The Source of Tension in the Measurements of the Hubble Constant

Abstract

Through an analytical approach, we show that the Hubble constant is not unique and has two distinct values. The first of these values is consistent with the measurements by Riess et al., while the second value is consistent with the measurements by the Planck Collaboration. This is a new alternative approach that does not depend on the standard ΛCDM model and its constraints. Our analysis shows that the tension is due to a geometric mismatch in the comparison of the measurements which is equal to the temporal diameter of the surface of last scattering. Since the calculated values are essentially identical to the corresponding measured values, we conclude that the non-congruency of the ending point of the Riess et al. measurement and the starting point of the Planck Collaboration measurement, on the surface of last scattering, is the source of tension in the measurements. Further, the surprising consistency of the calculated values of the Hubble constant with the corresponding measured values confirms both the extreme fidelity of the measurements and the validity of the proposed approach.