Tight Cosmological Constraints from the Angular-Size/Redshift Relation for Ultra-Compact Radio Sources

Abstract

Some years ago (Jackson and Dodgson 1997) analysis of the angular-size/redshift relationship for ultra-compact radio sources indicted that for spatially flat universes the best choice of cosmological parameters was Omega_m=0.2 and Omega_Lambda=0.8. Here I present an astrophysical model of these sources, based upon the idea that for those with redshift z>0.5 each measured angular size corresponds to a single compact component which is moving relativistically towards the observer; this model gives a reasonable account of their behaviour as standard measuring rods. A new analysis of the original data set (Gurvits 1994), taking into account possible selection effects which bias against large objects, gives Omega_m=0.24+0.09/-0.07 for flat universes. The data points match the corresponding theoretical curve very accurately out to z~3, and there is clear and sustained indication of the switch from acceleration to deceleration, which occurs at z=0.85.