitive to dynamical effects of general relativity as well as interactions of matter with residual radiation from the early Universe. In this paper, we present a relativistic simulation pipeline that includes these relativistic effects consistently. We produce light cones and calculate the observed number counts of cold dark matter for five redshift bins between z = 0.55-2.25. We compare the relativistic results against reference Newtonian simulations by means of angular power- and bispectra. We find that the dynamical relativistic effects scale roughly inversely proportional to the multipole in the angular power spectrum, with a maximum amplitude of 10% for ℓ ≲ 5. By using a smoothing method applied to the binned bispectrum we detect the Newtonian bispectrum with very high significance. The purely relativistic part of the matter bispectrum, obtained by subtracting the Newtonian bispectrum from the relativistic one, is detected with a significance of ∼ 3σ, mostly limited by cosmic variance. We find that the pure dynamical relativistic effects accounts for up to 3% and 10% of the total amplitude, respectively in the squeezed and equilateral limits. Our relativistic pipeline for modelling ultra-large scales yields gauge-independent results as we compute observables consistently on the past light cone, while the Newtonian treatment employs approximations that leave some residual gauge dependence. A gauge-invariant approach is required in order to meet the expected level of precision of forthcoming probes of cosmic structures on ultra-large scales.

Emergent universe: tensor perturbations within the CSL framework

We calculate the primordial power spectrum of tensor perturbations, within the emergent universe scenario, incorporating a version of the Continuous Spontaneous Localization (CSL) model as a mechanism capable of: breaking the initial symmetries of the system, generating the perturbations, and also achieving the quantum-to-classical transition of such perturbations. We analyze how the CSL model modifies the characteristics of the B-mode CMB polarization power spectrum, and we explore their differences with current predictions from the standard concordance cosmological model. We have found that, regardless of the CSL mechanism, a confirmed detection of primordial B-modes that fits to a high degree of precision the shape of the spectrum predicted from the concordance Lambda CDM model, would rule out one of the distinguishing features of the emergent universe. Namely, achieving a best fit to the data consistent with the suppression observed in the low multipoles of the angular power spectrum of the temperature anisotropy of the CMB. On the contrary, a confirmed detection that accurately exhibits a suppression of the low multipoles in the B-modes, would be a new feature that could be considered as a favorable evidence for the emergent scenario. In addition, we have been able to establish an upper bound on the collapse parameter of the specific CSL model used.

A measurement of the integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect with the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey

ABSTRACT The evolution of the gravitational potentials on large scales due to the accelerated expansion of the Universe is an important and independent probe of dark energy, known as the integrated Sachs–Wolfe (ISW) effect. We measure this ISW effect through cross-correlating the cosmic microwave background maps from the Planck satellite with a radio continuum galaxy distribution map from the recent Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS). We detect a positive cross-correlation at $\sim 2.8\, \sigma$ relative to the null hypothesis of no correlation. We parametrize the strength of the ISW effect through an amplitude parameter and find the constraints to be $A_{\mathrm{ISW}} = 0.94^{+0.42}_{-0.41}$, which is consistent with the prediction of an accelerating universe within the current concordance cosmological model, ΛCDM. The credible interval on this parameter is independent of the different bias models and redshift distributions that were considered when marginalizing over the nuisance parameters. We also detect a power excess in the galaxy autocorrelation angular power spectrum on large scales (ℓ ≤ 40), and investigate possible systematic causes.

The iron and oxygen content of LMC Classical Cepheids and its implications for the extragalactic distance scale and Hubble constant

