Rock 'n' Roll Solutions to the Hubble Tension

Abstract

Local measurements of the Hubble parameter are increasingly in tension with the value inferred from a $\Lambda$CDM fit to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. In this paper, we construct scenarios in which evolving scalar fields significantly ease this tension by adding energy to the Universe around recombination in a narrow redshift window. We identify solutions with scalar field potential $V \propto \phi^{2n}$ that have simple asymptotic behavior, both oscillatory (rocking) and rolling. These solutions consistently describe both the field evolution and its fluctuations without approximation. Our findings differ qualitatively from some of the existing literature, which rely upon a coarse-grained fluid description. Combining CMB data with low-redshift measurements, the best fit model has $n=2$ with a significantly higher value of the Hubble constant as compared to a $\Lambda$CDM fit to the same data. Future measurements of the late-time amplitude of matter fluctuations and of the reionization history could help distinguish these models from competing solutions.