Time Delay Distance Research Articles

Time-delay cosmographic forecasts with strong lensing and JWST stellar kinematics

ABSTRACT We present a joint strong lensing and stellar dynamical framework for future time-delay cosmography purposes. Based on a pixelated source reconstruction and the axisymmetric Jeans equations, we are capable of constraining cosmological distances and hence the current expansion rate of the Universe (H0) to the few per cent level per lens, when high signal-to-noise integral field unit (IFU) observations from the next generation of telescopes become available. For illustrating the power of this method, we mock up IFU stellar kinematic data of the prominent lens system RXJ1131−1231, given the specifications of the James Webb Space Telescope. Our analysis shows that the time-delay distance (DΔt) can be constrained with 3.1 per cent uncertainty at best, if future IFU stellar kinematics are included in the fit and if the set of candidate model parametrizations contains the true lens potential. These constraints would translate to a 3.2 per cent precision measurement on H0 in flat ΛCDM cosmology from the single lens RXJ1131−1231, and can be expected to yield an H0 measure with ≤2.0 per cent uncertainty, if similar gains in precision can be reached for two additional lens systems. Moreover, the angular diameter distance (Dd) to RXJ1131−1231 can be constrained with 2.4 per cent precision, providing two distance measurements from a single lens system, which is extremely powerful to further constrain the matter density (Ωm). The measurement accuracy of Dd, however, is highly sensitive to any systematics in the measurement of the stellar kinematics. For both distance measurements, we strongly advise to probe a large set of physically motivated lens potentials in the future, to minimize the systematic errors associated with the lens mass parametrization.

Calibrating the standard candles with strong lensing

We propose a new model-independent strategy to calibrate the distance relation in Type Ia supernova (SN) observations and to probe the intrinsic properties of SNe Ia, especially the absolute magnitude M_B, basing on strong lensing observations in the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) era. The strongly lensed quasars can provide the Time Delay Distances (TDD) and the Angular Diameter Distances (ADD) to the lens galaxies. These absolute distance measurements can model-independently anchor the SNe Ia at cosmological distances. We simulated 55 high-quality lensing systems with 5% uncertainties for both TDD and ADD measurements basing on future observation conditions. For the time delay distances and the angular diameter distances as the calibration standards, the calibrated 1sigma uncertainties of M_{B} are approximately 0.24 mag and 0.03 mag, respectively. Besides, we also consider an evolving distance relation, for example, caused by the cosmic opacity. In this case, the 1sigma uncertainties of M_B calibrated with TDD and ADD are approximately 0.31 mag and 0.06 mag, respectively. The results show that the ADD method will be a promising tool for calibrating supernovae.

Testing Cosmic Opacity with the Combination of Strongly Lensed and Unlensed Supernova Ia

Abstract In this paper, we present a scheme to investigate the opacity of the universe in a cosmological-model-independent way, with the combination of current and future measurements of an SN Ia sample and galactic-scale strong gravitational lensing systems with SNe Ia acting as background sources. The observational data include the current newly compiled SNe Ia data (Pantheon sample) and a simulated sample of SNe Ia observed by the forthcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which are taken for luminosity distances (D L) possibly affected by the cosmic opacity, as well as strongly lensed SNe Ia observed by the LSST, which are responsible for providing the observed time-delay distance unaffected by the cosmic opacity. Focusing on only one specific type of standard cosmological probe, this provides an original method to measure cosmic opacity at high precision. Working on the simulated sample of strongly lensed SNe Ia observed by the LSST in the 10 yr z-band search, our results show that, with the combination of the current newly compiled SNe Ia data (Pantheon sample), there is no significant deviation from the transparency of the universe at the current observational data level. Moreover, strongly lensed SNe Ia in a 10 yr LSST z-band search would produce more robust constraints on the validity of cosmic transparency, with a larger sample of unlensed SNe Ia detected in the future LSST survey. We have also discussed the ways in which our methodology could be improved, with the combination of current and future available data in the gravitational wave and electromagnetic domain.