Classical Cepheids are primary distance indicators and a crucial stepping stone to determining the present-day Hubble constant Ho to the precision and accuracy required to constrain apparent deviations from the LCDM Concordance Cosmological Model. We have measured the iron and oxygen abundances of of 89 Cepheids in the LMC, one of the anchors of the local Distance Scale, quadrupling the prior sample and including 68 of the 70 Cepheids used to constrain Ho by the SH0ES program. The goal is to constrain the extent to which the Cepheid luminosity is influenced by their chemical composition, an important contributor to the uncertainty on the determination of the Ho itself and a critical factor in the internal consistency of the distance ladder. We have derived stellar parameters and abundances from a self-consistent spectroscopic analysis based on Equivalent Width of absorption lines. The [Fe/H] distribution of LMC Cepheids is a single Gaussian with a mean of -0.4079+-0.003 dex (0.1 dex systematic uncertainty) and sigma 0.076+-0.003 dex. The latter is fully compatible with the measurement error and supports the low dispersion of 0.069 mag seen in the NIR HST LMC period-luminosity relation. The uniformity of the abundance has the important consequence that the LMC Cepheids alone cannot provide any meaningful constraint on the dependence of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation on chemical composition at any wavelength. This revises a prior claim based on a small sample of 22 LMC Cepheids that there was little dependence (or uncertainty) between composition and NIR luminosity, a conclusion which would produce a conflict between anchors of the distance ladder with different mean abundance. The chemical homogeneity of the LMC Cepheid population makes it an ideal environment to calibrate the metallicity dependence between the more metal poor SMC and metal rich Milky Way and NGC4258.

Perturbations and the future conformal boundary

The concordance model of cosmology predicts a universe which finishes in a finite amount of conformal time at a future conformal boundary. We show that for particular cases we study, the background variables and perturbations may be analytically continued beyond this boundary and that the "end of the universe" is not necessarily the end of their physical development. Remarkably, these theoretical considerations of the end of the universe might have observable consequences today: perturbation modes consistent with these boundary conditions have a quantised power spectrum which may be relevant to features seen in the large scale cosmic microwave background. Mathematically these cosmological models may either be interpreted as a palindromic universe mirrored in time, a reflecting boundary condition, or a double cover, but are identical with respect to their observational predictions and stand in contrast to the predictions of conformal cyclic cosmologies.

Can varying the gravitational constant alleviate the tensions?

Constraints on the cosmological concordance model parameters from observables at different redshifts are usually obtained using the locally measured value of the gravitational constant GN . Here we relax this assumption, by considering G as a free parameter, either constant over the redshift range or dynamical but limited to differ from fiducial value only above a certain redshift. Using CMB data and distance measurements from galaxy clustering BAO feature, we constrain the cosmological parameters, along with G, through a MCMC bayesian inference method. Furthermore, we investigate whether the tensions on the matter fluctuation σ8 and Hubble H0 parameter could be alleviated by this new variable. We used different parameterisations spanning from a constant G to a dynamical G. In all the cases investigated in this work we found no mechanism that alleviates the tensions when both CMB and BAO data are used with ξg = G / GN constrained to 1.0±0.04 (resp. ±0.01) in the constant (resp. dynamical) case. Finally, we studied the cosmological consequences of allowing a running of the spectral index, since the later is sensitive to a change in G. For the two parameterisations adopted, we found no significant changes to the previous conclusions.

Neural network reconstruction of late-time cosmology and null tests

The prospect of nonparametric reconstructions of cosmological parameters from observational data sets has been a popular topic in the literature for a number of years. This has mainly taken the form of a technique based on Gaussian processes but this approach is exposed to several foundational issues ranging from overfitting to kernel consistency problems. In this work, we explore the possibility of using artificial neural networks (ANN) to reconstruct late-time expansion and large scale structure cosmological parameters. We first show how mock data can be used to design an optimal ANN for both parameters, which we then use with real data to infer their respective redshift profiles. We further consider cosmological null tests with the reconstructed data in order to confirm the validity of the concordance model of cosmology, in which we observe a mild deviation with cosmic growth data.

Correlated orientations of the axes of large quasar groups on Gpc scales

ABSTRACT Correlated orientations of quasar optical and radio polarization, and of radio jets, have been reported on Gpc scales, possibly arising from intrinsic alignment of spin axes. Optical quasar polarization appears to be preferentially either aligned or orthogonal to the host large-scale structure, specifically large quasar groups (LQGs). Using a sample of 71 LQGs at redshifts 1.0 ≤ z ≤ 1.8, we investigate whether LQGs themselves exhibit correlated orientation. We find that LQG position angles (PAs) are unlikely to be drawn from a uniform distribution (p-values 0.008 ≲ p ≲ 0.07). The LQG PA distribution is bimodal, with median modes at $\bar{\theta }\sim 45\pm 2^{\circ }, 136\pm 2^{\circ }$, remarkably close to the mean angles of quasar radio polarization reported in two regions coincident with our LQG sample. We quantify the degree of alignment in the PA data, and find that LQGs are aligned and orthogonal across very large scales. The maximum significance is $\simeq 0.8{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ (2.4σ) at typical angular (proper) separations of ∼30° (1.6 Gpc). If the LQG orientation correlation is real, it represents large-scale structure alignment over scales larger than those predicted by cosmological simulations and at least an order of magnitude larger than any so far observed, with the exception of quasar-polarization/radio-jet alignment. We conclude that LQG alignment helps explain quasar-polarization/radio-jet alignment, but raises challenging questions about the origin of the LQG correlation and the assumptions of the concordance cosmological model.

