Related papers: Gradient instability for w < -1
We study generic single-field dark energy models, by a parametrization of the most general theory of their perturbations around a given background, including higher derivative terms. In appropriate limits this approach reproduces standard…
We solve the equations of motion for a scalar field with domain wall boundary conditions in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetime. We find (in agreement with Basu and Vilenkin) that no domain wall solutions exist in de Sitter…
We update the constraints on the minimal model of dark matter, where a stable real scalar field is added to the standard model Lagrangian with a renormalizable coupling to the Higgs field. Once we fix the dark matter abundance, there are…
Gyroscopic systems in classical and quantum field theory are characterized by the presence of at least two scalar degrees of freedom and by terms that mix fields and their time derivatives in the quadratic Lagrangian. In Minkowski…
We consider different classes of scalar field models including quintessence, and tachyon scalar fields with a variety of generic potential belonging to thawing type. Assuming the scalar field is initially frozen at $w=-1$, we evolve the…
The evolution of scalar perturbations is studied for 2-component (non-relativistic matter and dark energy) cosmological models at the linear and non-linear stages. The dark energy is assumed to be the scalar field with either classical or…
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…
We propose a class of simple dark energy models which predict a late-time dark radiation component and a distinctive time-dependent equation of state $w(z)$ for redshift $z < 3$. The dark energy field can be coupled strongly enough to…
We show that a scalar field without a kinetic term in the Lagrangian density, coupled to the covariant divergence of the torsion vector in the Einstein$-$Cartan theory of gravity, becomes kinetic in its general-relativistic equivalent…
We investigate the evolution of cosmological scalar perturbations in the case that the background radiation is weakly coupled to a light scalar field $\phi$. The light scalar $\phi$ is a homogeneous background field with a large initial…
Major observational efforts in the coming decade are designed to probe the equation of state of dark energy. Measuring a deviation of the equation-of-state parameter w from -1 would indicate a dark energy that cannot be represented solely…
The 1--loop effective Lagrangian for a massive scalar field on an arbitrary causality violating spacetime is calculated using the methods of Euclidean quantum field theory in curved spacetime. Fields of spin 1/2, spin 1 and twisted field…
The Gauss-Bonnet (GB) curvature invariant coupled to a scalar field $\phi$ can lead to an exit from a scaling matter-dominated epoch to a late-time accelerated expansion, which is attractive to alleviate the coincident problem of dark…
Using observational data on the expansion rate of the universe (H(z)) we constrain the effective Lagrangian of the current accelerated expansion. Our results show that the effective potential is consistent with being flat i.e., a…
We derive a condition for converging a common evolutionary track for k-essence (a scalar field dark energy with non-canonical kinetic terms). For the Lagrangian density V(phi)W(X) with X=dot{phi}^2/2, we find tracker solutions with w_{phi}…
We make a perturbative analysis of the number of degrees of freedom in a large class of metric theories respecting spatial symmetries, of which the Lagrangian includes kinetic terms of both the spatial metric and the lapse function. We show…
We use recent measurements of the expansion history of the universe to place constraints on the parameter space of cubic Galileon models, in particular we concentrate on those models which contain the simplest Galileon term plus a linear…
We consider a self-interacting scalar field theory in a slowly varying gravitational background field. Using zeta-function regularization and heat-kernel techniques, we derive the one-loop effective Lagrangian up to second order in the…
Ostrogradsky instability generally appears in nondegenerate higher-order derivative theories and this issue can be resolved by removing any existing degeneracy present in such theories. We consider an action involving terms that are at most…
A dynamical scalar field represents the simplest generalization of a pure Cosmological Constant as a candidate to explain the recent evidence in favour of the accelerated cosmic expansion. We review the dynamical properties of such a…