A Model-independent Determination of the Hubble Constant from Lensed Quasars and Supernovae Using Gaussian Process Regression

Abstract Strongly lensed quasar systems with time delay measurements provide “time delay distances,” which are a combination of three angular diameter distances and serve as powerful tools to determine the Hubble constant H 0. However, current results often rely on the assumption of the ΛCDM model. Here we use a model-independent method based on Gaussian process to directly constrain the value of H 0. By using Gaussian process regression, we can generate posterior samples of unanchored supernova distances independent of any cosmological model and anchor them with strong lens systems. The combination of a supernova sample with large statistics but no sensitivity to H 0 with a strong lens sample with small statistics but H 0 sensitivity gives a precise H 0 measurement without the assumption of any cosmological model. We use four well-analyzed lensing systems from the state-of-art lensing program H0LiCOW and the Pantheon supernova compilation in our analysis. Assuming the universe is flat, we derive the constraint H 0 = 72.2 ± 2.1 km s−1 Mpc−1, a precision of 2.9%. Allowing for cosmic curvature with a prior of Ω k = [−0.2, 0.2], the constraint becomes .

Asymmetries in adaptive optics point spread functions

An explanation for the origin of asymmetry along the preferential axis of the point spread function (PSF) of an AO system is developed. When phase errors from high-altitude turbulence scintillate due to Fresnel propagation, wavefront amplitude errors may be spatially offset from residual phase errors. These correlated errors appear as asymmetry in the image plane under the Fraunhofer condition. In an analytic model with an open-loop AO system, the strength of the asymmetry is calculated for a single mode of phase aberration, which generalizes to two dimensions under a Fourier decomposition of the complex illumination. Other parameters included are the spatial offset of the AO correction, which is the wind velocity in the frozen flow regime multiplied by the effective AO time delay and propagation distance or altitude of the turbulent layer. In this model, the asymmetry is strongest when the wind is slow and nearest to the coronagraphic mask when the turbulent layer is far away, such as when the telescope is pointing low toward the horizon. A great emphasis is made about the fact that the brighter asymmetric lobe of the PSF points in the opposite direction as the wind, which is consistent analytically with the clarification that the image plane electric field distribution is actually the inverse Fourier transform of the aperture plane. Validation of this understanding is made with observations taken from the Gemini Planet Imager, as well as being reproducible in end-to-end AO simulations.

Measuring the Distances to Quasars at High Redshifts with Strong Lensing

Abstract Strongly lensed quasars with time-delay measurements are well known to provide the “time-delay distances” , and the angular diameter distances to the lens galaxies D L . These two kinds of distances give stringent constraints on cosmological parameters. In this work, we explore a different use of time-delay observables: under the assumption of a flat universe, strong lensing observations can accurately measure the angular diameter distances to the sources D S . The corresponding redshifts of the quasars may be up to z S ∼ 4 according to the forecast. The high-redshift distances would sample the Hubble diagram between SNe Ia and the cosmic microwave background, model-independently providing direct information on the evolution of the nature of our universe, for example, the dark energy equation of state parameter w(z). We apply our method to the existing lensing system SDSS 1206+4332 and get at z S = 1.789. We also make a forecast for the era of Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. The uncertainty of D S depends on the redshifts of the lens and the source, the uncertainties of D Δt and D L , and the correlation between D Δt and D L . Larger correlation would result in tighter D S determination.

H0LiCOW XII. Lens mass model of WFI2033 − 4723 and blind measurement of its time-delay distance and H0

ABSTRACT We present the lens mass model of the quadruply-imaged gravitationally lensed quasar WFI2033 − 4723, and perform a blind cosmographical analysis based on this system. Our analysis combines (1) time-delay measurements from 14 yr of data obtained by the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses (COSMOGRAIL) collaboration, (2) high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, (3) a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy based on ESO-MUSE data, and (4) multi-band, wide-field imaging and spectroscopy characterizing the lens environment. We account for all known sources of systematics, including the influence of nearby perturbers and complex line-of-sight structure, as well as the parametrization of the light and mass profiles of the lensing galaxy. After unblinding, we determine the effective time-delay distance to be $4784_{-248}^{+399}~\mathrm{Mpc}$, an average precision of $6.6{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. This translates to a Hubble constant $H_{0} = 71.6_{-4.9}^{+3.8}~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology with a uniform prior on Ωm in the range [0.05, 0.5]. This work is part of the H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL’s Wellspring (H0LiCOW) collaboration, and the full time-delay cosmography results from a total of six strongly lensed systems are presented in a companion paper (H0LiCOW XIII).

