A new mechanism for dark energy: the adaptive screening

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel dark energy mechanism called adaptive screening, where a gas of particles with a vector mediator reproduces dark energy dynamics, potentially verifiable through cosmological and particle physics experiments.

Contribution

It introduces the adaptive screening mechanism, linking matter effects to dark energy within a particle physics framework, and suggests experimental tests for this new model.

Findings

The screening mass is proportional to particle density.

The mechanism can mimic dark energy dynamics.

Potential experimental verification via cosmological and particle physics observations.

Abstract

We describe how known matter effects within a well-motivated particle physics framework can explain the dark energy component of the Universe. By considering a cold gas of particles which interact via a vector mediator, we show that there exists a regime where the gas reproduces the dynamics of dark energy. In this regime the screening mass of the mediator is proportional to the number density of the gas, hence we refer to this phenomenon as "the adaptive screening mechanism". As an example, we argue that such screening mass can result from strong localization of the vector mediators. The proposed dark energy mechanism could be experimentally verified through cosmological observations by the Euclid experiment, as well as by studying properties of dark photons and sterile neutrinos.