New constraints on H-0 and Omega(m) from SZE/X-ray data and baryon acoustic oscillations

The Hubble constant, H-0, sets the scale of the size and age of the Universe and its determination from independent methods is still worthwhile to be investigated. In this article, by using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect and X-ray surface brightness data from 38 galaxy clusters observed by Bonamente et al. (Astrophys J 647:25, 2006), we obtain a new estimate of H-0 in the context of a flat Lambda CDM model. There is a degeneracy on the mass density parameter (Omega(m)) which is broken by applying a joint analysis involving the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) as given by Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This happens because the BAO signature does not depend on H-0. Our basic finding is that a joint analysis involving these tests yield H-0 = 76.5(-3.33)(+3.35) km/s/mpc and Omega(m) = 0.27(-0.02)(+0.03). Since the hypothesis of spherical geometry assumed by Bonamente et al. is questionable, we have also compared the above results to a recent work where a sample of galaxy clusters described by an elliptical profile was used in analysis.