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    Revisiting cosmic distance duality with megamasers and DESI DR2 observations: Model-independent constraints on early-late calibration

    Brijesh Kanodia1,2,*, Ujjwal Upadhyay1,3,†, and Yashi Tiwari1,3,‡

    • *Contact author: brijeshk@iisc.ac.in
    • †Contact author: ujjwalu@iisc.ac.in
    • ‡Contact author: yashitiwari@iisc.ac.in

    Phys. Rev. D 113, 023505 – Published 7 January, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/h3f5-7lcr

    Abstract

    The cosmic distance duality relation (CDDR) connects the angular diameter distance (dA) and the luminosity distance (dL) at a given redshift. This fundamental relation holds in any metric theory of gravity, provided that photon number is conserved and light propagates along null geodesics. A deviation from this relation could indicate new physics beyond the standard cosmological model. In this work, we test the validity of the CDDR at very low redshifts (z<0.04) by combining dA from the Megamaser Cosmology Project with dL from the Pantheon + sample of type Ia supernovae (SNIa). We further incorporate high-redshift baryon acoustic oscillations- (BAO) based dA measurements from DESI DR2 in combination with SNIa data, highlighting the critical role of the rd−Mb (early-late) calibration in testing the CDDR using these two probes. Assuming CDDR holds, we perform a Bayesian analysis to derive model-independent constraints on the calibration parameters. Using only BAO and SNIa data, we observe a strong degeneracy between rd and Mb. However, the inclusion of calibration-free megamaser measurements breaks this degeneracy, enabling independent constraints without relying on a specific cosmological model or distance-ladder techniques. Additionally, we present a forecast incorporating the expected precision from future megamaser and SNIa observations, demonstrating their potential to significantly tighten constraints on early-late calibration parameters, under the assumption of validity of CDDR.

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