The Hubble constant determined through an inverse distance ladder including quasar time delays and Type Ia supernovae

Context.The precise determination of the present-day expansion rate of the Universe, expressed through the Hubble constantH0, is one of the most pressing challenges in modern cosmology. Assuming flat ΛCDM,H0inference at high redshift using cosmic microwave background data fromPlanckdisagrees at the 4.4σlevel with measurements based on the local distance ladder made up of parallaxes, Cepheids, and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), often referred to as Hubble tension. Independent cosmological-model-insensitive ways to inferH0are of critical importance.Aims.We apply an inverse distance ladder approach, combining strong-lensing time-delay distance measurements with SN Ia data. By themselves, SNe Ia are merely good indicators of relative distance, but by anchoring them to strong gravitational lenses we can obtain anH0measurement that is relatively insensitive to other cosmological parameters.Methods.A cosmological parameter estimate was performed for different cosmological background models, both for strong-lensing data alone and for the combined lensing + SNe Ia data sets.Results.The cosmological-model dependence of strong-lensingH0measurements is significantly mitigated through the inverse distance ladder. In combination with SN Ia data, the inferredH0consistently lies around 73–74 km s−1Mpc−1, regardless of the assumed cosmological background model. Our results agree closely with those from the local distance ladder, but there is a > 2σtension withPlanckresults, and a ∼1.5σdiscrepancy with results from an inverse distance ladder includingPlanck, baryon acoustic oscillations, and SNe Ia. Future strong-lensing distance measurements will reduce the uncertainties inH0from our inverse distance ladder.

Constraints on cosmic curvature with lensing time delays and gravitational waves

Assuming the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ model, the CMB and BAO observations indicate a very flat Universe. Model-independent measurements are therefore worth studying. Time delays measured in lensed quasars provide the time delay distances. When compared with the luminosity distances from the supernova Ia (SNe Ia) observation, the measurements can provide the curvature information under the Distance Sum Rule of the Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric. This method is limited by the low redshifts of SNe Ia. In this work, we propose that gravitational waves from the Einstein Telescope, as standard sirens which reach higher redshifts covering the redshift range of lensed quasars from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, could provide much more stringent constraints on the curvature. We first consider a conservative case where only 100 gravitational waves with electromagnetic counterparts are available; the $1\ensuremath{\sigma}$ uncertainty for the curvature parameter ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{k}$ is 0.057. In an optimistic case with 1000 signals available, then ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{k}$ uncertainty is 0.027. Combining with SNe Ia from the Dark Energy Survey, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{k}$ can be further constrained to 0.027 and 0.018, respectively.

Electric field correlation measurements on the electromagnetic vacuum state.

Quantum mechanics ascribes to the ground state of the electromagnetic radiation1 zero-point electric field fluctuations that permeate empty space at all frequencies. No energy can be extracted from the ground state of a system, and therefore these fluctuations cannot be measured directly with an intensity detector. The experimental proof of their existence therefore came from more indirect evidence, such as the Lamb shift2,3,4, the Casimir force between close conductors5,6,7 or spontaneous emission1,8. A direct method of determining the spectral characteristics of vacuum field fluctuations has so far been missing. Here we perform a direct measurement of the field correlation on these fluctuations in the terahertz frequency range by using electro-optic detection9 in a nonlinear crystal placed in a cryogenic environment. We investigate their temporal and spatial coherence, which, at zero time delay and spatial distance, has a peak value of 6.2×10-2volts squared per square metre, corresponding to a fluctuating vacuum field10,11 of 0.25volts per metre. With this measurement, we determine the spectral components of the ground state of electromagnetic radiation within the bandwidth of our electro-optic detection.

Constraining Cosmological Parameters in the FLRW Metric with Lensed GW+EM Signals

Abstract We proposed a model-independent method to constrain cosmological parameters using the Distance Sum Rule of the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric by combining the time delay distances and the comoving distances through a multi-messenger approach. The time delay distances are measured from lensed gravitational wave (GW) signals together with their corresponding electromagnetic wave (EM) counterparts, while the comoving distances are obtained from a parameterized fitting approach with independent supernova observations. With a series of simulations based on the Einstein Telescope, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and The Dark Energy Survey, we find that only 10 lensed GW+EM systems can achieve the constraining power comparable to and even stronger than 300 lensed quasar systems due to the more precise time delay from lensed GW signals. Specifically, the cosmological parameters can be constrained to and (1σ).5 Our results show that more precise time delay measurements could provide more stringent cosmological parameter values, and lensed GW+EM systems therefore can be applied as a powerful tool in the future precision cosmology.

