Reionization and the Hubble Constant: Correlations in the Cosmic Microwave Background

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Allali, Itamar J., Singh, Praniti, Fan, JiJi, Li, Lingfeng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Allali, Itamar J.
Singh, Praniti
Fan, JiJi
Li, Lingfeng
author_facet Allali, Itamar J.
Singh, Praniti
Fan, JiJi
Li, Lingfeng
contents Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has found early galaxies producing photons from more efficient ionization than previously assumed. This may suggest a reionization process with a larger reionization optical depth, $τ_{\rm reio}$, in some mild disagreement with that inferred from measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB). Intriguingly, the CMB would prefer larger values of $τ_{\rm reio}$, more consistent with the recent JWST hint, if the large-scale measurements (i.e. $\ell <30$) of E-mode polarization are removed. In addition, $τ_{\rm reio}$ has an indirect correlation with today's Hubble constant $H_0$ in $Λ$CDM. Motivated by these interesting observations, we investigate and reveal the underlying mechanism for this correlation, using the CMB dataset without the low-$\ell$ polarization data as a proxy for a potential cosmology with a larger $τ_{\rm reio}$. We further explore how this correlation may impact the Hubble tension between early and late universe measurements of $H_0$, in $Λ$CDM as well as two proposals to alleviate the Hubble tension: the dark radiation (DR) and early dark energy (EDE) models. We find that the Hubble tension gets further reduced mildly for almost all cases due to the larger $τ_{\rm reio}$ and its positive correlation with $H_0$, with either the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) data before those from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) or the DESI data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_05691
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Reionization and the Hubble Constant: Correlations in the Cosmic Microwave Background
Allali, Itamar J.
Singh, Praniti
Fan, JiJi
Li, Lingfeng
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has found early galaxies producing photons from more efficient ionization than previously assumed. This may suggest a reionization process with a larger reionization optical depth, $τ_{\rm reio}$, in some mild disagreement with that inferred from measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB). Intriguingly, the CMB would prefer larger values of $τ_{\rm reio}$, more consistent with the recent JWST hint, if the large-scale measurements (i.e. $\ell <30$) of E-mode polarization are removed. In addition, $τ_{\rm reio}$ has an indirect correlation with today's Hubble constant $H_0$ in $Λ$CDM. Motivated by these interesting observations, we investigate and reveal the underlying mechanism for this correlation, using the CMB dataset without the low-$\ell$ polarization data as a proxy for a potential cosmology with a larger $τ_{\rm reio}$. We further explore how this correlation may impact the Hubble tension between early and late universe measurements of $H_0$, in $Λ$CDM as well as two proposals to alleviate the Hubble tension: the dark radiation (DR) and early dark energy (EDE) models. We find that the Hubble tension gets further reduced mildly for almost all cases due to the larger $τ_{\rm reio}$ and its positive correlation with $H_0$, with either the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) data before those from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) or the DESI data.
title Reionization and the Hubble Constant: Correlations in the Cosmic Microwave Background
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.05691