• First detection of the Hubble variation correlation and its scale dependence

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The sample variance due to our local density fluctuations in measuring our local Hubble-constant ($H_0$) can be reduced to the percentage level by choosing the Hubble-flow type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) outside of the homogeneity scale. In this Letter, we have revealed a hidden trend in this one-percent $H_0$ variation both theoretically and observationally. We have derived for the first time our $H_0$ variation measured from any discrete sample of distant SNe Ia. We have also identified a residual linear correlation between our local $H_0$ fitted from different groups of SNe Ia and their ambient density contrasts of SN-host galaxies evaluated at a given scale. We have further traced the scale dependence of this residual linear trend, which becomes more and more positively correlated with the ambient density contrasts of SN-host galaxies estimated at larger and larger scales, on the contrary to but still marginally consistent with the theoretical expectation from the $\Lambda$-cold-dark-matter model. This might indicate some unknown corrections to the peculiar velocity of the SN-host galaxy from the density contrasts at larger scales or the smoking gun for the new physics.

  • Parity violation in stochastic gravitational wave background from inflation

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We study the inflationary implications of a novel parity-violating gravity model, which modifies the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity by introducing the Nieh-Yan term coupled to an axion-like field. The parity-violating Nieh-Yan term results in the velocity birefringence of gravitational waves (GWs) and triggers the tachyonic instability only for one of the two circular polarization states. We consider that the inflaton is identified as the coupled axion-like field with a wiggly potential characterized by steep cliffs connected by smooth plateaus. During inflation, the temporary fast roll of axion on the cliff-like region leads to the significant enhancement of the tensor perturbations in one polarization state with the wave numbers that exit the horizon around this period. In this setup, the resulting energy spectrum for GWs presents a sizable localized bump involving the contribution of only one polarization state. This chiral GW background is detectable by LISA and Taiji, and its chirality can be determined by correlating two detectors, which provide an opportunity to probe the inflation and test the gravity model.

  • Chameleon dark energy can resolve the Hubble tension

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Values of the Hubble constant between the direct measurements from various independent local observations and that inferred from the cosmic microwave background with the $\Lambda$-cold-dark-matter model are in tension with persistent significance. We propose a late-time inhomogeneous resolution suggesting that a chameleon field coupled to a local overdensity of matter could be trapped at a higher potential energy density as an effective cosmological constant driving the local expansion rate faster than that of the background with lower matter density. We illustrate this mechanism in a toy model in which a region with only $20\%$ overdensity of matter is sufficient to resolve the Hubble tension, and the Hubble constant measured by the local distance ladders could be accommodated by the chameleon coupled to the observed overdensities from the large-scale structure surveys.