Abstract
Strong gravitational lens systems with time delays between the multiple images are a powerful probe of cosmology and astrophysics. In particular, the time-delay distance from such a system is primarily sensitive to the Hubble constant (H0) that is key to probing dark energy, neutrino physics, and the spatial curvature of the Universe, as well as discovering new physics. The H0 Lenses In COSMOGRAIL’s Wellspring (H0LiCOW) project aims to measure H0 to <3.5% precision from five lensed quasars using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, precise time delay measurements from the COSMOGRAIL monitoring project, a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxies, and a characterization of the mass distribution along the line of sight. The most recent H0LiCOW analysis of the system HE 0435-1223 is able to constrain the time-delay distance to a precision of ~8%. In combination with the previous two H0LiCOW lenses, we constrain H0 to ~3.8% precision for a flat Lambda CDM cosmology. These results are consistent with independent determinations of H0 using the distance ladder method and are in moderate tension with the latest Planck results for a similar cosmology, hinting at possible new physics beyond the standard LCDM model and highlighting the importance of this independent probe.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend.