
2
sponding to its lifetime τin the DCDM scenario. It was
noted explicitly in Ref. [13] that this model can result in
a higher H0as well as a lower value of S8than in ΛCDM
and thus has the potential to allow for the simultaneous
resolution of the H0tension and the S8tension.
In this work, we constrain this DM→DR model, and
compare it to ΛCDM using a Bayesian approach to in-
vestigate if it can indeed solve the Hubble or S8tensions.
We find that, for CMB data, it is not preferred over
ΛCDM, and that even when the SH0ES H0constraint is
included in the analysis, the amount of CDM that con-
verts to DR is constrained such that H0does not signifi-
cantly increase relative to ΛCDM, while S8also remains
nearly the same. We conclude that a model in which
some fraction of the DM has converted to DR since re-
combination will not solve the cosmological concordance
problem, unless other modifications are also considered,
such as changes to the equation(s) of state of the species
involved or additional (self)-interactions. In the course
of our investigation, we explain the origin of these con-
straints in detail and correct various aspects of earlier
implementations of this scenario. Our modified Boltz-
mann code is publicly available1.
An outline of this paper is as follows. In Section II,
we discuss the H0and S8tensions. In Section III, we
outline the theory of the DM→DR model, including the
modifications to the homogeneous Universe and the per-
turbation structure. In Section IV, we describe the data
products and likelihoods used in our analysis. In Sec-
tion V, we present our results. In Section VI, we discuss
our results and conclude.
II. COSMOLOGICAL TENSIONS
A. The H0tension
Assuming ΛCDM, the Planck CMB data predict H0=
67.4±0.5 km/s/Mpc [32]. This is derived from the di-
rect measurement of the angular size of the acoustic
scale in the CMB power spectrum. Some local mea-
surements, which measure H0directly by constructing
a distance-redshift relation (the [cosmic] “distance lad-
der”), are in tension with this result, e.g., the most re-
cent measurement from the SH0ES collaboration, H0=
73.04 ±1.04 km/s/Mpc [33].
If this tension is not due to experimental or astro-
physical systematics, one of these inferences is incorrect,
and the tension can be taken as an indicator of new
physics. The direct measurement is (in principle) model-
independent, and thus we should address the modeling
that predicts H0from the directly-constrained acoustic
scale in the CMB. This calculation of H0relies on our
model of the expansion history of the Universe since the
1https://github.com/fmccarthy/class_DMDR
CMB was released in the early Universe (at “recombina-
tion”), when the Universe was very young; and our model
of the sound horizon at recombination. Solutions to the
Hubble tension must modify (at least) one of these mod-
els, while remaining consistent with the Planck data. For
a recent review of the proposed models to alleviate this
tension, see [34].
Direct measurements of H0: the cosmic distance ladder
We can measure H0today by directly measuring the
apparent recession velocity and distance to distant ob-
jects. While velocity can be measured directly by mea-
suring the redshift of spectra of objects, distance requires
the use of a “standard candle” of known intrinsic bright-
ness along with the distance-luminosity relation. Type
Ia Supernovae (SNe) can be used as a standardizable
candle to measure H0; however, the normalization of
their brightness is not known absolutely, and so they
can only constrain the relative evolution of cosmological
distance, H(z)/H0. To constrain their intrinsic bright-
ness, we need to know the absolute distance to some of
the SNe; we measure this by using other standard can-
dles, such as cepheids, which are known to obey a tight
period-luminosity relation [35]. In turn, the cepheid in-
trinsic brightness is measured by taking parallax mea-
surements of the nearest cepheids, in particular those
in nearby galaxies. Thus we have the cosmic distance
ladder: the parallax measurements of nearby cepheids
are used to calibrate the more distant cepheids, which
in turn are used to calibrate the nearby SNe; using this
calibration, these and the more distance SNe are used to
measure H0.
The SH0ES collaboration uses this approach to mea-
sure H0directly as H0= 73.04 ±1.04 km/s/Mpc [33].
Other methods include using tip of the red giant branch
(TRGB) stars instead of cepheids to calibrate the SNe;
these measurements are in less tension with Planck, find-
ing H0= 69.8±1.9 km/s/Mpc [6].
Inference of H0from the CMB
We infer H0from the angular scale θsimprinted on the
CMB by baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs). θsis a
projection of the physical sound horizon at recombination
rs(z⋆), according to
θs=rs(z⋆)
DA(z⋆),(1)
where DA(z⋆) is the comoving angular diameter distance
to the surface where the CMB was released at redshift z⋆
(the “surface of last scattering”).
The sound horizon rs(z⋆), the distance a sound wave
could travel in the time between the beginning of the
Universe and recombination, is given by the integral over