Related papers: Dark Energy and the Refined de Sitter Conjecture
Cosmological observations of the recent universe suggest that dark energy equation of state parameter $w$ is growing with time, departing from a cosmological constant for which $w=-1$. Standard quintessence models allow for a varying…
We discuss the prospects of measuring deviations of the dark energy equation of state from w=-1 by using the swampland conjectures to relate inflationary models to quintessence scenarios. This note is based on work done by the author with…
We examine dark energy models in which a quintessence or a phantom field, $\phi$, rolls near the vicinity of a local minimum or maximum, respectively, of its potential $V(\phi)$. Under the approximation that $(1/V)(dV/d\phi) \ll 1$,…
It has recently been argued that string theory does not admit de Sitter vacua. This would imply that the current accelerated expansion of the universe is not driven by a cosmological constant (or vacuum energy) but by other means such as a…
We apply the covariant entropy bound argument supporting the de Sitter swampland conjecture to the quintessence model, to find out the condition for the background to be unstable. More concretely, the background is unstable when the matter…
We point out that the swampland conjectures, forbidding the presence of global symmetries and (meta-)stable de Sitter vacua within quantum gravity, pick up a dynamical axion for the electroweak SU(2) gauge theory as a natural candidate for…
Dark energy can be characterized by a canonical scalar field, known as quintessence. Quintessence allows for a dynamical equation of state $-1 \le \omega \le -\frac{1}{3}$. A previous study by Oikonomou and Chatzarakis have shown that a…
The string theory swampland proposes that there is no UV-completion for an effective field theory with an exact (metastable) de Sitter vacua, thereby ruling out standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology if the conjecture is taken seriously. The…
The archetypal theory of dark energy is quintessence: a minimally coupled scalar field with a canonical kinetic energy and potential. By studying random potentials we show that quintessence imposes a restricted set of priors on the equation…
We present an Effective Field Theory based reconstruction of quintessence models of dark energy directly from cosmological data. We show that current cosmological data possess enough constraining power to test several quintessence model…
The recently proposed Swampland Criteria aim to evade any (meta-)stable de Sitter constructions within String landscapes, making it difficult to accommodate accelerating phases, like dark energy domination and inflationary epoch, in…
The "de Sitter constraint" on the space of effective scalar field theories consistent with superstring theory provides a lower bound on the slope of the potential of a scalar field which dominates the evolution of the Universe, e.g., a…
We analyse DESI BAO, CMB, and supernova data to explore the physical origin of the DESI indication for dynamical dark energy. Beyond the standard CPL parametrization, we explore truncated alternatives and quintessence models. We conclude…
Quintessence is a canonical scalar field introduced to explain the late-time cosmic acceleration. The cosmological dynamics of quintessence is reviewed, paying particular attention to the evolution of the dark energy equation of state w.…
We study late-time acceleration scenarios using a quintessence field initially trapped in a metastable false vacuum state. The false vacuum has non-zero vacuum energy and could drive exponential expansion if not coupled with gravity. Upon…
Many ambitious experiments have been proposed to constrain dark energy and detect its evolution. At present, observational constraints are consistent with a cosmological constant and there is no firm evidence for any evolution in the dark…
In this paper, we investigate a quintessence field with an exponential potential motivated by the suggestion of time-varying dark energy from the DESI galaxy survey. Assuming a kination epoch in the early Universe, we analytically derive…
New constraints on the expansion rate of the Universe seem to favor evolving dark energy in the form of thawing quintessence models, i.e., models for which a canonical, minimally coupled scalar field has, at late times, begun to evolve away…
We propose a dark energy model in which a quintessence field $\phi$ rolls near the vicinity of a local maximum of its potential characterized by the simplest $S$ self-dual form $V(\phi) = \Lambda \ {\rm sech}(\sqrt{2} \, \phi/M_p)$, where…
Single-field models of accelerated expansion with nearly flat potentials, despite being able to provide observationally viable explanations for the early-time cosmic inflation and the late-time cosmic acceleration, are in strong tension…