The iron and oxygen content of LMC Classical Cepheids and its implications for the extragalactic distance scale and Hubble constant

Context. Classical Cepheids are primary distance indicators and a crucial stepping stone in determining the present-day value of the Hubble constant H0 to the precision and accuracy required to constrain apparent deviations from the ΛCDM Concordance Cosmological Model. Aims. We measured the iron and oxygen abundances of a statistically significant sample of 89 Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the anchors of the local distance scale, quadrupling the prior sample and including 68 of the 70 Cepheids used to constrain H0 by the SH0ES program. The goal is to constrain the extent to which the luminosity of Cepheids is influenced by their chemical composition, which is an important contributor to the uncertainty on the determination of the Hubble constant itself and a critical factor in the internal consistency of the distance ladder. Methods. We derived stellar parameters and chemical abundances from a self-consistent spectroscopic analysis based on equivalent width of absorption lines. Results. The iron distribution of Cepheids in the LMC can be very accurately described by a single Gaussian with a mean [Fe/H] = −0.409 ± 0.003 dex and σ = 0.076 ± 0.003 dex. We estimate a systematic uncertainty on the absolute mean values of 0.1 dex. The width of the distribution is fully compatible with the measurement error and supports the low dispersion of 0.069 mag seen in the near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope LMC period–luminosity relation. The uniformity of the abundance has the important consequence that the LMC Cepheids alone cannot provide any meaningful constraint on the dependence of the Cepheid period–luminosity relation on chemical composition at any wavelength. This revises a prior claim based on a small sample of 22 LMC Cepheids that there was little dependence (or uncertainty) between composition and near-infrared luminosity, a conclusion which would produce an apparent conflict between anchors of the distance ladder with different mean abundance. The chemical homogeneity of the LMC Cepheid population makes it an ideal environment in which to calibrate the metallicity dependence between the more metal-poor Small Magellanic Cloud and metal-rich Milky Way and NGC 4258.

Constraining quantum initial conditions before inflation

We theoretically and observationally investigate different choices of initial conditions for the primordial mode function that are imposed during an epoch preceding inflation. By deriving predictions for the observables resulting from several alternate quantum vacuum prescriptions we show some choices of vacua are theoretically observationally distinguishable from others. Comparing these predictions to the Planck 2018 observations via a Bayesian analysis shows no significant evidence to favor any of the quantum vacuum prescriptions over the others. In addition we consider frozen initial conditions, representing a white-noise initial state at the big-bang singularity. Under certain assumptions the cosmological concordance model and frozen initial conditions are found to produce identical predictions for the cosmic microwave background anisotropies. Frozen initial conditions may thus provide an alternative theoretic paradigm to explain observations that were previously understood in terms of the inflation of a quantum vacuum.

Difficulties in reconciling non-negligible differences between the local and cosmological values of the gravitational coupling in extended Brans-Dicke theories

Recent studies by Solà Peracaula, Gómez-Valent, de Cruz Pérez and Moreno-Pulido (2019,2020) have pointed out the intriguing possibility that Brans-Dicke cosmology with constant vacuum energy density (BD-ΛCDM) may be able to alleviate the H 0 and σ 8 tensions that are found in the framework of the concordance cosmological model (GR-ΛCDM). The fitting analyses presented in these works indicate a preference for values of the effective gravitational coupling appearing in the Friedmann equation, G, about 4–9% larger than Newton's constant (as measured on Earth), and mildly evolving with the expansion of the universe. The signal reaches the ∼ 3.5σ c.l. when the prior on H 0 from SH0ES and the angular diameter distances to strong gravitationally lensed quasars measured by H0LICOW are considered, and the ∼ 3σ c.l. when only the former is included. Thus, the improvement in the description of the cosmological datasets relies on the existence of a mechanism capable of screening the modified gravity effects at those scales where deviations from standard General Relativity (GR) are highly constrained, as in the Solar System. In this paper we explore several extensions of BD-ΛCDM that can leave the cosmological evolution basically unaltered at the background and linear perturbations level, while being able to screen the Brans-Dicke effects inside the regions of interest, leading to standard GR. We search for weak-field solutions around spherical static massive objects with no internal pressure and show that, unfortunately, these mechanisms can only explain very tiny departures of the effective cosmological gravitational coupling from the one measured locally. This might hinder the ability of BD-ΛCDM to alleviate the cosmological tensions.

