Measurement Of Hubble Constant Research Articles

Cosmic variance of the local Hubble flow in large-scale cosmological simulations

The increasing precision in the determination of the Hubble parameter has reached a per cent level at which large-scale cosmic flows induced by inhomogeneities of the matter distribution become non-negligible. Here we use large-scale cosmological N-body simulations to study statistical properties of the local Hubble parameter as measured by local observers. We show that the distribution of the local Hubble parameter depends not only on the scale of inhomogeneities, but also on how one defines the positions of observers in the cosmic web and what reference frame is used. Observers located in random dark matter haloes measure on average lower expansion rates than those at random positions in space or in the centres of cosmic voids, and this effect is stronger from the halo rest frames compared to the CMB rest frame. We compare the predictions for the local Hubble parameter with observational constraints based on type Ia supernovae (SNIa) and CMB observations. Due to cosmic variance, for observers located in random haloes we show that the Hubble constant determined from nearby SNIa may differ from that measured from the CMB by 0.8 per cent at 1sigma statistical significance. This scatter is too small to significantly alleviate a recently claimed discrepancy between current measurements assuming a flat LCDM model. However, for observers located in the centres of the largest voids permitted by the standard LCDM model, we find that Hubble constant measurements from SNIa would be biased high by 5 per cent, rendering this tension inexistent in this extreme case.

Dark radiation sterile neutrino candidates after Planck data

Recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) results from the Plancksatellite, combined with previous CMB data and Hubble constantmeasurements from the Hubble Space Telescope, provide a constraint on theeffective number of relativistic degrees of freedom 3.62+0.50−0.48 at 95% CL. New Planck data provide a unique opportunity to place limitson models containing relativistic species at the decouplingepoch. We present here the bounds on sterile neutrino models combiningPlanck data with galaxy clustering information. Assuming Neff active plus sterile massive neutrinospecies, in the case of a Planck+WP+HighL+HST analysis we find mν, sterileeff < 0.36 eV and 3.14 < Neff < 4.15 at95% CL, while using Planck+WP+HighL data in combination with the fullshape of the galaxy power spectrum from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey BOSS DataRelase 9 measurements, we find that 3.30 < Neff < 4.43 and mν, sterileeff < 0.33 eV both at95% CL with the three active neutrinos having the minimummass allowed in the normal hierarchy scheme, i.e. ∑mν ∼ 0.06 eV. These values compromise the viability of the (3+2) massive sterile neutrinomodels for the parameter region indicated by global fits of neutrinooscillation data. Within the (3+1) massive sterile neutrino scenario, we find mν, sterileeff < 0.34 eV at95% CL. While the existence of one extra sterile massive neutrino state iscompatible with current oscillation data, the values for thesterile neutrino mass preferred by oscillation analyses are significantlyhigher than the current cosmological bound. We review as well the bounds on extended dark sectors with additional light species based on the latest Planck CMB observations.

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: cosmological parameters from three seasons of data

We present constraints on cosmological and astrophysical parameters from high-resolution microwave background maps at 148 GHz and 218 GHz made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in three seasons of observations from 2008 to 2010. A model of primary cosmological and secondary foreground parameters is fit to the map power spectra and lensing deflection power spectrum, including contributions from both the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) effect, Poisson and correlated anisotropy from unresolved infrared sources, radio sources, and the correlation between the tSZ effect and infrared sources. The power ℓ2Cℓ/2π of the thermal SZ power spectrum at 148 GHz is measured to be 3.4±1.4 μK2 at ℓ = 3000, while the corresponding amplitude of the kinematic SZ power spectrum has a 95% confidence level upper limit of 8.6 μK2. Combining ACT power spectra with the WMAP 7-year temperature and polarization power spectra, we find excellent consistency with the LCDM model. We constrain the number of effective relativistic degrees of freedom in the early universe to be Neff = 2.79±0.56, in agreement with the canonical value of Neff = 3.046 for three massless neutrinos. We constrain the sum of the neutrino masses to be Σmν < 0.39 eV at 95% confidence when combining ACT and WMAP 7-year data with BAO and Hubble constant measurements. We constrain the amount of primordial helium to be Yp = 0.225±0.034, and measure no variation in the fine structure constant α since recombination, with α/α0 = 1.004±0.005. We also find no evidence for any running of the scalar spectral index, dns/dln k = −0.004±0.012.

