Hubble Parameter Measurement Constraints on Dark Energy

We use 21 Hubble parameter versus redshift data points, from Simon et al. (2005), Gazta~naga et al. (2009), Stern et al. (2010), and Moresco et al. (2012a), to place constraints on model parameters of constant and time-evolving dark energy cosmologies. The inclusion of the 8 new Moresco et al. (2012a) measurements results in H(z) constraints more restrictive than those derived by Chen & Ratra (2011b). These constraints are now almost as restrictive as those that follow from current Type Ia supernova (SNIa) apparent magnitude versus redshift data (Suzuki et al. 2012), which now more carefully account for systematic uncertainties. This is a remarkable result. We emphasize however that SNIa data have been studied for a longer time than the H(z) data, possibly resulting in a better estimate of potential systematic errors in the SNIa case. A joint analysis of the H(z), baryon acoustic oscillation peak length scale, and SNIa data favors a spatially-flat cosmological model currently dominated by a time-independent cosmological constant but does not exclude slowly-evolving dark energy.