Cosmic Gravitational-Wave Hum Tightens the Hubble Constant Bounds
A new method uses the faint gravitational-wave background from unresolved distant black hole mergers—the stochastic siren—to constrain the Hubble constant. By linking merger rates to the observable universe’s size, a stronger background would indicate slower expansion; non-detections thus tighten limits, and when combined with data from individually observed mergers, the approach yields a more precise H0. With future, more sensitive detectors the gravitational-wave background could be detected and used to further refine cosmological measurements, potentially helping resolve the Hubble tension.