NINE-YEAR WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE ( WMAP ) OBSERVATIONS: FINAL MAPS AND RESULTS

We present the final nine-year maps and basic results from the WMAP mission. We provide new nine-year full sky temperature maps that were processed to reduce the asymmetry of the effective beams. Temperature and polarization sky maps are examined to separate CMB anisotropy from foreground emission, and both types of signals are analyzed in detail. The WMAP mission has resulted in a highly constrained LCDM cosmological model with precise and accurate parameters in agreement with a host of other cosmological measurements. When WMAP data are combined with finer scale CMB, baryon acoustic oscillation, and Hubble constant measurements, we find that Big Bang nucleosynthesis is well supported and there is no compelling evidence for a non-standard number of neutrino species (3.84+/-0.40). The model fit also implies that the age of the universe is 13.772+/-0.059 Gyr, and the fit Hubble constant is H0 = 69.32+/-0.80 km/s/Mpc. Inflation is also supported: the fluctuations are adiabatic, with Gaussian random phases; the detection of a deviation of the scalar spectral index from unity reported earlier by WMAP now has high statistical significance (n_s = 0.9608+/-0.0080); and the universe is close to flat/Euclidean, Omega_k = -0.0027 (+0.0039/-0.0038). Overall, the WMAP mission has resulted in a reduction of the cosmological parameter volume by a factor of 68,000 for the standard six-parameter LCDM model, based on CMB data alone. For a model including tensors, the allowed seven-parameter volume has been reduced by a factor 117,000. Other cosmological observations are in accord with the CMB predictions, and the combined data reduces the cosmological parameter volume even further. With no significant anomalies and an adequate goodness-of-fit, the inflationary flat LCDM model and its precise and accurate parameters rooted in WMAP data stands as the standard model of cosmology.

Planck constraints on holographic dark energy

We perform a detailed investigation on the cosmologicalconstraints on the holographic dark energy (HDE) model by usingthe Plank data. We find that HDE can provide a good fit tothe Plank high-ℓ (ℓ ≳ 40) temperature powerspectrum, while the discrepancy at ℓ ≃ 20-40 found in theΛCDM model remains unsolved in the HDE model. The Plank data alone can lead to strong and reliable constraint onthe HDE parameter c. At the 68% confidence level (CL), weobtain c = 0.508 ± 0.207 with Plank+WP+lensing, favoringthe present phantom behavior of HDE at the more than 2σ CL.By combining Plank+WP with the external astrophysical datasets, i.e. the BAO measurements from 6dFGS+SDSS DR7(R)+BOSS DR9,the direct Hubble constant measurement result (H0 = 73.8 ± 2.4 kms−1Mpc−1) from the HST, the SNLS3 supernovae data set,and Union2.1 supernovae data set, we get the 68% CL constraintresults c = 0.484 ± 0.070, 0.474 ± 0.049, 0.594 ± 0.051, and0.642 ± 0.066, respectively. The constraints can be improved by2%-15% if we further add the Plank lensing data into theanalysis. Compared with the WMAP-9 results, the Plankresults reduce the error by 30%-60%, and prefer a phantom-likeHDE at higher significant level. We also investigate the tensionbetween different data sets. We find no evident tension when wecombine Plank data with BAO and HST.Especially, we find that the strong correlation betweenΩmh3 and dark energy parameters is helpful inrelieving the tension between the Plank and HSTmeasurements. The residual value of χ2Plank+WP+HST−χ2Plank+WP is 7.8 in the ΛCDMmodel, and is reduced to 1.0 or 0.3 if we switch the dark energyto w model or the holographic model. When we introducesupernovae data sets into the analysis, some tension appears. Wefind that the SNLS3 data set is in tension with all other datasets; for example, for the Plank+WP, WMAP-9 andBAO+HST, the corresponding Δχ2 is equal to6.4, 3.5 and 4.1, respectively. As a comparison, the Union2.1 dataset is consistent with these three data sets, but the combinationUnion2.1+BAO+HST is in tension with Plank+WP+lensing, corresponding to a large Δχ2 thatis equal to 8.6 (1.4% probability).Thus, combining internal inconsistent data sets(SNIa+BAO+HST with Plank+WP+lensing) can lead to ambiguous results,and it is necessary to perform the HDE data analysis for each independent data sets.Our tightest self-consistent constraint is c = 0.495 ± 0.039 obtained fromPlank+WP+BAO+HST+lensing.

