Modified Teleparallel $f(T)$ Gravity, DESI BAO and the $H_0$ Tension

Abstract

We investigate whether late-time modifications of gravity in the teleparallel framework can impact the current tension in the Hubble constant $H_0$, focusing on $f(T)$ cosmology as a minimal and well-controlled extension of General Relativity. We consider three representative $f(T)$ parametrisations that recover the teleparallel equivalent of General Relativity at early times and deviate from it only at late epochs. The models are confronted with unanchored Pantheon+ Type~Ia supernovae, DESI DR2 baryon acoustic oscillations, compressed Planck cosmic microwave background distance priors, and redshift-space distortion data, allowing us to jointly probe the background expansion and the growth of cosmic structures. Two of the three models partially shift the inferred value of $H_0$ towards local measurements, while the third worsens the discrepancy. This behaviour is directly linked to the effective torsional dynamics, with phantom-like regimes favouring higher $H_0$ and quintessence-like regimes producing the opposite effect. A global statistical comparison shows that the minimal $f(T)$ extensions considered here are not favoured over $\Lambda$CDM by the combined data. Nevertheless, our results demonstrate that late-time torsional modifications can non-trivially redistribute current cosmological tensions among the background and growth sectors.

arXiv comment17 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, RevTex 4-2. Published in Universe as an invited contribution to the Research Topic: Exploring and Constraining Alternative Theories of Gravity

References in corpus (76)

• Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant
• Measurements of Omega and Lambda from 42 High-Redshift Supernovae
• Seven-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological Interpretation
• Planck 2013 results. XVI. Cosmological parameters
• Dynamics of dark energy
• The Cosmological Constant and Dark Energy
• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Preliminary Maps and Basic Results
• Detection of the Baryon Acoustic Peak in the Large-Scale Correlation Function of SDSS Luminous Red Galaxies
• Unified cosmic history in modified gravity: from F(R) theory to Lorentz non-invariant models
• Modified Gravity and Cosmology
• f(R) theories
• Extended Theories of Gravity
• The Cosmological Constant
• Baryonic Features in the Matter Transfer Function
• Modified gravity with negative and positive powers of the curvature: unification of the inflation and of the cosmic acceleration
• The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: Power-spectrum analysis of the final dataset and cosmological implications
• Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 Galaxy Sample
• The 3D power spectrum of galaxies from the SDSS
• f(T) teleparallel gravity and cosmology
• The Pantheon+ Analysis: Cosmological Constraints
• Dark torsion as the cosmic speed-up
• The Temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background
• The Cosmic Triangle: Revealing the State of the Universe
• Einstein's Other Gravity and the Acceleration of the Universe
• DESI 2024 VI: Cosmological Constraints from the Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
• Information criteria for astrophysical model selection
• Constraining Cosmological Parameters Based on Relative Galaxy Ages
• Coincident General Relativity
• Supernova Constraints and Systematic Uncertainties from the First 3 Years of the Supernova Legacy Survey
• Extended Theories of Gravity and their Cosmological and Astrophysical Applications
• Cosmic Distances Calibrated to 1% Precision with Gaia EDR3 Parallaxes and Hubble Space Telescope Photometry of 75 Milky Way Cepheids Confirm Tension with LambdaCDM
• Cobaya: Code for Bayesian Analysis of hierarchical physical models
• Efficient sampling of fast and slow cosmological parameters
• Cosmology in $f(Q)$ geometry
• DESI DR2 Results II: Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Cosmological Constraints
• Teleparallel Gravity: From Theory to Cosmology
• Equation of state for dark energy in $f(T)$ gravity
• Cosmological perturbations in f(T) gravity
• Observational constraints of $f(Q)$ gravity
• Modified teleparallel theories of gravity
• First evidence that non-metricity f(Q) gravity could challenge $\Lambda$CDM
• The CosmoVerse White Paper: Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics
• Modified Gravity and Cosmology: An Update by the CANTATA Network
• The dynamical behavior of $f(T)$ theory
• Growth factor in f(T) gravity
• Testing $F(Q)$ gravity with redshift space distortions
• Signatures of $f(Q)$-gravity in cosmology
• Viable f(T) models are practically indistinguishable from LCDM
• On the covariance of teleparallel gravity theories
• Accelerated Expansion of the Universe in Non-minimally Coupled Gravity
• Cosmography in $f(Q)$ gravity
• Observational constraints on cosmological solutions of $f(Q)$ theories
• Can Horndeski Theory be recast using Teleparallel Gravity?
• Cosmological perturbations in modified teleparallel gravity models
• New observational constraints on f(T) gravity from cosmic chronometers
• New models and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints in $f(Q)$ gravity
• Cosmological Perturbation in f(T) Gravity Revisited
• KiDS-Legacy: Cosmological constraints from cosmic shear with the complete Kilo-Degree Survey
• The role of the boundary term in $f(Q,B)$ symmetric teleparallel gravity
• Designing a space-based galaxy redshift survey to probe dark energy
• Internal Robustness of Growth Rate data
• Non-metricity with bounday terms: $f(Q,C)$ gravity and cosmology
• Reconstruction of $\Lambda$CDM Universe in $f(Q)$ Gravity
• Phase Portraits of general f(T) Cosmology
• Robust and model-independent cosmological constraints from distance measurements
• Constraining f(T) gravity by dynamical system analysis
• Bianchi identities in f(T) gravity: paving the way to confrontation with astrophysics
• Testing $\Lambda$-Free f(Q) Cosmology
• Exploring the stability of $f(Q)$ cosmology near general relativity limit with different connections
• Mapping the ${\Lambda }_{\mathrm{s}}$CDM scenario to $f(T)$ modified gravity: Effects on structure growth rate
• Scalar induced gravitational waves in modified teleparallel gravity theories
• Unexplored regions in teleparallel $f(T)$ gravity: Sign-changing dark energy density
• Can f(R) gravity contribute to (dark) radiation?
• f(T) Quantum Cosmology
• Distinguish the $f(T)$ model from $\Lambda$CDM model with Gravitational Wave observations
• Linear Perturbations and Stability Analysis in $f(T)$ Braneworld Scenario

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Dark Energy in the DESI Era: A Brief Review of Evidence, Beyond-$\Lambda$CDM Interpretations, and Tensions