- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Bimetric gravity improves the fit to DESI BAO and eases the Hubble tension

Marcus Högås* and Edvard Mörtsell†

  • Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Albanova University Center 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden

  • *Contact author: marcus.hogas@fysik.su.se
  • †Contact author: edvard@fysik.su.se
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 112, 103515 – Published 12 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/zz5k-kzzk

Abstract

We investigate whether the latest combination of the dark energy spectroscopic instrument (DESI) Year 3 data release (DR2) baryon acoustic oscillation measurements, cosmic microwave background (CMB) data (Planck 2018+ACT), and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) compilations (Pantheon+, Union3, and DES Y5) favor a dynamical dark energy component, and explore if such a scenario can simultaneously help resolve the Hubble tension. We contrast two frameworks: the widely used phenomenological w0wa cold dark matter (CDM) model, and bimetric gravity—a fundamental modification of general relativity that naturally gives rise to phantom dark energy. The w0waCDM model is moderately preferred over ΛCDM, at the 2–4σ level, when fitting DESI DR2 + CMB+SNe Ia, but it exacerbates the Hubble tension. By comparison, bimetric gravity provides a modest improvement in fit quality, at the 1σ level, but, by inferring H0=69.0±0.4  km/s/Mpc, it partially eases the Hubble tension, from a 5σ discrepancy to a 3.7σ tension. Including locally calibrated SNe Ia brings the overall preference for the bimetric model over ΛCDM to the 2σ level, comparable to that of the w0waCDM model when including the local SN Ia calibration.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (112)

