Coupled quintessence with a possible transient accelerating phase

TL;DR

This paper explores a coupled quintessence cosmological model where dark matter and dark energy interact via a scale factor-dependent coupling, leading to a transient acceleration phase and potential resolution of certain theoretical conflicts.

Contribution

It introduces a novel coupled quintessence model with a scale factor-dependent interaction, showing it can produce a transient acceleration phase and align with observational data.

Findings

The universe can transition from dark energy to dark matter domination.

The model fits current SNe Ia, BAO, and CMB data.

It offers a potential solution to conflicts with String/M-theory.

Abstract

We discuss some cosmological consequences of a general model of coupled quintessence in which the phenomenological coupling between the cold dark matter and dark energy is a function of the cosmic scale factor $\epsilon(a)$. This class of models presents cosmological solutions in which the Universe is currently dominated by an exotic component, but will eventually be dominated by cold dark matter in the future. This dynamical behavior is considerably different from the standard $\Lambda$CDM evolution, and may alleviate some conflicts in reconciling the idea of the dark energy-dominated universe with observables in String/M-theory. Finally, we investigate some observational features of this model and discuss some constraints on its parameters from current SNe Ia, BAO and CMB data.