# Test of the FLRW metric and curvature with strong lens time delays

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new model-independent method using future strong lensing time delay data to test the FLRW metric and constrain cosmic curvature, independent of universe's energy content and Einstein's equations.

## Contribution

It proposes a novel, efficient approach to test the FLRW metric and measure cosmic curvature using geometric optics and upcoming observational data.

## Key findings

- Constraints on cosmic curvature to ~0.057 or ~0.041 at 1σ.
- Method is robust against bias in time delay measurements.
- Provides a new independent test of cosmological homogeneity and isotropy.

## Abstract

We present a new model-independent strategy for testing the Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker metric and constraining cosmic curvature, based on future time delay measurements of strongly lensed quasar-elliptical galaxy systems from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and supernova observations from the Dark Energy Survey. The test only relies on geometric optics. It is independent of the energy contents of the universe and the validity of the Einstein equation on cosmological scales. The study comprises two levels: testing the FLRW metric through the Distance Sum Rule and determining/constraining cosmic curvature. We propose an effective and efficient (redshift) evolution model for performing the former test, which allows us to concretely specify the violation criterion for the FLRW Distance Sum Rule. If the FLRW metric is consistent with the observations, then, on the second level, the cosmic curvature parameter will be constrained to $\sim0.057$ or $\sim0.041$ ($1\sigma$), depending on the availability of high-redshift supernovae, much more stringent than current model-independent techniques. We also show that the bias in the time delay method might be well controlled, leading to robust results. The proposed method is a new independent tool for both testing the fundamental assumptions of homogeneity and isotropy in cosmology and for determining cosmic curvature. It is complementary to cosmic microwave background plus baryon acoustic oscillation analyses, which normally assume a cosmological model with dark energy domination in the late-time universe.