Constraining the microlensing effect on time delays with a new time-delay prediction model in H0 measurements

Time-delay strong lensing provides a unique way to directly measure the Hubble constant (H0). The precision of the H0 measurement depends on the uncertainties in the time-delay measurements, the mass distribution of the main deflector(s), and the mass distribution along the line of sight. Tie & Kochanek have proposed a new microlensing effect on time delays based on differential magnification of the coherent accretion disc variability of the lensed quasar. If real, this effect could significantly broaden the uncertainty on the time-delay measurements by up to 30 per cent for lens systems such as PG 1115+080, which have relatively short time delays and monitoring over several different epochs. In this paper we develop a new technique that uses the cosmological time-delay ratios and simulated microlensing maps within a Bayesian framework in order to limit the allowed combinations of microlensing delays and thus to lessen the uncertainties due to the proposed effect. We show that, under the assumption of Tie & Kochanek, the uncertainty on the time-delay distance (DΔt, which is proportional to 1/H0) of the short time-delay (∼18 d) lens, PG 1115+080, increases from ∼7 per cent to ∼10 per cent by simultaneously fitting the three time-delay measurements from the three different data sets across 20 yr, while in the case of the long time-delay (∼90 d) lens, the microlensing effect on time delays is negligible as the uncertainty on DΔt of RXJ 1131−1231 only increases from ∼2.5 per cent to ∼2.6 per cent.

The Determinants of Discounting in Intergenerational Decision-Making

We investigate discounting behavior in situations where both intertemporal and social discounting occur simultaneously. Situations of intergenerational conflicts are characterized by both time delay and social distance and can be interpreted either as a combination of current donations with delegated investments for others or of current investments for one’s own and future donations to others. Due to well-known self-control problems with respect to investments for one’s own, the second interpretation implies overall higher discounting in intergenerational decision problems than the first one. We show experimentally that this second interpretation seems to prevail for intergenerational decision-making in practice, which is a hint at a corresponding significant effect of self-control problems. This problem can be mitigated by adequate framing supporting the first view of intergenerational decision problems described above. Our findings are relevant for policy makers and researchers alike.

On the choice of lens density profile in time delay cosmography

Time delay lensing is a mature and competitive cosmological probe. However, it is limited in accuracy by the well-known problem of the mass-sheet degeneracy: too rigid assumptions on the density profile of the lens can potentially bias the inference on cosmological parameters. I investigate the degeneracy between the choice of the lens density profile and the inference on the Hubble constant, focusing on double image systems. By expanding lensing observables in terms of the local derivatives of the lens potential around the Einstein radius, and assuming circular symmetry, I show that three degrees of freedom in the radial direction are necessary to achieve a few percent accuracy in the time-delay distance. Additionally, while the time delay is strongly dependent on the second derivative of the potential, observables typically used to constrain lens models in time-delay studies, such as image position and radial magnification information, are mostly sensitive to the first and third derivatives, making it very challenging to accurately determine time-delay distances with lensing data alone. Tests on mock observations show that the assumption of a power-law density profile results in a 5% average bias on $H_0$, with a 6% scatter. Using a more flexible model and adding unbiased velocity dispersion constraints allows to obtain an inference with 1% accuracy. A power-law model can still provide 3% accuracy if velocity dispersion measurements are used to constrain its slope. Although this work is based on the assumption of axisymmetry, its main findings can be generalized to cases with moderate ellipticity.

Improving time-delay cosmography with spatially resolved kinematics

Strongly gravitational lensed quasars can be used to measure the so-called time-delay distance $D_{\Delta t}$, and thus the Hubble constant $H_0$ and other cosmological parameters. Stellar kinematics of the deflector galaxy play an essential role in this measurement by: (i) helping break the mass-sheet degeneracy; (ii) determining in principle the angular diameter distance $D_{\rm d}$ to the deflector and thus further improving the cosmological constraints. In this paper we simulate observations of lensed quasars with integral field spectrographs and show that spatially resolved kinematics of the deflector enable further progress by helping break the mass-anisotropy degeneracy. Furthermore, we use our simulations to obtain realistic error estimates with current/upcoming instruments like OSIRIS on Keck and NIRSPEC on the James Webb Space Telescope for both distances (typically $\sim6$ per cent on $D_{\Delta t}$ and $\sim10$ per cent on $D_{\rm d}$). We use the error estimates to compute cosmological forecasts for the sample of nine lenses that currently have well measured time delays and deep Hubble Space Telescope images and for a sample of 40 lenses that is projected to be available in a few years through follow-up of candidates found in ongoing wide field surveys. We find that $H_0$ can be measured with 2 per cent (1 per cent) precision from nine (40) lenses in a flat $\Lambda$cold dark matter cosmology. We study several other cosmological models beyond the flat $\Lambda$cold dark matter model and find that time-delay lenses with spatially resolved kinematics can greatly improve the precision of the cosmological parameters measured by cosmic microwave background data.

