Gravitational waves, CMB polarization, and the Hubble tension. (arXiv:1908.06100v1 [astro-ph.CO])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Jeong_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">Donghui Jeong</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kamionkowski_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Marc Kamionkowski</a>
The discrepancy between the Hubble parameter inferred from local measurements
and that from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) has motivated careful
scrutiny of the assumptions that enter both analyses. Here we point out that
the location of the recombination peak in the CMB B-mode power spectrum is
determined by the light horizon at the surface of last scatter and thus
provides an alternative early-Universe standard ruler. It can thus be used as a
cross-check for the standard ruler inferred from the acoustic peaks in the CMB
temperature power spectrum and to test various explanations for the Hubble
tension. The measurement can potentially be carried out with a precision of
$lesssim2%$ with stage-IV B-mode experiments. The measurement can also be
used to measure the propagation speed of gravitational waves in the early
Universe.
The discrepancy between the Hubble parameter inferred from local measurements
and that from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) has motivated careful
scrutiny of the assumptions that enter both analyses. Here we point out that
the location of the recombination peak in the CMB B-mode power spectrum is
determined by the light horizon at the surface of last scatter and thus
provides an alternative early-Universe standard ruler. It can thus be used as a
cross-check for the standard ruler inferred from the acoustic peaks in the CMB
temperature power spectrum and to test various explanations for the Hubble
tension. The measurement can potentially be carried out with a precision of
$lesssim2%$ with stage-IV B-mode experiments. The measurement can also be
used to measure the propagation speed of gravitational waves in the early
Universe.
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