Related papers: Observing the dark sector
The most important problem in fundamental physics is the description of the contents of the Universe. Today, we know that 95% thereof is totally unknown. Two thirds of that amount is the mysterious Dark Energy described in an interesting…
The interaction between dark matter and dark energy can be incorporated into field theory models of dark energy that have proved successful in alleviating the coincidence problem. We review recent advances in this field, including new…
Observational evidence indicating that the expansion of the universe is accelerating has surprised cosmologists in recent years. Cosmological models have sought to explain this acceleration by incorporating `dark energy', of which the…
Observational cosmology is on the verge of new discoveries that will change the essence of our world-view. The matter concerns origin of initial conditions and physics of dark matter.
We discuss the phenomenology of the dark energy in first order perturbation theory, demonstrating that the dark energy cannot be fully constrained unless the dark matter is found, and that there are two functions that characterise the…
Cosmological and astrophysical observations currently provide the only robust, positive evidence for dark matter. Cosmic probes of dark matter, which seek to determine the fundamental properties of dark matter through observations of the…
We review the current status of cosmological parameters, dark energy and large-scale structure, from a theoretical and observational perspective. We first present the basic cosmological parameters and discuss how they are measured with…
For a few years now, cosmology has a standard model. By this term, we mean a consistent theoretical background which is at the same time simple and broad enough to offer coherent explanations for the vast majority of cosmological phenomena.…
Astrophysical observations currently provide the only robust, empirical measurements of dark matter. In the coming decade, astrophysical observations will guide other experimental efforts, while simultaneously probing unique regions of dark…
The dark side of the universe is mysterious and its nature is still unknown. In fact, this poses perhaps as the biggest challenge in the modern cosmology. The two components of the dark sector (dark matter and dark energy) correspond today…
Illuminating the nature of dark energy is one of the most important challenges in cosmology today. In this review I discuss several promising observational approaches to understanding dark energy, in the context of the recommendations by…
The present status of our knowledge about the dark matter and dark energy is reviewed. Bounds on the content of cold and hot dark matter from cosmological observations are discussed in some detail. I also review current bounds on the…
A huge amount of good quality data converges towards the picture of a spatially flat universe undergoing the today observed phase of accelerated expansion. This new observational trend is commonly addressed as Precision Cosmology. Despite…
We consider a generic cosmological model which allows for non-gravitational direct couplings between dark matter and dark energy. The distinguishing cosmological features of these couplings can be probed by current cosmological…
I consider the relation of explanations for the observed data to testability in the following contexts: observational and experimental detection of dark matter; observational and experimental detection of dark energy or a cosmological…
Dark matter represents currently an outstanding problem in both cosmology and particle physics. In this review we discuss the possible explanations for dark matter and the experimental observables which can eventually lead to the discovery…
Under the assumption that the variations of parameters of nature and the current acceleration of the universe are related and governed by the evolution of a single scalar field, we show how information can be obtained on the nature of dark…
Interactions inside the cosmological dark sector influence the cosmological dynamics. As a consequence, the future evolution of the Universe may be different from that predicted by the $\Lambda$CDM model. We review main features of several…
The problem of dark energy is briefly reviewed in both theoretical and observational aspects. In the theoretical aspect, dark energy scenarios are classified into symmetry, anthropic principle, tuning mechanism, modified gravity, quantum…
The precision era of multi-messenger astronomy, together with modern astrophysical, cosmological, and gravitational wave observations, increasingly points toward the existence of a ``dark" sector that cannot be explained within the…