# Quantum mechanical look at the radioactive-like decay of metastable dark energy

## TL;DR

This paper derives a quantum-mechanically grounded model for metastable dark energy decay, revealing three decay phases and showing consistency with cosmological observations, suggesting we are currently in a decay epoch.

## Contribution

It provides a quantum mechanics-based derivation of dark energy decay dynamics and introduces a three-phase decay model aligned with cosmological data.

## Key findings

- Decay epoch ends after approximately 22,296 times the current universe age.
- Model aligns well with astronomical observations.
- Universe is currently in a radioactive decay phase of dark energy.

## Abstract

We derive the Shafieloo, Hazra, Sahni and Starobinsky (SHSS) phenomenological formula for the radioactive-like decay of metastable dark energy directly from the quantum mechanics principles. For this aim we use the Fock-Krylov theory of quantum unstable states. We obtain deeper insight on the decay process as having three basic phases: the phase of radioactive decay, the next phase of damping oscillations, and finally the phase of power law decaying. We consider the cosmological model with matter and dark energy in the form of decaying metastable dark energy and study its dynamics in the framework of non-conservative cosmology with an interacting term determined by the running cosmological parameter. We study cosmological implications of metastable dark energy and estimate the characteristic time of ending of the radioactive-like decay epoch as 22296 of the present age of the Universe. We also confront the model with astronomical data which show that the model is in good agreement with the observations. Our general conclusion is that we are living in the epoch of the radioactive-like decay of metastable dark energy which is a relict of the quantum age of the Universe.