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Sunyaev-Zel'dovich selected galaxyclusters at 148 GHz from three seasons of data

We present a catalog of 68 galaxy clusters, of which 19 are new discoveries, detected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZ) at 148 GHz in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) survey on the celestial equator. With this addition, the ACT collaboration has reported a total of 91 optically confirmed, SZ detected clusters. The 504 square degree survey region includes 270 square degrees of overlap with SDSS Stripe 82, permitting the confirmation of SZ cluster candidates in deep archival optical data. The subsample of 48 clusters within Stripe 82 is estimated to be 90% complete for M500c > 4.5 × 1014M⊙ and redshifts 0.15 < z < 0.8. While a full suite of matched filters is used to detect the clusters, the sample is studied further through a ''Profile Based Amplitude Analysis'' using a statistic derived from a single filter at a fixed θ500 = 5.′9 angular scale. This new approach incorporates the cluster redshift along with prior information on the cluster pressure profile to fix the relationship between the cluster characteristic size (R500) and the integrated Compton parameter (Y500). We adopt a one-parameter family of ''Universal Pressure Profiles'' (UPP) with associated scaling laws, derived from X-ray measurements of nearby clusters, as a baseline model. Three additional models of cluster physics are used to investigate a range of scaling relations beyond the UPP prescription. Assuming a concordance cosmology, the UPP scalings are found to be nearly identical to an adiabatic model, while a model incorporating non-thermal pressure better matches dynamical mass measurements and masses from the South Pole Telescope. A high signal to noise ratio subsample of 15 ACT clusters with complete optical follow-up is used to obtain cosmological constraints. We demonstrate, using fixed scaling relations, how the constraints depend on the assumed gas model if only SZ measurements are used, and show that constraints from SZ data are limited by uncertainty in the scaling relation parameters rather than sample size or measurement uncertainty. We next add in seven clusters from the ACT Southern survey, including their dynamical mass measurements, which are based on galaxy velocity dispersions and thus are independent of the gas physics. In combination with WMAP7 these data simultaneously constrain the scaling relation and cosmological parameters, yielding 68% confidence ranges described by σ8 = 0.829 ± 0.024 and Ωm = 0.292 ± 0.025.. We consider these results in the context of constraints from CMB and other cluster studies. The constraints arise mainly due to the inclusion of the dynamical mass information and do not require strong priors on the SZ scaling relation parameters. The results include marginalization over a 15% bias in dynamical masses relative to the true halo mass. In an extension to ΛCDM that incorporates non-zero neutrino mass density, we combine our data with WMAP7, Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data, and Hubble constant measurements to constrain the sum of the neutrino mass species to be ∑νmν < 0.29 eV (95% confidence limit).

Probing interactions within the dark matter sector via extra radiation contributions

The nature of dark matter is one of the most thrilling riddles for both cosmology and particle physics nowadays. While in the typical models the dark sector is composed only by weakly interacting massive particles, an arguably more natural scenario would include a whole set of gauge interactions which are invisible for the standard model but that are in contact with the dark matter. We present a method to constrain the number of massless gauge bosons and other relativistic particles that might be present in the dark sector using current and future cosmic microwave background data, and provide upper bounds on the size of the dark sector. We use the fact that the dark matter abundance depends on the strength of the interactions with both sectors, which allows one to relate the freeze-out temperature of the dark matter with the temperature of {this cosmic background of dark gauge bosons}. This relation can then be used to calculate how sizable is the impact of the relativistic dark sector in the number of degrees of freedom of the early Universe, providing an interesting and testable connection between cosmological data and direct/indirect detection experiments. The recent Planck data, in combination with other cosmic microwave background experiments and baryonic acoustic oscillations data, constrains the number of relativistic dark gauge bosons, when the freeze-out temperature of the dark matter is larger than the top mass, to be N \lesssim 14 for the simplest scenarios, while those limits are slightly relaxed for the combination with the Hubble constant measurements to N \lesssim 20. Future releases of Planck data are expected to reduce the uncertainty by approximately a factor 3, what will reduce significantly the parameter space of allowed models.

Cosmic variance and the measurement of the local Hubble parameter.

There is an approximately 9% discrepancy, corresponding to 2.4 σ, between two independent constraints on the expansion rate of the Universe: one indirectly arising from the cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations and one more directly obtained from local measurements of the relation between redshifts and distances to sources. We argue that by taking into account the local gravitational potential at the position of the observer this tension--strengthened by the recent Planck results--is partially relieved and the concordance of the Standard Model of cosmology increased. We estimate that measurements of the local Hubble constant are subject to a cosmic variance of about 2.4% (limiting the local sample to redshifts z > 0.010) or 1.3% (limiting it to z > 0.023), a more significant correction than that taken into account already. Nonetheless, we show that one would need a very rare fluctuation to fully explain the offset in the Hubble rates. If this tension is further strengthened, a cosmology beyond the Standard Model may prove necessary.

