Related papers: Instabilities and the null energy condition
We show that the presence of a nonminimal interaction between dark matter and dark energy may lead to a violation of the null energy condition and to the formation of a configuration with nontrivial topology (a wormhole). In this it is…
$F(R)$ models for dark energy generally exhibit a weak curvature singularity, which can be cured by adding an $R^2$ term. This correction allows for a unified description of primordial and late-time accelerated expansions. However, most…
We examine the behavior of dark energy models in the plane defined by w (the equation of state parameter for the dark energy) and w' (the derivative of w with respect to the logarithm of the scale factor). For non-phantom barotropic fluids…
In dark energy models of scalar-field coupled to a barotropic perfect fluid, the existence of cosmological scaling solutions restricts the Lagrangian of the field $\vp$ to $p=X g(Xe^{\lambda \vp})$, where $X=-g^{\mu\nu} \partial_\mu \vp…
In this work we review the cold dark matter problem in the context of a class of models which are a simple extension of the electroweak standard model, where the gauge symmetry is dictated by the group structure, $SU(3)_c\otimes…
It is a very well known fact that the energy conditions concerning Lorentzian wormhole (WH) solutions of Einstein equations are violated. Consequently, attempts to avoid the violation of the energy conditions constitutes one of the main…
Entropy bounds render quantum corrections to the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ finite. Under certain assumptions, the natural value of $\Lambda$ is of order the observed dark energy density $\sim 10^{-10} {\rm eV}^4$, thereby resolving…
Although well motivated from theoretical arguments, the cosmological constant \emph{barrier}, i.e., the imposition that the equation-of-state parameter of dark energy ($\omega_x \equiv p_x/\rho_x$) is $\geq -1$, seems to introduce bias in…
Using the positive energy theorem, we derive some constraints on static steller models in asymptotically flat spacetimes in a general setting without imposing spherical symmetry. We show that there exist no regular solutions under certain…
We place, by the maximum likelihood method, constraints on a variable dark energy model with the equation of state $w=w_0/[1+b\ln (1+z)]^2$ using some recent observational data, including the new Sne Ia data from the SNLS, the size of…
We study a coupled dark energy-dark matter model in which the energy-momentum exchange is proportional to the Hubble expansion rate. The inclusion of its perturbation is required by gauge invariance. We derive the linear perturbation…
We review the Equation of State (EoS) approach to dark sector perturbations and apply it to $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity models of dark energy. We show that the EoS approach is numerically stable and use it to set observational constraints on…
I consider some of the issues we face in trying to understand dark energy. Huge fluctuations in the unknown dark energy equation of state can be hidden in distance data, so I argue that model-independent tests which signal if the…
We analyse f(R) modifications of Einstein's gravity as dark energy models in the light of their connection with chameleon theories. Formulated as scalar-tensor theories, the f(R) theories imply the existence of a strong coupling of the…
A number of observed phenomena in high energy physics and cosmology lack their resolution within the Standard Model of particle physics. These puzzles include neutrino oscillations, baryon asymmetry of the universe and existence of dark…
A number of stability criteria exist for dark energy theories, associated with requiring the absence of ghost, gradient and tachyonic instabilities. Tachyonic instabilities are the least well explored of these in the dark energy context and…
The generalized Chaplygin gas is characterized by the equation of state p = - A/rho^alpha, with alpha > -1 and w > -1. We generalize this model to allow for the cases where alpha < -1 or w < -1. This generalization leads to three new…
The objective of the present paper is to study 4-dimensional weakly Ricci symmetric spacetimes $(WRS)_4$ with non-zero constant Ricci scalar. We prove that such a $(WRS)_4$ satisfying $F(R)$-gravity field equations represents a perfect…
Since the geometry of our universe seems to depend very little on baryonic matter, we consider a variational principle involving only dark matter and dark energy which in addition make them depend on each other. There are no adjustable…
Classical scalar fields have been considered as a possible effective description of dark matter. We show that, for any metric theory of gravity, no static, spherically symmetric, regular, spatially localized, attractive, stable spacetime…