Related papers: What do we really know about Dark Energy?
These lecture notes aim to provide an introduction to dark matter from the perspective of astrophysics/cosmology. We start with a rapid overview of cosmology, including the evolution of the Universe, its thermal history and structure…
The observed cosmic acceleration was attributed to an exotic dark energy in the framework of classical general relativity. The dark energy behaves very similar with vacuum energy in quantum mechanics. However, once the quantum effects are…
The Hubble Constant measured from the anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is shown to be independent of small changes from the standard model of the redshift dependence of dark energy. Modifications of the Friedmann equation…
A model for a flat homogeneous and isotropic Universe composed of dark energy, dark matter, neutrinos, radiation and baryons is analyzed. The fields of dark matter and neutrinos are supposed to interact with the dark energy. The dark energy…
Measurements suggest that our universe has a substantial dark energy component. The most recent data on type Ia supernovae give a dark energy density which is in good agreement with other measurements if the dark energy is assumed to be a…
Several kinds of astronomical observations, interpreted in the framework of the standard Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology, have indicated that our universe is dominated by a Cosmological Constant. The dimming of distant Type Ia…
We consider a model-independent approach to constrain the equivalence redshift, $z_{eq}$, at which dark energy and the total matter (cold dark matter and baryonic) equate their magnitudes. To this aim, in the context of a homogeneous and…
Dark energy is now one of the most important and topical problems in cosmology. The first step to reveal its nature is to detect the evolution of dark energy or to prove beyond doubt that the cosmological constant is indeed constant.…
We investigate phenomenological interactions between dark matter and dark energy and constrain these models by employing the most recent cosmological data including the cosmic microwave background radiation anisotropies from Planck 2015,…
There is increasing evidence that the universe is dominated by dark energy of the type given by an invariant cosmological constant. Latest data also indicates that fundamental interaction couplings and particle masses have remained…
Current data in the form of baryon acoustic oscillation, supernova, and cosmic microwave background distances prefer a cosmology that accelerates more strongly than $\Lambda$CDM at $z\approx0.5-1.5$, and more weakly at $z\lesssim0.5$. We…
An overview is presented of a recently proposed "radically conservative" solution to the problem of dark energy in cosmology. The proposal yields a model universe which appears to be quantitatively viable, in terms of its fit to supernovae…
Late-time cosmic acceleration is one of the most interesting unsolved puzzles in modern cosmology. The explanation most accepted nowadays, dark energy, raises questions about its own nature, e.g. what exactly is dark energy, and…
For physicists, recent developments in astrophysics and cosmology present exciting challenges. We are conducting "experiments" in energy regimes some of which will be probed by accelerators in the near future, and others which are…
Unknown short-distance effects cancel the quartic divergence of the zero-point energies. If this renormalization took effect in the early universe after the last phase transition and applied only to modes whose wavelengths (over 2 pi) were…
The high-quality cosmological data, which became available in the last decade, have thrusted upon us a rather preposterous composition for the universe which poses one of the greatest challenges theoretical physics has ever faced: the…
Assuming that the Universe at higher redshifts (z \sim 4 and beyond) is consistent with LCDM model as constrained by the Planck measurements, we reanalyze the low redshift cosmological data to reconstruct the Hubble parameter as a function…
It is shown that dark energy can be obtained from the interplay of the Higgs boson and the inflaton. A key element is the realization that electroweak symmetry breaking can trigger a second phase of rolling of the inflaton, which, when…
The majority of astronomers and physicists accept the reality of dark energy but also believe it can only be studied indirectly through observation of the motions of galaxies. This paper opens the experimental question of whether it is…
The coming decade will be an exciting period for dark energy research, during which astronomers will address the question of what drives the accelerated cosmic expansion as first revealed by type Ia supernova (SN) distances, and confirmed…