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In the coming decades, the space-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors such as Taiji, TianQin, and LISA are expected to form a network capable of detecting millihertz GWs emitted by the mergers of massive black hole binaries (MBHBs). In this work, we investigate the potential of GW standard sirens from the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network in constraining cosmological parameters. For the optimistic scenario in which electromagnetic (EM) counterparts can be detected, we predict the number of detectable bright sirens based on three different MBHB population models, i.e., pop III, Q3d, and Q3nod. Our results show that the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network alone could achieve a constraint precision of 0.9% for the Hubble constant, meeting the standard of precision cosmology. Moreover, the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network could effectively break the cosmological parameter degeneracies generated by the CMB data, particularly in the dynamical dark energy models. When combined with the CMB data, the joint CMB+Taiji-TianQin-LISA data offer σ ( w ) = 0.036 in the w CDM model, which is close to the latest constraint result obtained from the CMB+SN data. We also consider a conservative scenario in which EM counterparts are not available. Due to the precise sky localizations of MBHBs by the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network, the constraint precision of the Hubble constant is expected to reach 1.2%. In conclusion, the GW standard sirens from the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network will play a critical role in helping solve the Hubble tension and shedding light on the nature of dark energy.

Gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary coalescences encode the absolute luminosity distances of GW sources. Once the redshifts of GW sources are known, one can use the distance-redshift relation to constrain cosmological parameters. One way to obtain the redshifts is to localize GW sources by GW observations and then use galaxy catalogs to determine redshifts from a statistical analysis of redshift information of the potential host galaxies, commonly referred to as the dark siren method. The third-generation (3G) GW detectors are planned to work in the 2030s and will observe numerous compact binary coalescences. Using these GW events as dark sirens requires high-quality galaxy catalogs from future sky survey projects. The China Space Station Telescope (CSST) will be launched in 2024 and will observe billions of galaxies within a 17500 deg 2 survey area with redshift up to z ∼ 4, providing photometric and spectroscopic galaxy catalogs. In this work, we simulate the CSST galaxy catalogs and the 5-year GW data from the 3G GW detectors and combine them to infer the Hubble constant ( H 0 ). Our results show that the measurement precision of H 0 could reach the sub-percent level, meeting the standard of precision cosmology. We conclude that the synergy between CSST and the 3G GW detectors is of great significance in measuring the Hubble constant.

We present a forecast of the cosmological parameter estimation using fast radio bursts (FRBs) from the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA), focusing on the issues of dark energy, the Hubble constant, and baryon density. We simulate 10 5 and 10 6 localized FRBs from a 10-year SKA observation, and find that: (1) using 10 6 FRB data alone can tightly constrain dark-energy equation of state parameters better than CMB+BAO+SNe, providing an independent cosmological probe to explore dark energy; (2) combining the FRB data with gravitational-wave standard siren data from 10-year observation with the Einstein Telescope, the Hubble constant can be constrained to a sub-percent level, serving as a powerful low-redshift probe; (3) using 10 6 FRB data can constrain the baryon density Ω b h to a precision of ∼0.1%. Our results indicate that SKA-era FRBs will provide precise cosmological measurements to shed light on both dark energy and the missing baryon problem, and help resolve the Hubble tension.

We report observations from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of Cepheid variables in the host galaxies of 42 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) used to calibrate the Hubble constant (H 0). These include the complete sample of all suitable SNe Ia discovered in the last four decades at redshift z ≤ 0.01, collected and calibrated from ≥1000 HST orbits, more than doubling the sample whose size limits the precision of the direct determination of H 0. The Cepheids are calibrated geometrically from Gaia EDR3 parallaxes, masers in NGC 4258 (here tripling that sample of Cepheids), and detached eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud. All Cepheids in these anchors and SN Ia hosts were measured with the same instrument (WFC3) and filters (F555W, F814W, F160W) to negate zero-point errors. We present multiple verifications of Cepheid photometry and six tests of background determinations that show Cepheid measurements are accurate in the presence of crowded backgrounds. The SNe Ia in these hosts calibrate the magnitude–redshift relation from the revised Pantheon+ compilation, accounting here for covariance between all SN data and with host properties and SN surveys matched throughout to negate systematics. We decrease the uncertainty in the local determination of H 0 to 1 km s−1 Mpc−1 including systematics. We present results for a comprehensive set of nearly 70 analysis variants to explore the sensitivity of H 0 to selections of anchors, SN surveys, redshift ranges, the treatment of Cepheid dust, metallicity, form of the period–luminosity relation, SN color, peculiar-velocity corrections, sample bifurcations, and simultaneous measurement of the expansion history. Our baseline result from the Cepheid–SN Ia sample is H 0 = 73.04 ± 1.04 km s−1 Mpc−1, which includes systematic uncertainties and lies near the median of all analysis variants. We demonstrate consistency with measures from HST of the TRGB between SN Ia hosts and NGC 4258, and include them simultaneously to yield 72.53 ± 0.99 km s−1 Mpc−1. The inclusion of high-redshift SNe Ia yields H 0 = 73.30 ± 1.04 km s−1 Mpc−1 and q 0 = −0.51 ± 0.024. We find a 5σ difference with the prediction of H 0 from Planck cosmic microwave background observations under ΛCDM, with no indication that the discrepancy arises from measurement uncertainties or analysis variations considered to date. The source of this now long-standing discrepancy between direct and cosmological routes to determining H 0 remains unknown.

