A null test of the Hubble tension
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arXiv
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| Hauptverfasser: | , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866918313820422144 |
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| author | Kouniatalis, Gerasimos Saridakis, Emmanuel N. |
| author_facet | Kouniatalis, Gerasimos Saridakis, Emmanuel N. |
| contents | The origin of the Hubble tension remains one of the central open problems in modern cosmology, with competing explanations invoking either early-Universe physics, late-time modifications of cosmic expansion, or unresolved observational systematics. In this Letter we propose a new, purely geometric null test of the late-time expansion history that is exactly independent of the Hubble constant. By combining strong-lensing time-delay distances with gravitational-wave standard-siren luminosity distances, we construct a dimensionless ratio that depends only on the redshift dependence of the expansion rate and can be both predicted from early-Universe data and measured directly at late times, without relying on the cosmic distance ladder or the sound horizon. We show that the comparison between the early- and late-time determinations of this ratio provides a transparent consistency test of the standard cosmological expansion. When combined with an independent standard-siren measurement of $H_{0}$, this framework allows one to unambiguously distinguish between early- and late-time origins of the Hubble tension. With the forthcoming detection of lensed gravitational-wave standard sirens, the proposed test provides a timely and robust framework for probing this long-standing cosmological puzzle. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_22043 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A null test of the Hubble tension Kouniatalis, Gerasimos Saridakis, Emmanuel N. Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology The origin of the Hubble tension remains one of the central open problems in modern cosmology, with competing explanations invoking either early-Universe physics, late-time modifications of cosmic expansion, or unresolved observational systematics. In this Letter we propose a new, purely geometric null test of the late-time expansion history that is exactly independent of the Hubble constant. By combining strong-lensing time-delay distances with gravitational-wave standard-siren luminosity distances, we construct a dimensionless ratio that depends only on the redshift dependence of the expansion rate and can be both predicted from early-Universe data and measured directly at late times, without relying on the cosmic distance ladder or the sound horizon. We show that the comparison between the early- and late-time determinations of this ratio provides a transparent consistency test of the standard cosmological expansion. When combined with an independent standard-siren measurement of $H_{0}$, this framework allows one to unambiguously distinguish between early- and late-time origins of the Hubble tension. With the forthcoming detection of lensed gravitational-wave standard sirens, the proposed test provides a timely and robust framework for probing this long-standing cosmological puzzle. |
| title | A null test of the Hubble tension |
| topic | Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22043 |