We derive constraints on cosmological parameters and tests of dark energy models from the combination of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements with cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and a recent reanalysis of Type Ia supernova (SN) data. In particular, we take advantage of high-precision BAO measurements from galaxy clustering and the Lyman-α forest (LyaF) in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Treating the BAO scale as an uncalibrated standard ruler, BAO data alone yield a high confidence detection of dark energy; in combination with the CMB angular acoustic scale they further imply a nearly flat universe. Adding the CMB-calibrated physical scale of the sound horizon, the combination of BAO and SN data into an "inverse distance ladder" yields a measurement of H0=67.3±1.1 km s-1 Mpc-1, with 1.7% precision. This measurement assumes standard prerecombination physics but is insensitive to assumptions about dark energy or space curvature, so agreement with CMB-based estimates that assume a flat ΛCDM cosmology is an important corroboration of this minimal cosmological model. For constant dark energy (Λ), our BAO+SN+CMB combination yields matter density Ωm=0.301±0.008 and curvature Ωk=-0.003±0.003. When we allow more general forms of evolving dark energy, the BAO+SN+CMB parameter constraints are always consistent with flat ΛCDM values at ≈1σ. While the overall χ2 of model fits is satisfactory, the LyaF BAO measurements are in moderate (2-2.5σ) tension with model predictions. Models with early dark energy that tracks the dominant energy component at high redshift remain consistent with our expansion history constraints, and they yield a higher H0 and lower matter clustering amplitude, improving agreement with some low redshift observations. Expansion history alone yields an upper limit on the summed mass of neutrino species, mν<0.56 eV (95% confidence), improving to mν<0.25 eV if we include the lensing signal in the Planck CMB power spectrum. In a flat ΛCDM model that allows extra relativistic species, our data combination yields Neff=3.43±0.26; while the LyaF BAO data prefer higher Neff when excluding galaxy BAO, the galaxy BAO alone favor Neff≈3. When structure growth is extrapolated forward from the CMB to low redshift, standard dark energy models constrained by our data predict a level of matter clustering that is high compared to most, but not all, observational estimates.

Fil: Busca, Nicolás G.. Universite Paris D. Diderot - Paris 7. Laboratorie de Astroparticle Et Cosmologie.; Francia. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; Brasil. Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia; Brasil

Fil: Scoccola, Claudia Graciela. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; España. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Fil: Nuza, Sebastian Ernesto. Leibniz Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

Fil: Delubac, Timothée. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. Max Planck-epfl Center For Molecularnanosciencie And Technology; Francia

Fil: Croft, Rupert A. C.. University of Carnegie Mellon. Mellon Institute; Estados Unidos. University of Oxford; Reino Unido

Fil: Bhardwaj, Vaishali. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. University of Washington; Estados Unidos

Fil: Blanton, Michael. University Of New York. Courant Institute Of Mathematical Sciences.; Estados Unidos

Fil: Cuesta, Antonio J.. University of Yale; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Barcelona; España

Fil: Eisenstein, Daniel J.. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Estados Unidos