Model independent H(z) reconstruction using the cosmic inverse distance ladder

Recent distance ladder determinations of the Hubble constant H-0 disagree at about the 3.5 sigma level with the value determined from Planck measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) assuming a ACDM(1) cosmology. This discrepancy has prompted speculation that new physics might be required beyond that assumed in the ACDM model. In this paper, we apply the inverse distance ladder to fit a parametric form of H(z) to baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and Type la supernova (SNe) data together with priors on the sound horizon at the end of the radiation drag epoch, r(d). We apply priors on r(d), based on inferences from either Planck or the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), and demonstrate that these values are consistent with CMB-independent determination of rd derived from measurements of the primordial deuterium abundance, BAO, and supernova data assuming the ACDM cosmology.The H(z) constraints that we derive are independent of detailed physics within the dark sector at low redshifts, relying only on the validity of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric of General Relativity. For each assumed prior on r(d), we find consistency with the inferred value of H-0 and the Planck ACDM value and corresponding tension with the distance ladder estimate.