Coupled oscillators as models of quintom dark energy

TL;DR

This paper models quintom dark energy in cosmology using coupled oscillators, revealing that universes with open or flat geometries tend toward eternal expansion regardless of initial conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel oscillator-based framework for quintom dark energy models, analyzing their qualitative and asymptotic behaviors in different cosmological scenarios.

Findings

Universes with open or flat geometries always expand eternally.

The oscillator models capture key features of quintom cosmology.

Initial conditions do not affect the ultimate eternal expansion.

Abstract

We investigate quintom cosmology in FRW universes using isomorphic models consisting of three coupled oscillators, one of which carries negative kinetic energy. In particular, we examine the cosmological paradigms of minimally-coupled massless quintom, of two conformally-coupled massive scalars and of conformally-coupled massive quintom, and we obtain their qualitative characteristics as well as their quantitative asymptotic behavior. For open or flat geometries, we find that, independently of the specific initial conditions, the universe is always led to an eternal expansion.