English

Null test for cosmic curvature using Gaussian process

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics 2023-04-14 v3 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Phenomenology

Abstract

The cosmic curvature ΩK,0\Omega_{K,0}, which determines the spatial geometry of the universe, is an important parameter in modern cosmology. Any deviation from ΩK,0=0\Omega_{K,0}=0 would have a profound impact on primordial inflation paradigm and fundamental physics. In this work, we adopt a cosmological model-independent method to test whether ΩK,0\Omega_{K,0} deviates from zero. We use the Gaussian process to reconstruct the reduced Hubble parameter E(z)E(z) and the derivative of distance D(z)D'(z) from observational data, and then determine ΩK,0\Omega_{K,0} with a null test relation. The cosmic chronometer (CC) Hubble data, baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) Hubble data, and supernovae Pantheon sample are considered. Our result is consistent with a spatially flat universe within the domain of reconstruction 0<z<2.30<z<2.3, at the 1σ1\sigma confidence level. In the redshift interval 0<z<10<z<1, the result favors a flat universe, while at z>1z>1, it tends to favor a closed universe. In this sense, there is still a possibility for a closed universe. We also carry out the null test of the cosmic curvature at 0<z<4.50<z<4.5 using the simulated gravitational wave standard sirens, CC+BAO and redshift drift Hubble data. The result shows that in the future, with the synergy of multiple high-quality observations, we can tightly constrain the spatial geometry or exclude the flat universe.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2209.08502,
  title  = {Null test for cosmic curvature using Gaussian process},
  author = {Peng-Ju Wu and Jing-Zhao Qi and Xin Zhang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2209.08502},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

11 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Chinese Physics C

R2 v1 2026-06-28T01:31:26.697Z