Low redshift constraints on scale-covariant models

TL;DR

This paper evaluates scale-covariant models as alternatives to dark energy for explaining cosmic acceleration, analyzing their fit to low-redshift data and their consistency with other cosmological observations.

Contribution

It extends previous work by studying a broader class of scale-invariant models in both alternative and extended scenarios, assessing their viability against observational data.

Findings

The pure scale-covariant model can fit low-redshift data but conflicts with other constraints.

In the extended model, deviations from ΛCDM are limited by data.

A matter density of about 0.3 is incompatible with the model's best fit.

Abstract

The search for a physical model which explains the observed recent acceleration of the universe is a compelling task of modern fundamental cosmology. Recently Fernandes \textit{et al.} presented low redshift observational constraints on a scale invariant model by Maeder. Phenomenologically this can be interpreted as a bimetric theory with a time-dependent cosmological constant. It was shown that a matter density $\Omega_m\sim0.3$ is a poor fit to the data, and the best-fit model would require a fluid with a much smaller density and a significantly positive equation of state parameter. This model is a particular case of an earlier and broader class of models by Canuto \textit{et al.}, which we study here. Specifically, we consider it in two distinct scenarios: as a genuine alternative to $\Lambda$CDM (i.e., without any cosmological constant) and as a parametric extension thereof (where both a cosmological constant and the new mechanism can coexist, and the relative contributions of both are determined by the data). We find that the first scenario can in principle fit the low-redshift data (but a good fit would require values of model parameters, such as the matter equation of state, in conflict with other data), while in the second one the deviation from $\Lambda$CDM is constrained to be small.