Cosmological Distance Measurements

Measurements of the distance to extragalactic sources allow us to infer the major energy constituents of our Universe.

Two decades ago such measurements revealed that most of the energy in the Universe is in `dark energy’ — a discovery that has had immense implications for fundamental physics. 

Currently there is a 10% discrepancy in cosmic distances inferred with the two most accepted techniques, despite 1-2% errors claimed on both methods, with the model that is most successful at reconciling this discrepancy being an earlier era where something like dark energy was again important. 

Interpreting mild tensions can be challenging and ideally a much more precise measurement would be performed. Such a measurement could also lead to entirely new discoveries.  READ MORE...