Possible indication for non-zero neutrino mass and additional neutrino species from cosmological observations

The constraints on total neutrino mass and effective number of neutrino species based on CMB anisotropy power spectrum, Hubble constant, baryon acoustic oscillations and galaxy cluster mass function data are presented. It is shown that the discrepancies between various cosmological data in Hubble constant and density fluctuation amplitude, measured in standard LCDM cosmological model, can be eliminated if more than standard effective number of neutrino species and non-zero total neutrino mass are considered. This extension of LCDM model appears to be \approx 3 \sigma\ significant when all cosmological data are used. The model with approximately one additional neutrino type, N_eff \approx 4, and with non-zero total neutrino mass, \approx 0.5 eV, provide the best fit to the data. In the model with only one massive neutrino the upper limits on neutrino mass are slightly relaxed. It is shown that these deviations from LCDM model appear mainly due to the usage of recent data on the observations of baryon acoustic oscillations. Larger than standard number of neutrino species is measured mainly due to the comparison of the BAO data with direct measurements of Hubble constant, which was already noticed earlier. As it is shown below, the data on galaxy cluster mass function in this case give the measurement of non-zero neutrino mass.

New Constraints on Neutrino Physics from Cosmology

We report the most recent constraints on neutrino parameters from cosmology. Combining recent measurement of cosmic microwave background anisotropies, Hubble constant, and galaxy clustering, the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom is Neff=3.98±0.37 at 68% c.l., hinting towards the possible existence of a fourth sterile neutrino. However, this result strongly depends on the Hubble prior obtained from the HST. With a different prior on the Hubble constant, coming from a median statistic analysis, we have Neff=3.52±0.39 at 68% c.l.. The total neutrino mass is bounded to be below Σmν<0.36 eV at 95% c.l. in the case of the HST prior but relaxed to Σmν<0.60 eV at 95% c.l. in the case of the median statistic prior.

Testing modified gravity models with recent cosmological observations

We explore the cosmological implications of five modified gravity (MG) models by using the recent cosmological observational data, including the recently released SNLS3 type Ia supernovae sample, the cosmic microwave background anisotropy data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 7-yr observations, the baryon acoustic oscillation results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 7, and the latest Hubble constant measurement utilizing the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. The MG models considered include the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati(DGP) model, two $f(R)$ models, and two $f(T)$ models. We find that compared with the $\Lambda$CDM model, MG models can not lead to a appreciable reduction of the $\chi^2_{min}$. The analysis of AIC and BIC shows that the simplest cosmological constant model($\Lambda$CDM) is still most preferred by the current data, and the DGP model is strongly disfavored. In addition, from the observational constraints, we also reconstruct the evolutions of the growth factor in these models. We find that the current available growth factor data are not enough to distinguish these MG models from the $\Lambda$CDM model.

Cosmological parameters constraints from galaxy cluster mass function measurements in combination with other cosmological data

We present the cosmological parameters constraints obtained from the combination of galaxy cluster mass function measurements (Vikhlinin et al. 2009a, 2009b) with new cosmological data obtained during last three years: updated measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropy with Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observatory, and at smaller angular scales with South Pole Telescope (SPT), new Hubble constant measurements, baryon acoustic oscillations and supernovae Type Ia observations. New constraints on total neutrino mass Σm ν and effective number of neutrino species are obtained. In models with free number of massive neutrinos the constraints on these parameters are notably less strong, and all considered cosmological data are consistent with non-zero total neutrino mass Σm ν ≈ 0.4 eV and larger than standard effective number of neutrino species, N eff ≈ 4. These constraints are compared to the results of neutrino oscillations searches at short baselines. The updated dark energy equation of state parameter constraints are presented. We show that taking in account systematic uncertanties, current cluster mass funstion data provide similarly powerful constraints on dark energy equation of state, as compared to the constraints from supernovae Type Ia observations.

Comparative study of dark energy constraints from current observational data

We examine how dark energy constraints from current observational data depend on the analysis methods used: the analysis of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and that of galaxy clustering data. We generalize the flux-averaging analysis method of SNe Ia to allow correlated errors of SNe Ia, in order to reduce the systematic bias due to weak lensing of SNe Ia. We find that flux-averaging leads to larger errors on dark energy and cosmological parameters if only SN Ia data are used. When SN Ia data (the latest compilation by the SNLS team) are combined with WMAP 7 year results (in terms of our Gaussian fits to the probability distributions of the CMB shift parameters), the latest Hubble constant (H_0) measurement using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and gamma ray burst (GRB) data, flux-averaging of SNe Ia increases the concordance with other data, and leads to significantly tighter constraints on the dark energy density at z=1, and the cosmic curvature \Omega_k. The galaxy clustering measurements of H(z=0.35)r_s(z_d) and r_s(z_d)/D_A(z=0.35) (where H(z) is the Hubble parameter, D_A(z) is the angular diameter distance, and r_s(z_d) is the sound horizon at the drag epoch) by Chuang & Wang (2011) are consistent with SN Ia data, given the same pirors (CMB+H_0+GRB), and lead to significantly improved dark energy constraints when combined. Current data are fully consistent with a cosmological constant and a flat universe.

Observational constraints on assisted k-inflation

We study observational constraints on the assisted k-inflation models in which multiple scalar fields join an attractor characterized by an effective single field $\ensuremath{\phi}$. This effective single-field system is described by the Lagrangian $P=Xg(Y)$, where $X$ is the kinetic energy of $\ensuremath{\phi}$, $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is a constant, and $g$ is an arbitrary function in terms of $Y=X{e}^{\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\phi}}$. Our analysis covers a wide variety of k-inflation models such as dilatonic ghost condensate, Dirac-Born-Infeld field, and tachyon, as well as the canonical field with an exponential potential. We place observational bounds on the parameters of each model from the WMAP 7yr data combined with baryon acoustic oscillations and the Hubble constant measurement. Using the observational constraints of the equilateral non-Gaussianity parameter ${f}_{\mathrm{NL}}^{\mathrm{equil}}$, we further restrict the allowed parameter space of dilatonic ghost condensate and Dirac-Born-Infeld models. We extend the analysis to more general models with several different choices of $g(Y)$ and show that the models such as $g(Y)={c}_{0}+{c}_{p}{Y}^{p}$ ($p\ensuremath{\ge}3$) are excluded by the joint data analysis of the scalar/tensor spectra and primordial non-Gaussianities.

Observational constraints on the energy scale of inflation

Determining the energy scale of inflation is crucial to understand the nature of inflation in the early Universe. We place observational constraints on the energy scale of the observable part of the inflaton potential by combining the 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data with distance measurements from the baryon acoustic oscillations in the distribution of galaxies and the Hubble constant measurement. Our analysis provides an upper limit on this energy scale, 2.3 \times 10^{16} GeV at 95% confidence level. Moreover, we forecast the sensitivity and constraints achievable by the Planck experiment by performing Monte Carlo studies on simulated data. Planck could significantly improve the constraints on the energy scale of inflation and on the shape of the inflaton potential.

Testing the void against cosmological data: fitting CMB, BAO, SN and H0

In this paper, instead of invoking Dark Energy, we try and fit various cosmological observations with a large Gpc scale under-dense region (Void) which is modeled by a Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi metric that at large distances becomes a homogeneous FLRW metric.We improve on previous analyses by allowing for nonzero overall curvature, accurately computing the distance to the last-scattering surface and the observed scale of the Baryon Acoustic peaks, and investigating important effects that could arise from having nontrivial Void density profiles. We mainly focus on the WMAP 7-yr data (TT and TE), Supernova data (SDSS SN), Hubble constant measurements (HST) and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data (SDSS and LRG). We find that the inclusion of a nonzero overall curvature drastically improves the goodness of fit of the Void model, bringing it very close to that of a homogeneous universe containing Dark Energy,while by varying the profile one can increase the value of the local Hubble parameter which has been a challenge for these models.We also try to gauge how well our model can fit thelarge-scale-structure data, but a comprehensive analysis will requirethe knowledge of perturbations on LTB metrics. The model is consistentwith the CMB dipole if the observer is about 15 Mpc off the centre of the Void. Remarkably, such an off-center position may be able to account for the recent anomalous measurements of a large bulk flow from kSZ data. Finally we provide several analytical approximations in different regimes for the LTB metric, and a numerical module for cosmomc, thus allowing for a MCMC exploration of the full parameter space.

