The Concerning SH₀ES Hubble Constant

2024/01/23 by Majaess, Daniel
#Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)

paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2401.12964

Abstract

Concerns are raised regarding the SH₀ES results, and the present H₀ controversy. The SH₀ES H₀ ≃ 73 km/s/Mpc has remained relatively unaltered across 18 years (2005-2023), despite marked shifts in maser and Cepheid distances to the keystone galaxy NGC4258 (M106), and changes in the slope, zeropoint, metallicity, and extinction terms tied to the Leavitt Law, and notwithstanding uncertain photometry for remote Cepheids spanning galaxies with highly inhomogeneous crowding and surface brightness profiles. Concerns raised regarding the SH₀ES findings by fellow researchers are likewise highlighted. An independent blind assessment of the entire suite of raw HST Cepheid images is warranted, while being mindful of a priori constraints and confirmation bias that unwittingly impact conclusions.

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