  1. A. Einstein, Sitzungsber. König. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. 142 (1917).
  2. S. Perlmutter et al. (Supernova Cosmology Project Collaboration), Astrophys. J. 517, 565 (1999).
  3. A. G. Riess et al. (Supernova Search Team Collaboration), Astron. J. 116, 1009 (1998).
  4. K. Lodha et al. (DESI Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 112, 083511 (2025).
  5. M. Abdul Karim et al. (DESI Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 112, 083515 (2025).
  6. S. Dhawan, B. Popovic, and A. Goobar, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 540, 1626 (2025).
  7. I. D. Gialamas, G. Hütsi, K. Kannike, A. Racioppi, M. Raidal, M. Vasar, and H. Veermäe, Phys. Rev. D 111, 043540 (2025).
  8. L. Huang, R.-G. Cai, and S.-J. Wang, Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 68, 100413 (2025).
  9. S. Afroz and S. Mukherjee, arXiv:2504.16868.
  10. S. Dhawan and E. Mörtsell, arXiv:2506.22599.
  11. B. Popovic et al., arXiv:2506.05471.
  12. W. Giarè, T. Mahassen, E. Di Valentino, and S. Pan, Phys. Dark Universe 48, 101906 (2025).
  13. W. Giarè, Phys. Rev. D 112, 023508 (2025).
  14. E. Özülker, E. Di Valentino, and W. Giarè, arXiv:2506.19053.
  15. A. González-Fuentes and A. Gómez-Valent, arXiv:2506.11758.
  16. M. Scherer, M. A. Sabogal, R. C. Nunes, and A. De Felice, Phys. Rev. D 112, 043513 (2025).
  17. S. Roy Choudhury, Astrophys. J. Lett. 986, L31 (2025).
  18. S. M. Carroll, M. Hoffman, and M. Trodden, Phys. Rev. D 68, 023509 (2003).
  19. A. Vikman, Phys. Rev. D 71, 023515 (2005).
  20. T. Clifton, P. G. Ferreira, A. Padilla, and C. Skordis, Phys. Rep. 513, 1 (2012).
  21. W. Hu, Phys. Rev. D 71, 047301 (2005).
  22. M. Ishak, Living Rev. Relativity 22, 1 (2019).
  23. M. Koussour, N. Myrzakulov, A. H. A. Alfedeel, and A. Abebe, Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2023, 113E01 (2023).
  24. W. J. Wolf, P. G. Ferreira, and C. García-García, Phys. Rev. D 111, L041303 (2025).
  25. A. Gómez-Valent and A. González-Fuentes, arXiv:2508.00621.
  26. N. Aghanim et al. (Planck Collaboration), Astron. Astrophys. 641, A6 (2020); 652, C4(E) (2021).
  27. A. G. Riess et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 934, L7 (2022).
  28. E. Mortsell, A. Goobar, J. Johansson, and S. Dhawan, Astrophys. J. 933, 212 (2022).
  29. E. Mortsell, A. Goobar, J. Johansson, and S. Dhawan, Astrophys. J. 935, 58 (2022).
  30. M. Högås and E. Mörtsell, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 538, 883 (2025).
  31. E. Di Valentino, O. Mena, S. Pan, L. Visinelli, W. Yang, A. Melchiorri, D. F. Mota, A. G. Riess, and J. Silk, Classical Quantum Gravity 38, 153001 (2021).
  32. N. Schöneberg, G. Franco Abellán, A. Pérez Sánchez, S. J. Witte, V. Poulin, and J. Lesgourgues, Phys. Rep. 984, 1 (2022).
  33. E. Abdalla et al., J. High Energy Astrophys. 34, 49 (2022).
  34. E. Di Valentino et al. (CosmoVerse Collaboration), Phys. Dark Universe 49, 101965 (2025).
  35. Y.-H. Pang, X. Zhang, and Q.-G. Huang, Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 68, 280410 (2025).
  36. N. Aghanim et al. (Planck Collaboration), Astron. Astrophys. 641, A5 (2020).
  37. M. S. Madhavacheril et al. (ACT Collaboration), Astrophys. J. 962, 113 (2024).
  38. P. Bansal and D. Huterer, Phys. Rev. D 112, 023528 (2025).
  39. D. Scolnic et al., Astrophys. J. 938, 113 (2022).
  40. D. Brout et al., Astrophys. J. 938, 110 (2022).
  41. D. Rubin et al., arXiv:2311.12098.
  42. T. M. C. Abbott et al. (DES Collaboration), Astrophys. J. Lett. 973, L14 (2024).
  43. S. F. Hassan and R. A. Rosen, J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2012) 126.
  44. M. Högås and E. Mörtsell, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 05 (2021) 001.
  45. S. F. Hassan, A. Schmidt-May, and M. von Strauss, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2013) 086.
  46. M. Fierz and W. Pauli, Proc. R. Soc. A 173, 211 (1939).
  47. M. Högås and E. Mörtsell, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 05 (2021) 002.
  48. E. Mortsell, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 02 (2017) 051.
  49. J. Smirnov, arXiv:2505.03870.
  50. J. Goodman and J. Weare, Commun. Appl. Math. Comput. Sci. 5, 65 (2010).
  51. D. Foreman-Mackey, D. W. Hogg, D. Lang, and J. Goodman, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 125, 306 (2013).
  52. A. Higuchi, Nucl. Phys. B282, 397 (1987).
  53. M. Fasiello and A. J. Tolley, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 12 (2013) 002.
  54. A. De Felice, A. E. Gümrükçüoğlu, S. Mukohyama, N. Tanahashi, and T. Tanaka, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 06 (2014) 037.
  55. E. Ozulker, Phys. Rev. D 106, 063509 (2022).
  56. W. L. Freedman et al., Astrophys. J. 882, 34 (2019).
  57. P. Carter, F. Beutler, W. J. Percival, J. DeRose, R. H. Wechsler, and C. Zhao, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 494, 2076 (2020).
  58. J. Pan, D. Huterer, F. Andrade-Oliveira, and C. Avestruz, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 06 (2024) 051.
  59. S. Sanz-Wuhl, H. Gil-Marín, A. J. Cuesta, and L. Verde, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 05 (2024) 116.
  60. A. Pérez-Fernández et al. (DESI Collaboration), J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 01 (2025) 144.
  61. E. Sanchez, A. Carnero, J. Garcia-Bellido, E. Gaztanaga, F. de Simoni, M. Crocce, A. Cabre, P. Fosalba, and D. Alonso, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 411, 277 (2011).