Hybrid services efficient provisioning over the network coding–enabled elastic optical networks

As a variety of services have emerged, hybrid services have become more common in real optical networks. Although the elastic spectrum resource optimizations over the elastic optical networks (EONs) have been widely investigated, little research has been carried out on the hybrid services of the routing and spectrum allocation (RSA), especially over the network coding–enabled EON. We investigated the RSA for the unicast service and network coding–based multicast service over the network coding–enabled EON with the constraints of time delay and transmission distance. To address this issue, a mathematical model was built to minimize the total spectrum consumption for the hybrid services over the network coding–enabled EON under the constraints of time delay and transmission distance. The model guarantees different routing constraints for different types of services. The immediate nodes over the network coding–enabled EON are assumed to be capable of encoding the flows for different kinds of information. We proposed an efficient heuristic algorithm of the network coding–based adaptive routing and layered graph-based spectrum allocation algorithm (NCAR-LGSA). From the simulation results, NCAR-LGSA shows highly efficient performances in terms of the spectrum resources utilization under different network scenarios compared with the benchmark algorithms.

H0LiCOW – I. H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL's Wellspring: program overview

Strong gravitational lens systems with time delays between the multiple images allow measurements of time-delay distances, which are primarily sensitive to the Hubble constant that is key to probing dark energy, neutrino physics, and the spatial curvature of the Universe, as well as discovering new physics. We present H0LiCOW ($H_0$ Lenses in COSMOGRAIL's Wellspring), a program that aims to measure $H_0$ with $<3.5\%$ uncertainty from five lens systems (B1608+656, RXJ1131-1231, HE0435-1223, WFI2033-4723 and HE1104-1805). We have been acquiring (1) time delays through COSMOGRAIL and Very Large Array monitoring, (2) high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging for the lens mass modeling, (3) wide-field imaging and spectroscopy to characterize the lens environment, and (4) moderate-resolution spectroscopy to obtain the stellar velocity dispersion of the lenses for mass modeling. In cosmological models with one-parameter extension to flat $\Lambda$CDM, we expect to measure $H_0$ to $<3.5\%$ in most models, spatial curvature $\Omega_{\rm k}$ to 0.004, $w$ to 0.14, and the effective number of neutrino species to 0.2 (1$\sigma$ uncertainties) when combined with current CMB experiments. These are, respectively, a factor of $\sim15$, $\sim2$, and $\sim1.5$ tighter than CMB alone. Our data set will further enable us to study the stellar initial mass function of the lens galaxies, and the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. This program will provide a foundation for extracting cosmological distances from the hundreds of time-delay lenses that are expected to be discovered in current and future surveys.

H0LiCOW – III. Quantifying the effect of mass along the line of sight to the gravitational lens HE 0435−1223 through weighted galaxy counts★

Based on spectroscopy and multiband wide-field observations of the gravitationally lensed quasar HE 0435-1223, we determine the probability distribution function of the external convergence $\kappa_\mathrm{ext}$ for this system. We measure the under/overdensity of the line of sight towards the lens system and compare it to the average line of sight throughout the universe, determined by using the CFHTLenS as a control field. Aiming to constrain $\kappa_\mathrm{ext}$ as tightly as possible, we determine under/overdensities using various combinations of relevant informative weighing schemes for the galaxy counts, such as projected distance to the lens, redshift, and stellar mass. We then convert the measured under/overdensities into a $\kappa_\mathrm{ext}$ distribution, using ray-tracing through the Millennium Simulation. We explore several limiting magnitudes and apertures, and account for systematic and statistical uncertainties relevant to the quality of the observational data, which we further test through simulations. Our most robust estimate of $\kappa_\mathrm{ext}$ has a median value $\kappa^\mathrm{med}_\mathrm{ext} = 0.004$ and a standard deviation of $\sigma_\kappa = 0.025$. The measured $\sigma_\kappa$ corresponds to $2.5\%$ uncertainty on the time delay distance, and hence the Hubble constant $H_0$ inference from this system. The median $\kappa^\mathrm{med}_\mathrm{ext}$ value is robust to $\sim0.005$ (i.e. $\sim0.5\%$ on $H_0$) regardless of the adopted aperture radius, limiting magnitude and weighting scheme, as long as the latter incorporates galaxy number counts, the projected distance to the main lens, and a prior on the external shear obtained from mass modeling. The availability of a well-constrained $\kappa_\mathrm{ext}$ makes \hequad\ a valuable system for measuring cosmological parameters using strong gravitational lens time delays.

H0LiCOW – IV. Lens mass model of HE 0435−1223 and blind measurement of its time-delay distance for cosmology

Strong gravitational lenses with measured time delays between the multiple images allow a direct measurement of the time-delay distance to the lens, and thus a measure of cosmological parameters, particularly the Hubble constant, $H_{0}$. We present a blind lens model analysis of the quadruply-imaged quasar lens HE 0435-1223 using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, updated time-delay measurements from the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses (COSMOGRAIL), a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy based on Keck data, and a characterization of the mass distribution along the line of sight. HE 0435-1223 is the third lens analyzed as a part of the $H_{0}$ Lenses in COSMOGRAIL's Wellspring (H0LiCOW) project. We account for various sources of systematic uncertainty, including the detailed treatment of nearby perturbers, the parameterization of the galaxy light and mass profile, and the regions used for lens modeling. We constrain the effective time-delay distance to be $D_{\Delta t} = 2612_{-191}^{+208}~\mathrm{Mpc}$, a precision of 7.6%. From HE 0435-1223 alone, we infer a Hubble constant of $H_{0} = 73.1_{-6.0}^{+5.7}~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ assuming a flat $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The cosmographic inference based on the three lenses analyzed by H0LiCOW to date is presented in a companion paper (H0LiCOW Paper V).

H0LiCOW – V. New COSMOGRAIL time delays of HE 0435−1223:H0to 3.8 per cent precision from strong lensing in a flat ΛCDM model

We present a new measurement of the Hubble Constant H0 and other cosmological parameters based on the joint analysis of three multiply-imaged quasar systems with measured gravitational time delays. First, we measure the time delay of HE0435-1223 from 13-year light curves obtained as part of the COSMOGRAIL project. Companion papers detail the modeling of the main deflectors and line of sight effects, and how these data are combined to determine the time-delay distance of HE 0435-1223. Crucially, the measurements are carried out blindly with respect to cosmological parameters in order to avoid confirmation bias. We then combine the time-delay distance of HE0435-1223 with previous measurements from systems B1608+656 and RXJ1131-1231 to create a Time Delay Strong Lensing probe (TDSL). In flat $\Lambda$CDM with free matter and energy density, we find $H_0$ = 71.9 +2.4 -3.0 km/s/Mpc and $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ = 0.62 +0.24 -0.35 . This measurement is completely independent of, and in agreement with, the local distance ladder measurements of H0. We explore more general cosmological models combining TDSL with other probes, illustrating its power to break degeneracies inherent to other methods. The TDSL and Planck joint constraints are $H_0$ = 69.2 +1.4 -2.2 km/s/Mpc, $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ = 0.70 +0.01 -0.01 and $\Omega_k$ = 0.003 +0.004 -0.006 in open $\Lambda$CDM and $H_0$ = 79.0 +4.4 -4.2 km/s/Mpc, $\Omega_{de}$ = 0.77 +0.02 -0.03 and $w$ = -1.38 +0.14 -0.16 in flat $w$CDM. Combined with Planck and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data, when relaxing the constraints on the numbers of relativistic species we find $N_{eff}$ = 3.34 +0.21 -0.21 and when relaxing the total mass of neutrinos we find 0.182 eV. In an open $w$CDM in combination with Planck and CMB lensing we find $H_0$ = 77.9 +5.0 -4.2 km/s/Mpc, $\Omega_{de}$ = 0.77 +0.03 -0.03, $\Omega_k$ = -0.003 +0.004 -0.004 and $w$ = -1.37 +0.18 -0.23.