New parameterization for unified dark matter and dark energy

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new polynomial-based parameterization for a unified dark matter and dark energy fluid, compatible with observations and capable of mimicking the standard cosmological model while unifying dark components.

Contribution

It introduces a novel polynomial expansion of the equation of state parameter for unified dark matter and dark energy, with models tested against observational data.

Findings

Models are consistent with the $ ext{Lambda}$CDM paradigm.

The parameterization accurately describes evolution at various redshifts.

Unified dark fluid behaves like dark matter at high redshifts.

Abstract

In this paper we investigate a new phenomenological parameterization for unified dark matter and dark energy based on the polynomial expansion of the barotropic equation of state parameter $w$. Our parameterization provides well-behaving evolution of $w$ for both small and big redshifts as well as in the far future. The dark fluid described by our parameterization behaves for big redshifts like a dark matter. Therefore one can parameterize dark energy and dark matter using a single dark fluid, like in the case of the Chaplygin gas. Within this parameterization we consider 2 models: one with DE barotropic parameter fixed to be $-1$ and the second one, where $w \neq -1$ is chosen to match the best fit to the data. We study main cosmological properties of these models at the expansion and perturbation levels. Based on Markov chain Monte Carlo method with currently available cosmic observational data sets, we constrain these models to determine the cosmological parameters at the level of background and clustering of matter. We consider the interaction between DM and DE which directly affects the evolution of matter and its clustering. Our model appears to be perfectly consistent with the $\Lambda$CDM model, while providing unification of DE and DM.