Related papers: Testing Distance Estimators with the Fundamental M…
We exploit cosmological-model independent measurements of the expansion history of the Universe to provide a cosmic distance ladder. These are supernovae type Ia used as standard candles (at redshift between 0.01 and 1.3) and baryon…
General relativity reproduces main current cosmological observations, assuming the validity of cosmic distance duality relation (CDDR) at all scales and epochs. However, CDDR is poorly tested in the redshift interval between the farthest…
Estimating a distance by inverting a parallax is only valid in the absence of noise. As most stars in the Gaia catalogue will have non-negligible fractional parallax errors, we must treat distance estimation as a constrained inference…
We measured high-quality surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distances for a sample of 63 massive early-type galaxies using the WFC3/IR camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. The median uncertainty on the SBF distance measurements is 0.085…
We present a compilation of Cepheid distance moduli and data for four secondary distance indicators that employ stars in the old stellar populations: the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF), the globular cluster luminosity function…
Photometric measurements show that as a group nearby type Ia supernovae follow similar lightcurves and reach similar peak magnitudes Thus, these supernovae can serve as standard candles or calibrated candles at cosmological distances.…
Because Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are not perfect standard candles, it is important to be able to use distance-independent observables (DIOs) to define subsets of SNe Ia that are ``nearly standard candles'' or to correct SN Ia absolute…
The quantitative spectral analysis of medium resolution optical spectra of A and B supergiants obtained with DEIMOS and ESI at the Keck Telescopes is used to determine a distance modulus of 24.93 +/- 0.11 mag for the Triangulum Galaxy M33.…
The study of supernova siblings, supernovae with the same host galaxy, is an important avenue for understanding and measuring the properties of Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) light curves (LCs). Thus far, sibling analyses have mainly focused on…
The extragalactic distance scale is perhaps the most important application of stellar distance indicators. Among these, classical Cepheids are high-accuracy standard candles that support a $1.4\%$ measurement of Hubble's constant, $H_0$.…
We estimate the distance modulus to long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) using the Type I Fundamental Plane, a correlation between the spectral peak energy $E_{\rm p}$, the peak luminosity $L_{\rm p}$, and the luminosity time $T_{\rm L}$ ($\equiv…
Constraints on dark energy from current observational data are sensitive to how distances are measured from Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data. We find that flux-averaging of SNe Ia can be used to test the presence of unknown systematic…
Recent cosmological tensions pose difficulties for $\Lambda$CDM. Forthcoming facilities will be able to check whether these tensions result from systematic effects or indeed with the $\Lambda$CDM model itself. However, these new data will…
Cepheids are the pillar of the extragalactic distance scale, but their reach in distance is not sufficient to calibrate H_0. Yet HST has provided Cepheid distances to eight galaxies which have produced SNe Ia. The latter are used as nearly…
A major recent evelopment in observational cosmology has been an accurate measurement of the luminosity distance-redshift relation out to redshifts z=0.8 from Type Ia supernova standard candles. The results have been argued as evidence for…
We use distance measurements in the nearby universe to carry out new tests of gravity, surpassing other astrophysical tests by over two orders of magnitude for chameleon theories. The three nearby distance indicators -- cepheids, tip of the…
Type Ia Supernovae, calibrated by classical distance ladder methods, can be used, in conjunction with galaxy survey two-point correlation functions, to empirically determine the size of the sound horizon $r_{\rm s}$. Assumption of the…
To use type Ia supernovae as standard candles for cosmology we need accurate broadband magnitudes. In practice the observed magnitude may differ from the ideal magnitude-redshift relationship either through intrinsic inhomogeneities in the…
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), can be employed as standardized candles, extending the distance ladder beyond Supernovae Type Ia (SNe Ia, $z=2.26$). We standardize GRBs using the 3D fundamental plane relation (the Dainotti relation) among the…
We study the implications of a combined analysis of cosmic standard candles and standard rulers on the viability of cosmological models beyond the cosmological concordance model. To this end, we employ well-established data in the form of…