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Resolving the Hubble tension: Measuring the expansion rate of the Universe to 1%

Speaker Dr. Anowar SHAJIB
Affiliation The University of Chicago
Date December 6, 2023 (Wednesday)
Time 10:00 a.m.
Zoom Link https://hku.zoom.us/j/92599614426
Meeting ID: 925 9961 4426

Abstract

The Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) cosmological model has been remarkably successful in explaining numerous observations at scales spanning many orders of magnitude. However, several challenges have recently emerged. One of the most prominent challenges for the LCDM model is the "Hubble tension", where the Hubble constant (H_0) measured using Cepheid-calibrated distance ladder of type Ia supernovae and that extrapolated using LCDM from the cosmic microwave background disagree by 5 standard deviations. To confirm new physics beyond the LCDM model as the source of this disagreement, ruling out any unknown systematic in these measurements using another independent probe is crucial. Strong-lensing time delay is such a probe that can independently constrain H_0 to 1% precision in the future. The main barrier to achieving this 1% precision is constraining the total mass profile shape in the lens galaxies using non-lensing observables such as stellar dynamics to avoid potential systematic in the H_0 from mass model assumptions. I will describe how to constrain this mass profile to 1% precision from large statistical samples discovered from current and future surveys, based on joint lensing and dynamical analysis of lens galaxies using data from the JWST and HST. Constraining the total mass profile of ellipticals will also provide key insights into the astrophysics of massive galaxy formation, e.g., baryonic feedback and merger processes. Furthermore, the 1% measurement in H_0 will enable tighter constraints on the dark energy parameters from stage IV experiments.

Anyone interested is welcome to attend.