Related papers: Could dark energy be vector-like?
The two most popular candidates for dark energy, i.e. a cosmological constant and quintessence, are very difficult to distinguish observationally, mostly because the quintessence field does not have sizable fluctuations. We study a scalar…
In this work we study a general vector-tensor model of dark energy with a Gauss-Bonnet term coupled to a vector field and without explicit potential terms. Considering a spatially flat FRW type universe and a vector field without spatial…
ecent observations of type Ia supernovae indicate that the Universe is in an accelerating phase of expansion. The fundamental quest in theoretical cosmology is to identify the origin of this phenomenon. In principle there are two…
We investigate a scalar-vector-tensor theory in which matter is minimally coupled to a Jordan-frame metric, while a massive vector sector interacts with the baryonic current. We show that the conformal scalar coupling modifies the physical…
We consider the cosmological dynamics of a scalar field in a potential with multiple troughs and peaks. We show that the dynamics of the scalar field will evolve from light dark matter-like behaviour (such as that of a light axion) to a…
This paper is the third in a series of theorems which state how cosmological observations can provide evidence for an early phase of acceleration in the universe. Previous theorems demonstrated that the observed power spectrum for scalar…
A vector curvaton model with a Maxwell kinetic term and varying kinetic function and mass during inflation is studied. It is shown that, if light until the end of inflation, the vector field can generate statistical anisotropy in the…
We use the phase plane analysis technique of Madsen and Ellis to consider a universe with a true cosmological constant as well as a cosmological "constant" that is decaying. Time symmetric dynamics for the inflationary era allows eternally…
Bouncing models have been proposed by many authors as a completion, or even as an alternative to inflation for the description of the very early and dense Universe. However, most bouncing models contain a contracting phase from a very large…
According to the standard $\Lambda$CDM model, the accelerated expansion of the Universe will go on forever. Motivated by recent observational results, we explore the possibility of a finite phase of acceleration which asymptotically…
In this work, we study tracker phantom dark energy models with a general parameterization of the scalar potentials. Our analysis also considers the scenario of having both phantom field and the cosmological constant as the dark energy…
In this paper we review in detail a number of approaches that have been adopted to try and explain the remarkable observation of our accelerating Universe. In particular we discuss the arguments for and recent progress made towards…
We show that current cosmic acceleration can be explained by an almost massless scalar field experiencing quantum fluctuations during primordial inflation. Provided its mass does not exceed the Hubble parameter today, this field has been…
The current Universe is composed by a mixture of relativistic species, baryonic matter, dark matter and dark energy which evolve in a non-trivial way at perturbative level. An advanced description of the cosmological dynamics should include…
The possible slowing down of cosmic acceleration was widely studied. However, the imposition of dark energy parametrization brought some tensions. In our recent paper, we test this possibility using a model-independent method, Gaussian…
Can local fluctuations of a ``Quintessence'' scalar field play a dynamical role in the gravitational clustering and cosmic structure formation process? We address this question in the general framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity.…
Coherent oscillations of a scalar field can mimic the behavior of a perfect fluid with an equation-of-state parameter determined by the properties of the potential, possibly driving accelerated expansion in the early Universe (inflation)…
We present cosmological perturbation theory in neutrinos probe interacting dark-energy models, and calculate cosmic microwave background anisotropies and matter power spectrum. In these models, the evolution of the mass of neutrinos is…
There exists a growing body of observational evidence supporting a non-vanishing cosmological constant at the present epoch. We examine the possibility that such a term may arise directly from the potential energy which drove an…
Recently, attempts have been made to understand the apparent near coincidence of the present dark energy and matter energy in terms of a dynamical attractor-like solution for the evolution of a scalar field. In these models the field…