Consistency Test of Dark Energy Models

TL;DR

This paper applies a new observational consistency test to various dark energy models using recent SN Ia, CMB, and BAO data, ruling out the exponential quintessence potential at 95.4% confidence.

Contribution

It extends a previously proposed consistency test to multiple dark energy models using updated observational data, efficiently constraining model parameters.

Findings

Exponential quintessence potential is ruled out at 95.4% confidence.

Other models, including LCDM and generalized Chaplygin gas, remain consistent with data.

The test requires only a single parameter constraint for each model.

Abstract

Recently we proposed a new approach to the testing of dark energy models based on the observational data. In that work we focused particularly on quintessence models for demonstration and invoked a widely used parametrization of the dark energy equation of state. In this paper we take the more recent SN Ia, CMB and BAO data, invoke the same parametrization, and apply this method of consistency test to five categories of dark energy models, including the LCDM model, the generalized Chaplygin gas, and three quintessence models: exponential, power-law and inverse-exponential potentials. We find that the exponential potential of quintessence is ruled out at the 95.4% confidence level, while the other four models are consistent with data. This consistency test can be efficiently performed since for all models it requires the constraint of only a single parameter space that by choice can be easily accessed.