The model-independent evidence of cosmic acceleration revisited (2409.13399v2)

Abstract: We investigate the null tests of cosmic accelerated expansion by using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) measurements released by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We find that the DESI BAO data provide strong evidence that the Universe has undergone accelerated expansion within the redshift range [0, 1.317]. Using Gaussian Process, we reconstruct the deceleration parameter $q(z)$ from the DESI BAO $F_{AP}(z)$ data, revealing that accelerated expansion persisted until $z \lesssim 0.7$ with a 99.7\% confidence level. Additionally, to provide insights into the Hubble tension problem, we propose to reconstruct $E(z)$ from the DESI BAO $F_{AP}$ data and then combine the reconstructed $E(z)$ with $D_H/r_d$ data to derive the model independent result $r_d h=100.3\pm 1.5$ Mpc. The result is consistent with that obtained from the measurements on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies using the $\Lambda$CDM model. We also propose a model-independent method for reconstructing $D_M(z)$ from SNe Ia data and combining the result with DESI BAO data of $D_M/r_d$ to constrain the value of $r_d$. We find that the value of $r_d$ derived from this model-independent method is smaller than that obtained from CMB measurements, with a significant discrepancy of at least 4.17$\sigma$. All the conclusions drawn in this paper are independent of cosmological models and gravitational theories.