Here we present 1701 light curves of 1550 unique, spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that will be used to infer cosmological parameters as part of the Pantheon+ SN analysis and the Supernovae and H 0 for the Equation of State of dark energy distance-ladder analysis. This effort is one part of a series of works that perform an extensive review of redshifts, peculiar velocities, photometric calibration, and intrinsic-scatter models of SNe Ia. The total number of light curves, which are compiled across 18 different surveys, is a significant increase from the first Pantheon analysis (1048 SNe), particularly at low redshift (z). Furthermore, unlike in the Pantheon analysis, we include light curves for SNe with z < 0.01 such that SN systematic covariance can be included in a joint measurement of the Hubble constant (H 0) and the dark energy equation-of-state parameter (w). We use the large sample to compare properties of 151 SNe Ia observed by multiple surveys and 12 pairs/triplets of “SN siblings”—SNe found in the same host galaxy. Distance measurements, application of bias corrections, and inference of cosmological parameters are discussed in the companion paper by Brout et al., and the determination of H 0 is discussed by Riess et al. These analyses will measure w with ∼3% precision and H 0 with ∼1 km s−1 Mpc−1 precision.

We present the latest results from the Chicago-Carnegie Hubble Program to measure the Hubble constant, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The overall program aims to calibrate three independent methods: (1) tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) stars, (2) J-region asymptotic giant branch (JAGB) stars, and (3) Cepheids. To date, our program includes 10 nearby galaxies, hosting 11 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) suitable for measuring the Hubble constant (H0). It also includes the galaxy NGC 4258, whose geometric distance provides the zero-point calibration. In this paper, we discuss our results from the TRGB and JAGB methods. Our current best (highest-precision) estimate is H0 = 70.39 ± 1.22 (stat) ± 1.33 (sys) ± 0.70 (σSN), based on the TRGB method alone, with a total of 24 SN Ia calibrators from both Hubble Space Telescope and JWST data. Based on our new JWST data only, and tying into SNe Ia, we find values of H0 = 68.81 ± 1.79 (stat) ± 1.32 (sys) for the TRGB, and H0 = 67.80 ± 2.17 (stat) ± 1.64 (sys) km s−1 Mpc−1 for the JAGB method. The distances measured using the TRGB and the JAGB methods agree, on average, at a level better than 1%, and with the SHoES Cepheid distances at just over the 1% level. Our results are consistent with the current standard Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, without the need for the inclusion of additional new physics. Future JWST data will be required to increase the precision and accuracy of the local distance scale.

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry of 17 Cepheids in open clusters and their cluster mean parallaxes from Gaia EDR3. These parallaxes are more precise than those from individual Cepheids (G < 8 mag) previously used to measure the Hubble constant because they are derived from an average of >300 stars per cluster. Cluster parallaxes also have smaller systematic uncertainty because their stars lie in the range (G > 13 mag) where the Gaia parallax calibration is the most comprehensive. Cepheid photometry employed in the period–luminosity relation was measured using the same HST instrument (WFC3) and filters (F555W, F814W, F160W) as extragalactic Cepheids in Type Ia supernova hosts. We find no evidence of residual parallax offset in this magnitude range, zp = −3 ± 4 μas, consistent with the results from Lindegren et al. and most studies. The Cepheid luminosity (at P = 10 d and solar metallicity) in the HST near-infrared, Wesenheit magnitude system derived from the cluster sample is MH,1W=−5.902±0.025 mag and −5.890 ± 0.018 mag with or without simultaneous determination of a parallax offset, respectively. These results are similar to measurements from field Cepheids, confirming the accuracy of the Gaia parallaxes over a broad range of magnitudes. The SH0ES distance ladder calibrated only from this sample gives H 0 = 72.9 ± 1.3 and H 0 = 73.3 ± 1.1 km s−1 Mpc−1 with or without offset marginalization; combined with all other anchors we find H 0 = 73.01 ± 0.99 and 73.15 ± 0.97 km s−1 Mpc−1, respectively, a 5% or 7% reduction in the uncertainty in H 0 and a ∼5.3σ Hubble tension relative to Planck+ΛCDM. It appears increasingly difficult to reconcile two of the best-measured cosmic scales, parallaxes from Gaia and the angular size of the acoustic scale of the cosmic microwave background, using the simplest form of ΛCDM to connect the two.