  62. G. C. Carvalho, A. Bernui, M. Benetti, J. C. Carvalho, and J. S. Alcaniz, Phys. Rev. D 93, 023530 (2016).
  63. J. S. Alcaniz, G. C. Carvalho, A. Bernui, J. C. Carvalho, and M. Benetti, Fundam. Theor. Phys. 187, 11 (2017).
  64. E. de Carvalho, A. Bernui, G. C. Carvalho, C. P. Novaes, and H. S. Xavier, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2018) 064.
  65. G. C. Carvalho, A. Bernui, M. Benetti, J. C. Carvalho, E. de Carvalho, and J. S. Alcaniz, Astropart. Phys. 119, 102432 (2020).
  66. R. C. Nunes, S. K. Yadav, J. F. Jesus, and A. Bernui, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 497, 2133 (2020).
  67. E. de Carvalho, A. Bernui, F. Avila, C. P. Novaes, and J. P. Nogueira-Cavalcante, Astron. Astrophys. 649, A20 (2021).
  68. X. Li and A. Shafieloo, Astrophys. J. Lett. 883, L3 (2019).
  69. X. Li and A. Shafieloo, Astrophys. J. 902, 58 (2020).
  70. W. Yang, E. Di Valentino, S. Pan, A. Shafieloo, and X. Li, Phys. Rev. D 104, 063521 (2021).
  71. O. Akarsu, S. Kumar, E. Özülker, and J. A. Vazquez, Phys. Rev. D 104, 123512 (2021).
  72. O. Akarsu, S. Kumar, E. Özülker, J. A. Vazquez, and A. Yadav, Phys. Rev. D 108, 023513 (2023).
  73. O. Akarsu, E. Di Valentino, S. Kumar, R. C. Nunes, J. A. Vazquez, and A. Yadav, arXiv:2307.10899.
  74. A. Gomez-Valent and J. Sola Peracaula, Astrophys. J. 975, 64 (2024).
  75. A. Hernández-Almada, M. L. Mendoza-Martínez, M. A. García-Aspeitia, and V. Motta, Phys. Dark Universe 46, 101668 (2024).
  76. S. Dwivedi and M. Högås, Universe 10, 406 (2024).
  77. G. ’t Hooft, NATO Sci. Ser. B 59, 135 (1980).
  78. K. Max, M. Platscher, and J. Smirnov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 111101 (2017).
  79. K. Max, M. Platscher, and J. Smirnov, Phys. Rev. D 97, 064009 (2018).
  80. J. Beltrán Jiménez, J. M. Ezquiaga, and L. Heisenberg, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2020) 027.
  81. D. Brizuela, M. de Cesare, and A. S. Oficial, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2024) 004.
  82. D. Brizuela, M. de Cesare, and A. Soler Oficial, arXiv:2507.11526.
  83. M. S. Volkov, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2012) 035.
  84. D. Comelli, M. Crisostomi, F. Nesti, and L. Pilo, J. High Energy Phys. 03 (2012) 067; 06 (2012) 020(E).
  85. M. von Strauss, A. Schmidt-May, J. Enander, E. Mortsell, and S. F. Hassan, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2012) 042.
  86. S. Sjors and E. Mortsell, J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2013) 080.
  87. M. S. Volkov, Phys. Rev. D 85, 124043 (2012).
  88. M. S. Volkov, Phys. Rev. D 86, 104022 (2012).
  89. Y. Akrami, T. S. Koivisto, and M. Sandstad, J. High Energy Phys. 03 (2013) 099.
  90. M. S. Volkov, Classical Quantum Gravity 30, 184009 (2013).
  91. J. Enander and E. Mörtsell, J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2013) 031.
  92. E. Babichev and M. Crisostomi, Phys. Rev. D 88, 084002 (2013).
  93. F. Koennig, A. Patil, and L. Amendola, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2014) 029.
  94. J. Enander and E. Mortsell, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 11 (2015) 023.
  95. S. Dhawan, A. Goobar, E. Mörtsell, R. Amanullah, and U. Feindt, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 07 (2017) 040.
  96. M. Platscher, J. Smirnov, S. Meyer, and M. Bartelmann, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 12 (2018) 009.
  97. M. Lüben, E. Mörtsell, and A. Schmidt-May, Classical Quantum Gravity 37, 047001 (2020).
  98. M. Högås, F. Torsello, and E. Mörtsell, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2020) 046.
  99. M. Lüben, A. Schmidt-May, and J. Weller, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 09 (2020) 024.
  100. M. Lindner, K. Max, M. Platscher, and J. Rezacek, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 10 (2020) 040.
  101. A. Caravano, M. Lüben, and J. Weller, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 09 (2021) 035.
  102. M. Högås and E. Mörtsell, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 11 (2021) 001.
  103. M. Högås, Was Einstein Wrong?: Theoretical and observational constraints on massive gravity, Ph.D. thesis, Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, 2022.
  104. S. Guerrini and E. Mörtsell, Phys. Rev. D 109, 023533 (2024).
  105. Pantheon+ Collaboration, “Pantheon+ data release,” GitHub repository, https://github.com/PantheonPlusSH0ES/DataRelease [accessed 2025-10-31].
  106. Union3 Supernova Sample, “Union3 data release,” GitHub repository, https://github.com/CobayaSampler/sn_data/tree/master/Union3 [accessed 2025-10-31].
  107. DES Collaboration, “DES-Y5 supernova data release,” GitHub repository, https://github.com/des-science/DES-SN5YR [accessed 2025-10-31].
  108. S. F. Hassan and M. Kocic, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2018) 099.
  109. N. Higham, Functions of Matrices: Theory and Computation, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM, Philadelphia, 2008).
  110. A. De Felice, A. E. Gumrukcuoglu, and S. Mukohyama, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 171101 (2012).
  111. G. Cusin, R. Durrer, P. Guarato, and M. Motta, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2016) 051.
  112. M. Goliath, R. Amanullah, P. Astier, A. Goobar, and R. Pain, Astron. Astrophys. 380, 6 (2001).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 112, 103515– Published 12 November, 2025
  • Received 14 August 2025
  • Accepted 21 October 2025
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by Bibsam.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation