Accelerated expansion from a non-minimal gravitational coupling to matter

TL;DR

This paper explores how a non-minimal coupling between scalar curvature and matter can explain the universe's accelerated expansion, potentially unifying dark energy and dark matter through analytical and numerical methods.

Contribution

It introduces a novel non-minimal coupling model that accounts for cosmic acceleration and unifies dark energy and dark matter, supported by analytical and numerical validation.

Findings

Non-minimal coupling can produce accelerated expansion.

The model mimics dark energy and dark matter effects.

Numerical results support the analytical predictions.

Abstract

It is shown that a non-minimal coupling between the scalar curvature and the matter Lagrangian density may account for the accelerated expansion of the Universe and provide, through mimicking, for a viable unification of dark energy and dark matter. An analytical exploration is first performed, and a numerical study is then used to validate the obtained results. The encountered scenario allows for a better grasp of the proposed mechanism, and sets up the discussion for improvements that can lead to a complete agreement with the observational data.