Hubble's law

Physics

Luminosity

Luminosity distance

Dark energy

Cosmology

Omega

Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric

Mathematical physics

Astrophysics

Quantum mechanics

Universe

Galaxy

Physical Review Letters

We present the first determination of the Hubble constant ${H}_{0}$ from strong lensing time delay data and type Ia supernova luminosity distances that is independent of the cosmological model. We also determine the spatial curvature model independently. We assume that light propagation over long distances is described by the Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric and geometrical optics holds, but make no assumption about the contents of the Universe or the theory of gravity on cosmological scales. We find ${H}_{0}={75.7}_{\ensuremath{-}4.4}^{+4.5}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{K0}=0.1{2}_{\ensuremath{-}0.25}^{+0.27}$. This is a 6% determination of ${H}_{0}$. A weak prior from the cosmic microwave background on the distance to the last scattering surface improves this to ${H}_{0}={76.8}_{\ensuremath{-}3.8}^{+4.2}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{K0}=0.1{8}_{\ensuremath{-}0.18}^{+0.25}$. Assuming a zero spatial curvature, we get ${H}_{0}={74.2}_{\ensuremath{-}2.9}^{+3.0}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$, a precision of 4%. The measurements also provide a consistency test of the FLRW metric: we find no evidence against it.

Model-Independent Determination of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mi>H</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Ω</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>K</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:math> from Strong Lensing and Type Ia Supernovae

Model-Independent Determination of H0 and ΩK0 from Strong Lensing and Type Ia Supernovae