Related papers: Exorcising w < -1
The present work deals with a dark energy model that has an oscillating scalar field potential along with a cosmological constant (CC). The oscillating part of the potential represents the contribution of a light axion field in the dark…
In this paper we present a generic form of the cosmological Equation of State derived from the formalism of Statistical Mechanics, assuming that a cosmic acceleration scenario can be interpreted as a system of quasi-particles. By…
It is suggested that the true ground state of the world has exactly vanishing vacuum energy and that the cosmological constant that seems to have been observed is due to our region of the universe being stuck in a false vacuum, whose energy…
Recently Csaki, Kaloper and Terning (hep-ph/0111311) suggested that the observed dimming of distant type Ia supernovae may be a consequence of mixing of the photons with very light axions. We point out that the effect of the plasma, in…
Free electrons deplete photons from type Ia supernovae through the (inverse) Compton scattering. This Compton dimming increases with redshift and reaches 0.004 mag at $z=1$ and 0.01 mag at $z=2$. Although far from sufficient to invalidate…
It has been only ~15 years since the discovery of dark energy (although some may argue there were strong indications even earlier). In the short time since measurements of type Ia supernovae indicated an accelerating universe, many other…
An alternative mechanism that dims high redshift supernovae without cosmic acceleration utilizes an oscillation of photons into a pseudo-scalar particle during transit. Since angular diameter distance measures are immune to the loss of…
We introduce a new model for dark energy in the universe in which a small cosmological constant is generated by ordinary electromagnetic vacuum energy. The corresponding virtual photons exist at all frequencies but switch from a…
Most parametrizations for dark energy involve the equation of state $w$ of the dark energy. In this work, we choose the pressure of the dark energy to parametrize. As $p = constant$ essentially gives a cosmological constant, we use the…
We apply a parameterization-independent approach to fitting the dark energy equation-of-state (EOS). Utilizing the latest type Ia supernova data, combined with results from the cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations,…
We show that a simple coupling between dark energy and dark matter can simultaneously address two distinct hints at new physics coming from cosmological observations. The first is the recent evidence from the DESI project and supernovae…
We show that the latest empirical constraints on cosmology, from a combination of DESI, CMB and supernova data, can be accounted for if a small component of dark matter has an evolving and oscillating equation of state within $-1<w<1$. From…
We carry out a Bayesian model selection analysis of different dark energy parametrizations using the recent luminosity distance data of high redshift supernovae from Riess et al. 2007 and from the new ESSENCE Supernova Survey. Including…
We have recently proposed a mechanism of photon-axion oscillations as a way of rendering supernovae dimmer without cosmic acceleration. Subsequently, it has been argued that the intergalactic plasma may interfere adversely with this…
We point out that theories of cosmological acceleration which have equation of state, w, such that 1+w is small but positive may still secretly violate the null energy condition. This violation implies the existence of observers for whom…
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…
The property of dark energy and the physical reason for acceleration of the present universe are two of the most difficult problems in modern cosmology. The dark energy contributes about two-thirds of the critical density of the present…
We compute the probability of photon-axion oscillations in the presence of both intergalactic magnetic fields and an electron plasma and investigate the effect on Type Ia supernovae observations. The conversion probability is calculated…
We present constraints on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w=P/(rho c^2), using 60 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the ESSENCE supernova survey. We derive a set of constraints on the nature of the dark energy assuming a flat…
To explain the acceleration of the cosmological expansion researchers have considered an unusual form of mass-energy generically called dark energy. Dark energy has a ratio of pressure over mass density which obeys $w=p/\rho <-1/3$. This…