We present high-definition observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of >1000 Cepheids in a geometric anchor of the distance ladder, NGC 4258, and in five hosts of eight Type Ia supernovae, a far greater sample than previous studies with JWST. These galaxies individually contain the largest samples of Cepheids, an average of >150 each, producing the strongest statistical comparison to those previously measured with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the near-infrared (NIR). They also span the distance range of those used to determine the Hubble constant with HST, allowing us to search for a distance-dependent bias in HST measurements. The superior resolution of JWST negates crowding noise, the largest source of variance in the NIR Cepheid period–luminosity relations (Leavitt laws) measured with HST. Together with the use of two epochs to constrain Cepheid phases and three filters to remove reddening, we reduce the dispersion in the Cepheid P–L relations by a factor of 2.5. We find no significant difference in the mean distance measurements determined from HST and JWST, with a formal difference of −0.01 ± 0.03 mag. This result is independent of zero-points and analysis variants including metallicity dependence, local crowding, choice of filters, and slope of the relations. We can reject the hypothesis of unrecognized crowding of Cepheid photometry from HST that grows with distance as the cause of the “Hubble tension” at 8.2σ, i.e., greater confidence than that of the Hubble tension itself. We conclude that errors in photometric measurements of Cepheids across the distance ladder do not significantly contribute to the tension.

We cross-check the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cepheid/Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) distance ladder, which yields the most precise local H 0, against early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) subsamples (∼1/4 of the HST sample) from SH0ES and CCHP, calibrated only with NGC 4258. We find HST Cepheid distances agree well (∼1σ) with all combinations of methods, samples, and telescopes. The comparisons explicitly include the measurement uncertainty of each method in NGC 4258, an oft-neglected but dominant term. Mean differences are ∼0.03 mag, far smaller than the 0.18 mag “Hubble tension.” Combining all measures produces the strongest constraint yet on the linearity of HST Cepheid distances, 0.994 ±0.010, ruling out distance-dependent bias or offset as the source of the tension at ∼7σ. However, current JWST subsamples produce large sampling differences in H0 whose size and direction we can directly estimate from the full HST set. We show that ΔH 0 ∼ 2.5 km s−1 Mpc−1 between the CCHP JWST program and the full HST sample is entirely consistent with differences in sample selection. We combine all JWST samples into a new distance-limited set of 16 SNe Ia at D ≤ 25 Mpc. Using JWST Cepheids, JAGB, and tip of the red giant branch, we find 73.4 ± 2.1, 72.2 ± 2.2, and 72.1 ± 2.2 km s−1 Mpc−1, respectively. Explicitly accounting for common supernovae, the three-method JWST result is H 0 = 72.6 ± 2.0, similar to H 0 = 72.8 expected from HST Cepheids in the same galaxies. The small JWST sample trivially lowers the Hubble tension significance due to small-sample statistics and is not yet competitive with the HST set (42 SNe Ia and 4 anchors), which yields 73.2 ± 0.9. Still, the joint JWST sample provides important cross-checks that the HST data pass.

We present phase-corrected photometric measurements of 88 Cepheid variables in the core of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), the first sample obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera 3, in the same homogeneous photometric system as past measurements of all Cepheids on the SH0ES distance ladder. We limit the sample to the inner core and model the geometry to reduce errors in prior studies due to the nontrivial depth of this cloud. Without crowding present in ground-based studies, we obtain an unprecedentedly low dispersion of 0.102 mag for a period–luminosity (P–L) relation in the SMC, approaching the width of the Cepheid instability strip. The new geometric distance to 15 late-type detached eclipsing binaries in the SMC offers a rare opportunity to improve the foundation of the distance ladder, increasing the number of calibrating galaxies from three to four. With the SMC as the only anchor, we find H 0 = 74.1 ± 2.1 km s−1 Mpc−1. Combining these four geometric distances with our HST photometry of SMC Cepheids, we obtain H 0 = 73.17 ± 0.86 km s−1 Mpc−1. By including the SMC in the distance ladder, we also double the range where the metallicity ([Fe/H]) dependence of the Cepheid P–L relation can be calibrated, and we find γ = −0.234 ± 0.052 mag dex−1. Our local measurement of H 0 based on Cepheids and Type Ia supernovae shows a 5.8σ tension with the value inferred from the cosmic microwave background assuming a Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology, reinforcing the possibility of physics beyond ΛCDM.