Machine learning improved fits of the sound horizon at the baryon drag epoch

The baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) have proven to be an invaluable tool in constraining the expansion history of the Universe at late times and are characterized by the comoving sound horizon at the baryon drag epoch ${r}_{\mathrm{s}}({z}_{\mathrm{d}})$. The latter quantity can be calculated either numerically using recombination codes or via fitting functions, such as the one by Eisenstein and Hu, made via grids of parameters of the recombination history. Here we quantify the accuracy of these expressions and show that they can strongly bias the derived constraints on the cosmological parameters using BAO data. Then, using a machine learning approach, called the genetic algorithms, we proceed to derive new analytic expressions for ${r}_{\mathrm{s}}({z}_{\mathrm{d}})$, which are accurate at the $\ensuremath{\sim}0.003%$ level in a range of $10\ensuremath{\sigma}$ around the Planck 2018 best fit or $\ensuremath{\sim}0.018%$ in a much broader range, compared to $\ensuremath{\sim}2--4%$ for the Eisenstein and Hu expression, thus obtaining an improvement of two to three orders of magnitude. Moreover, we also provide fits that include the effects of massive neutrinos and an extension to the concordance cosmological model assuming variations of the fine structure constant. Finally, we note that our expressions can be used to ease the computational cost required to compute ${r}_{\mathrm{s}}({z}_{\mathrm{d}})$ with a Boltzmann code when deriving cosmological constraints using BAO data from current and upcoming surveys.

Reconstructing teleparallel gravity with cosmic structure growth and expansion rate data

In this work, we use a combined approach of Hubble parameter data together with redshift-space-distortion (fσ8) data, which together are used to reconstruct the teleparallel gravity (TG) Lagrangian via Gaussian processes (GP). The adopted Hubble data mainly comes from cosmic chronometers, while for the Type Ia supernovae data we use the latest jointly calibrated Pantheon compilation. Moreover, we consider two main GP covariance functions, namely the squared-exponential and Cauchy kernels in order to show consistency (to within 1σ uncertainties). The core results of this work are the numerical reconstructions of the TG Lagrangian from GP reconstructed Hubble and growth data. We take different possible combinations of the datasets and kernels to illustrate any potential differences in this regard. We show that nontrivial cosmology beyond ΛCDM falls within the uncertainties of the reconstructions from growth data, which therefore indicates no significant departure from the concordance cosmological model.

Gravitation and the Universe from large scale-structures

Today, thanks in particular to the results of the ESA Planck mission, the concordance cosmological model appears to be the most robust to describe the evolution and content of the Universe from its early to late times. It summarizes the evolution of matter, made mainly of dark matter, from the primordial fluctuations generated by inflation around 10− 30 second after the Big Bang to galaxies and clusters of galaxies, 13.8 billion years later, and the evolution of the expansion of space, with a relative slowdown in the matter-dominated era and, since a few billion years, an acceleration powered by dark energy. But we are far from knowing the pillars of this model which are inflation, dark matter and dark energy. Comprehending these fundamental questions requires a detailed mapping of our observable Universe over the whole of cosmic time. The relic radiation provides the starting point and galaxies draw the cosmic web. JAXA’s LiteBIRD mission will map the beginning of our Universe with a crucial test for inflation (its primordial gravity waves), and the ESA Euclid mission will map the most recent half part, crucial for dark energy. The mission concept GAUSS, described in this White Paper, aims at being a mission to fully map the cosmic web up to the reionization era, linking early and late evolution, to tackle and disentangle the crucial degeneracies persisting after the Euclid era between dark matter and inflation properties, dark energy, structure growth and gravitation at large scale.