Robust cosmological bounds on neutrinos and their combination with oscillation results

We perform a global analysis of cosmological observables in generalized cosmologies which depart from $\Lambda$CDM models by allowing non-vanishing curvature $\Omega_k\neq 0$, dark energy with equation of state with $\omega\neq -1$, the presence of additional relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta N_{\rm rel}$, and neutrino masses $\Omega_\nu\neq 0$. By combining the data from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments (in particular the latest results from WMAP-7), the present day Hubble constant (H0) measurement, the high-redshift Type-I supernovae (SN) results and the information from large scale structure (LSS) surveys, we determine the parameters in the 10-dimensional parameter space for such models. We present the results from the analysis when the full shape information from the LSS matter power spectrum (LSSPS) is included versus when only the corresponding distance measurement from the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) is accounted for. We compare the bounds on the neutrino mass scale in these generalized scenarios with those obtained for the 6+1 parameter analysis in $\Lambda{\rm CDM}+m_\nu$ models and we also study the dependence of those on the set of observables included in the analysis. Finally we combine these results with the information on neutrino mass differences and mixing from the global analysis of neutrino oscillation experiments and derive the presently allowed ranges for the two laboratory probes of the absolute scale of neutrino mass: the effective electron neutrino mass in single beta decay and the effective Majorana neutrino mass in neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ decay.

Distance measurements from supernovae and dark energy constraints

Constraints on dark energy from current observational data are sensitive to how distances are measured from Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data. We find that flux-averaging of SNe Ia can be used to test the presence of unknown systematic uncertainties, and yield more robust distance measurements from SNe Ia. We have applied this approach to the nearby + SDSS +ESSENCE +SNLS +HST set of 288 SNe Ia, and the ``Constitution''of set 397 SNe Ia. Combining the SN Ia data with CMB data from WMAP five year observations, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey baryon acoustic oscillation measurements, the data of 69 gammay-ray bursts, and the Hubble constant measurement from the HST project SHOES, we measure the dark energy density function X(z)=\rho_X(z)/\rho_X(0) as a free function of redshift (assumed to be a constant at z>1 or z>1.5). Without flux-averaging of SNe Ia, the combined data using the ``Constitution'' set of SNe Ia seem to indicate a deviation from a cosmological constant at ~95% confidence level at 0< z <0.8; they are consistent with a cosmological constant at ~68% confidence level when SNe Ia are flux-averaged. The combined data using the nearby +SDSS +ESSENCE +SNLS +HST data set of SNe Ia are consistent with a cosmological constant at 68% confidence level with or without flux-averaging of SNe Ia, and give dark energy constraints that are significantly more stringent than that using the ``Constitution'' set of SNe Ia. Assuming a flat universe, dark energy is detected at >98% confidence level for z<= 0.75 using the combined data with 288 SNe Ia from nearby + SDSS+ ESSENCE +SNLS +HST, independent of the assumptions about X(z>1). We quantify dark energy constraints without assuming a flat universe using the dark energy Figure-of-Merit (FoM) for both $X(z)$ and a dark energy equation-of-state linear in the cosmic scale factor.

Systematic Errors in the Hubble Constant Measurement from the Sunyaev‐Zel’dovich Effect

The Hubble constant estimated from the combined analysis of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and X-ray observations of galaxy clusters is systematically lower than those from other methods by 10-15 percent. We examine the origin of the systematic underestimate using an analytic model of the intracluster medium (ICM), and compare the prediction with idealistic triaxial models and with clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. We identify three important sources for the systematic errors; density and temperature inhomogeneities in the ICM, departures from isothermality, and asphericity. In particular, the combination of the first two leads to the systematic underestimate of the ICM spectroscopic temperature relative to its emission-weighed one. We find that these three systematics well reproduce both the observed bias and the intrinsic dispersions of the Hubble constant estimated from the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect.

Non‐Gaussian Error Distribution of Hubble Constant Measurements

ABSTRACTWe construct the error distribution of Hubble constant (H0) measurements from Huchra’s compilation of 461 measurements of H0 and the WMAP experiment central value H0 = 71 km s -1 Mpc -1. This error distribution is non‐Gaussian, with significantly larger probability in the tails of the distribution than predicted by a Gaussian distribution. The 95.4% confidence limits are 7.0 σ in terms of the quoted errors. It is remarkably well described by either a widened n = 2 Student t distribution or a widened double exponential distribution. These conclusions are unchanged if we use instead the central value H0 = 67 km s -1 Mpc -1 found from a median statistics analysis of a major subset of H0 measurements used here.